LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


977.352 
R36p 


v.l 


I.H.S. 


PEORIA 

CITY  AND  COUNTY 

ILLINOIS 


A  Rec(Md   of  Settlement,  Organization,  Progress  and 

Achievement 


By  COL.  JAMES  M.  RICE 


Local   liistoiy  is  tlie  ultimate  substance  of  national  history— Wilson 


ILLUSTRATED 


VOLUME 


CHICAGO 

THE  S.  J.  CLARKE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
1912 


1 1^ . 


u 


CONTENTS 


PART  ONE 


CHAPTER  I 

THE    BEGINNING    OF    PKORIA     ' 

CHAPTER    n 

THE  ABORIGINES 5 

CHAPTER  HI 

FORCES   WIIRH    MADE   PEORIA    AND   THE    MATERIAL   OF    WHICH    IT    WAS    MADE...     \J 

CHAPTER  IV 

DISCOVERY     I'.l'    TH IC     FRENCH 21 

CHAPTER  V 

TAKING    POSSESSION     V.Y    I. A    SAI.LE ^S 

CHAPTER    VI 

PEORIA   UNDER  THE   FRICNl  II 3^ 

CHAPTER  Vn 

liKITISH  RULE  IN  ILLINOIS 1 763- 1 7/8 39 

iii 


00  J  070 


iv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  VIII 

ILLINOIS     AS     A     PART     OF     VIRGINIA I778-I784 47 

CHAPTER  IX 

THE   NORTHWEST  TERRITORY    5' 

CHAPTER  X 

PEORIA    PART    OF    INDIANA    TERRITORY — 180O-1809 57 

CHAPTER  XI 

REMINISCENCES  OF  OLD  SETTLERS 59 


PART   TWO 

CHAPTER  XII 

GEOLOGIC    FORMATION    AND   GEOGRAPHY   OF   THIS    SECTION    OF    THE    COUNTY MANY 

VAI.UAI'.LE  COAL  VEINS STONE  OF  COMMERCIAL   IMPORTANCE GRAVEL SAND — 

TIMBER SOIL    AND    ITS    PRODUCTIVITY VEGETATION     79 


CHAPTER  XIII 

CREATION     AND    ORGANIZATION    OF    PEORIA    COUNTY DIFFICULTIES    IN     OBTAINING 

TITLE      TO   COUNTY   SEAT PRESIDENT   JOHN    QUINCY    ADAMS    LENDS    HIS   ASSIST- 
ANCE  WILLIAM   S.    HAMILTON,    SON  OF   ALEXANDER    HAMILTON,   ATTORNEY   FOR 

THE  COUNTY CLAIMS  TO  LAND  OF  JOHN   HAMLIN  AND  OTHERS  ADJUSTED.  .    85 


CHAPTER  XIV 

PROCEEDI.N(;S  OF  THE  COUNTY  COMMISSIONERS'  COURT THE  COUNTY  SEAT  IS  NAMED 

PEORIA — GRAND  AND  PETIT  JURY  SELECTED — FINANCIAL  CONDITION  REPORTED — 
ELECTION  PRECINCTS  ESTABLISHED — COOK  COUNTY  A  PART  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY — 
FIRST  ELECTION  HELD  IN  CHICAGO — COUNTY  COURT  SUPERSEDES  BOARD  OF 
COUNTY  COMMISSIONERS — TOWI^SHIP  SYSTEM  ADOPTED — THE  PROBATE  COURT   95 


CHAPTER  XV 

SELECTION    OF    A    SITE    FOR    AND    ERECTION    OF    A    COURT    HOUSE CIRCUIT    COURT 

JAILS — THE   FIRST    COURT    HOUSE,    SO-CALLED,    A    LOG   CABIN THE    FIRST    BUILD- 
ING ERECTED   BY  THE  COUNTY    A  BRICK   STRUCTURE THE  SECOND   COURT    HOUSE 

COUNTY    INFIRMARY HOME    FOR   THE    INSANE COUNTY    OFFICERS IO5 


CONTENTS  V 

CHAPTER  X\T 

'old  PEOUIAS"  HOME  OF  THE  FRENXII  AND  INDIANS  FOUNDED  AIIOUT  I763 IN    1778 

THE    NF.W    VILLAGE    WAS    ESTAULISHED    BY    JEAN    BAPTISTE    MAILETT   AND   SINCE 

KNOWN  AS  FORT  CLARK,  THE  PRESENT  CITY  OF  PEORIA THE  VILLAGE  DESTROYED 

IN    1S12 — DESCRIPTION  OF  EARLY   INHABITANTS  AND  THEIR  HOMES — SOME  WHO 
LIVED  IN  OLD  PEORIA SKTTLEM  ICNT  OF  FR1-:N(I1   CLAIMS  TO  TRACTS  OF  LAXD.  .  121 


CHAr'TKR  XVIT 

EARLY   THOROUGHFARES FIRST    ROAD    LAID   OUT    BY    PEORIA    AUTHORITIES — FERRIES 

AND  BRIDGES — DIXON's  FERRY — THE  ILLINt)IS  RIVER — PRIMITIVE  STEAMBOAT- 
ING PEORIA  AN  IMPORTANT  KAll.ROAl)  CENTER — ILLINOIS  TRACTION  SYS- 
TEM      135 


CHAPTER  XYIU 

RELIGIOUS   ORGANIZATIONS    OF    PEORIA    COUNTY THE    CATHOLIC    CHURCH    FIRST    IN 

THE    FIELD THE     METHODISTS     STRONG     IN     THE     FAITH     AND     IN     NUMBERS — 

HISTORY   OF    MANY    CHURCHES  TO    BE    FOUND   IN    THIS    CHAPTER I43 


CHAPTER  XIX 

CONTINUATION  OF  CHURCH  HISTORY — EARLY  METHODISM  IN  PEORIA  COUNTY — 
THE  "shack"  or  LOG  CABIN  HOME  OF  THE  EARLY  SETTLER  THE  MEETING  PLACE 
FOR    THE    CIRCUIT    RIDER    AND    HIS    FLOCK I7I 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  TIME  THAT  TRIED  MEN's  SOULS — AN   INTERESTING  BIT  OF   UNTOLD   HISTORY  AS 
WRITTEN    BY    COLONEL    RICE LINCOLN    AND    JUDGE    KELLOC.C, 203 


CHAPTER  XXr 

THE    CIVIL    WAR — PRESIDENT    LINCOLN    CALLS    FOR    SEVENTY-FIVE    THOUSAND    MEN 
AND    PEORIANS    RESPOND    LOYALLY    AND    HEARTILY— PARTY    LINES    ARE    DIMMED 

AND  PRACTICALLY  ALL  ARE  FOR  THE  UNION ROBERT  G.  INGERSOLL  TENDERS   HIS 

SERVICES  AND  BECOMES   COLONEL  OF  A   REGIMENT COMPLETE   LIST  OF   PEORIA'S 

HEROES — OTHER  WARS — SOLDIERS'  MONUMENTS 213 


CHAPTER  XXn 

THE    TOWNSHIPS    OF    PEORIA    COUNTY^ WHEN    SETTLED    AND    ORGANIZED PIONEER 

FARMERS  AND  INTERESTING  STORIES  TOLD  OF  THEM' — FIRST  SCHOOLS  AND 
CHURCHES BUILDING  OF  TOWNS  AND  VILLAGES — ALL  PROSPEROUS  COMMUNI- 
TIES   261 


vi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

VILLAGE  OF  PEORIA  INCORPORATED  IN    183I FIRST  OFFICIALS VARIOUS  INDUSTRIES 

AND    MERCANTILE    CONCERNS    OF    THAT    TIME EARLY    CHURCHES,    PREACHERS, 

NEWSPAPERS  AND  DIRECTORIES PEORIA  INCORPORATED  AS  A  CITY  IN  WINTER  OF 

1844 — FIRST  OFFICIALS  FOR  WHICH  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  NINETY-SEVEN  VOTES 
WERE  CAST FIRST  AND  PRESENT  PUBLIC  BUILDINGS UTILITIES  AND  GOVERN- 
MENT   OF    THE    CITY — THE     POSTOFFICE 325 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

MEDICAL    PERSONAGES    AND    AFFAIRS    ASSOCIATED    WITH     THE    HISTORY    OF    PEORIA 

COUNTY- — PIONEER    DOCTORS     AND    THEIR    WAYS ^THE     FRATERNITY     AND    THE 

METHODS  OF  ITS  MEMBERS  OF  TODAY  AS  SHOWN  BY  DR.  O.  E.  WILL OSTEOP- 
ATHY     347 

CHAPTER  XXV 

THE    BENCH    AND    EAR FIRST    COURTS,    JUDGES    AND    LAWYERS — AN    INDIAN    TRIED 

FOR  MURDER — SKETCHES  OF  SOME  OF  PEORIA's  FAMOUS  ADVOCATES — ^THE  LATE 
JUDGE  m'cULLOCH's  RECOLLECTIONS DESCRIPTION  OF  LINCOLN-DOUGLAS  DE- 
BATE— COLONEL    ROBERT    G.    INGERSOLL — PEORIA     BAR    ASSOCIATION 365 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  OF  PEORIA BRADLEY   POLYTECHNIC  INSTITUTE PEORIA  PUB- 
LIC   LIBRARY PARK    SYSTEM HOTELS PLACES    OF    AMUSEMENT 387 

CHAPTER  XXVII 

THE  PEORIA    PRESS ^THE   FIRST   EDITOR   A   SCHOLARLY    MAN TRIALS   AND  TRIEULA 

TIONS   OF   THE  PIONEER   PRINTER SKETCHES   OF  THE   VARIOUS    NEWSPAPERS   OF 

THE  CITY THE  PAPERS  OF  THE  DAY  VIE  WITH   ANY   IN  THE  STATE 405 


CHAPTER  XXMII 

ORGANIZATIONS OLD    SETTLERS'    ASSOCIATION THE    PEORIA    WOMEN's    CHRISTIAN 

HOME     MISSION JOHN     C.     PROCTOR     ENDOWMENT YOUNG     MEn's     CHRISTIAN 

ASSOCIATION YOUNG    WOMEN's   CHRISTIAN    ASSOCIATION WOMAN's   CLLHB   AND 

.OTHERS DEACONESS   HOSPITAL FRATERNAL   ORDERS    4I7 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

HI.STORY  OF  BANKING  IN  PEORIA MEN  WHO  TOOK  THE  INITIATIVE  IN  THE  BUSINESS 

FIRST     BANK     BUILDINGS PEORIA     STRONG     IN     ITS     FINANCIAL     CONCERNS 

MODERN    BANKS    AND    BANKING THE    PEORIA    CLEARING    HOUSE 447 


CHAPTER  XXX 

THE    BOARD    OF    TRADE — INDUSTRIAL    PEORIA USES    MORE    CORN    THAN    ANY    CITY 

IN    THE    UNITED    STATES MILLIONS    PAID    THE    GOVERNMENT    YEARLY    IN    REV- 
ENUE  GREAT    MANUF.\CTURING  PLANTS    AND    M.\NV   OF   THEM 461 


^    o 


^O 


PART  ONE 

CHAPTER  I 
THE  BEGINNING  OF  PEORIA 

"Tlie  student  of  history  delights  in  a  good  foundation  on  which  to  start  to 
write  history,  without  which,  it  is  like  beginning  in  the  middle  of  a  story." — 
Rufiis  Blanchard. 

The  history  of  Peoria  is  one  of  unusual  interest.  Emerging  as  it  does  grad- 
ually from  the  dim,  unknown  and  unknowable  past,  it  connects  the  myths,  fable, 
and  fancy  of  the  Indian  with  the  wonderful  things  of  our  modern  life — the 
Piasa  bird  with  the  flying  machine.  At  the  time  when  the  first  persons  who 
were  able  to  write  permanent  and  intelligible  records  of  what  they  saw  and 
heard  visited  this  country,  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Illinois  was  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  "Illinois,"  a  confederacy  composed  of  five  Indian  tribes,  the  Kas- 
kaskias,  Peorias,  Cahokias,  Tamaroas,  and  ^litchigamies.  The  nanne  of  the 
confederacy  is  now  seen  and  will  be  forever  recognized  in  the  names  of  our 
glorious  state  and  our  own  lovely  river  connecting  the  great  lakes  on  the  north 
with  the  great  river,  "Father  of  Waters,"  on  the  west. 

I  feel  inclined  to  call  the  Pe-o'-rias  our  tribes,  because  their  melodious  name 
is  made  imperishable  in  the  name  of  our  own  fair  city  and  our  beautiful  lake. 

The  Kaskaskias,  who  were  the  strongest  tribe  of  the  confederacy,  have 
given  their  name  to  one  of  the  largest  rivers  in  Illinois  and  also  to  the  first 
capital  of  the  state. 

The  Cahokias  are  remembered  in  the  name  of  a  town  near  St.  Louis  which, 
in  many  ways,  is  closely  connected  with  the  history  of  Peoria. 

Sixty  miles  southeast  of  St.  Louis  the  City  of  Tamaroa  perpetuates  the 
memory  of  another  tribe  and  the  Mitchigamies  have  given  their  name  to  the 
great  lake  on  our  north-eastern  borders. 

Thus,  although  the  melancholy  tale  of  the  sufferings  and  extermination  of 
these  Indians  is  read  in  the  setting  sun,  their  names  will  remind  us  forever  of 
those  who  were  here  before  the  coming  of  the  white  men. 

When  the  first  missionary  asked  the  Indians  what  they  were  called,  they 
replied  that  they  were  "Illini"  saying  the  word  meant  perfect,  manly  men. 
The  missionaries  added  the  letters  "ois"  a  French  termination  meaning  a  race 
or  tribe;  hence  the  word  "Illinois"  means  a  race  of  perfect  manly  men.  May 
it  long  be  truly  characteristic  of  those  who  shall  live  within  our  boimdaries ! 

Peoria  is  situated  near  forty  degrees  and  forty  minutes  north. 

Peorians  sometimes  complain  of  the  climate.  It  does  occasionally  change 
a  great  many  degrees  in  a  short  time  but  it  changes  more  rapidly  in  some  other 
places  in  the  temperate  zone.  Of  course,  in  the  far  north  it  is  always  cold  and 
in  the  torrid  zone  it  is  always  hot  and  little  change  either  place  and  for  some 
ailments  of  persons  of  delicate  health  the  Peoria  climate  is  not  suitable,  but 
for  persons  in  good  health,  it  is  probably  as  healthy  a  climate  as  can  be  found 
anywhere  and  it  is  believed  that  for  the  majority  of  such  persons  there  is  no 
climate  more  desirable. 

If  we  desire  to  learn  what  other  places  are  situated  in  our  latitude  and  would 
follow  our  latitude  eastward,  we  would  pass  near  Logansport,   Indiana ;  Lima 

1 


2  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

and  Canton,  Ohio ;  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania  and  a  little  south  of  New  York 
City ;  crossing  the  Atlantic,  we  would  land  about  one-third  of  the  way  down 
on  the  coast  of  Portugal ;  pass  near  .Madrid,  Spain ;  pass  through  the  north  end 
of  Sardena;  then  near  Naples  and  Brindisi  in  Italy;  Salonika  in  Greece;  near 
Constantinople  and  Erzerum ;  near  Baku  on  the  western  side  of  the  Caspian,  the 
great  oil  country ;  then  in  Central  Asia ;  near  Bokahra  and  Samarkand  in  the 
Steppes  of  Central  Asia  where  it  is  often  fifty  degrees  below  zero  in  winter 
and  of  tropical  heat  in  summer,  although  it  is  about  the  same  latitude  as  Peoria ; 
then  near  Peking,  China;  within  sixty  miles  of  the  north  end  of  the  great  Jap- 
anese island  of  Nipon;  and  crossing  the  Pacific  land  on  the  Pacific  coast  about 
half  way  between  San  Francisco  and  the  southern  boundary  of  Oregon ;  then 
near  Salt  Lake  City,  the  northern  line  of  Colorado ;  through  Lincoln,  Nebraska ; 
and  Burlington,  Iowa,  to  Peoria. 

Peoria  is  eighty-nine  degrees  and  forty  minutes  west  of  Greenwich.  If  we 
would  follow  that  degree  of  longitude  south,  we  would  pass  near  Cairo.  Mem- 
phis and  New  Orleans  and  out  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  five  hundred  miles  west 
of  Panama,  going  past  the  South  pole  and  coming  north  on  the  opposite  parallel, 
we  would  pass  near  Calcutta ;  Lasso,  the  great  religious  center  of  Thibet,  the 
holy  capital  city  of  the  Buddhists ;  thence  through  Siberia  to  the  North  pole 
and  from  there  down  on  this  side  of  the  earth,  through  the  center  of  the  west 
one-third  of  Hudson  Bay  and  through  the  west  one-third  of  Lake  Superior. 

The  contour  of  the  earth's  surface  in  this  valley  of  the  Illinois  was  of  course, 
the  same  when  first  seen  by  white  men  as  it  is  now ;  but  in  some  portions  of  it, 
swamps,  the  ancient  habitant  of  ducks  and  wild  geese,  beavers  and  muskrats, 
have  been  drained  and  turned  into  the  most  valuable  of  farms,  gardens  and 
orchards,  happy  homes  for  happy  families.  This  section  of  Illinois  is  very  pro- 
ductive, well  watered  and  well  supplied  with  coal  and  it  will  receive  attention 
in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

The  vegetation  has  greatly  changed.  At  that  time,  along  the  rivers  and  the 
ravines  leading  to  them,  there  were  forests  of  hickory,  oak,  elm,  walnut,  locust, 
ash,  Cottonwood,  hard  maple  or  sugar  trees,  soft  maple,  wild  cherry,  red  haws, 
black  haws,  pers'mmons  and  pawpaws,  together  with  wild  plums,  crab  apples, 
blackberries,  raspberries,  grapes,  strawberries  and  gooseberries ;  and  away  from 
the  streams  were  broad  prairies  covered  with  a  kind  of  coarse  tall  prairie  grass 
— the  seed  stems  of  which  were  six  or  eight  feet  high — interspersed  with  rosin 
weeds  and  with  a  blue  flower  so  that  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year  the  prairies 
seemed  blue  and  purple,  and  in  other  seasons,  gray,  green  or  yellow.  This  vegeta- 
tion, we  are  told  by  early  pioneers,  grew  so  high  that  horsemen  on  the  level  prairies 
two  or  three  hundred  yards  apart  could  not  see  each  other ;  and  when  in  full 
growth,  it  was  waved  by  the  summer  breeze  like  the  rolling  billows  of  the  deep 
ocean,  blue  and  green,  very  beautiful  and  enchanting.  Some  of  these  prairies 
were  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  wide  and  some  of  them  extended  in  all  directions 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  If  at  the  season  of  the  year  when  this  prairie 
grass  was  dry,  it  happened  purposely  or  accidentally  to  be  ignited,  the  confla- 
gration was  at  once  terrible  and  magnificent,  and  could  be  seen  for  a  score  of 
miles.  All  these  varieties  of  trees  may  still  be  found  in  reduced  numbers  here 
and  there,  along  the  streams,  but  the  prairie  grass,  the  golden  rosin  weeds,  and 
the  purple  flowers  are  almost  entirely  things  of  the  past  though  a  specimen  may 
be  found  here  and  there,  perhaps,  in  some  country  church  yard  that  has  never 
been  cultivated  or  pastured. 

The  Illinois  valley  was  from  its  earliest  history  known  to  be  a  remarkable 
producer  of  Indian  corn.  It  seems  to  have  been  "The  Corn  Belt"  from  the  very 
start.  The  Indians  also  cultivated  beans,  melons  and  squashes.  The  productive- 
ness of  this  part  of  the  country  was  recognized  from  the  beginning  by  the  In- 
dians in  the  name  they  gave  their  village,  Peori.^.  which  signifies  "The  Land 
of  Fat  Beasts."  Marquette  says  of  it  that  his  party  had  seen  nothing  like  the 
Illinois  valley  for  fertility. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  3 

The  animals  consisted  chiefly  of  the  bison  wliich  roamed  in  immense  herds, 
numbering  thouscUids.  These  when  stampeded  could  neither  be  stopped  nor 
turned  aside,  and  one's  only  safety  was  to  escape  out  of  their  way.  The  bison 
were  generally  mis-called  bulYalo  by  the  inhabitants.  They  were  not  much  like 
the  bufifalo.  They  were  called  "cattle"  by  some  of  the  early  missionaries  and 
explorers  but  they  were  not  cattle  in  the  sense  in  which  we  now  use  the  word. 
They  were  a  separate  and  distinct  species  peculiar  to  this  part  of  the  world. 
What  we  now  call  cattle  in  this  country  were  lirst  brought  over  to  America  by 
Columl)us  on  his  second  voyage  and  from  that  time  on  were  frequently 
imported  by  the  Spaniards.  The  bison  were  not  valuable  as  dairy  animals; 
they  furnished  very  little  milk,  although  what  they  did  give  was  rich 
and  good.  Moreover,  notwithstanding  what  Hennepin  says,  they  probably  were 
not,  and  could  not  have  been  made  useful  as  draft  animals  or  for  any  domestic 
purposes.  Some  of  the  early  missionaries  and  pioneers  tried  to  take  them  when 
young  and  train  them  for  draft  purposes  but  on  reaching  their  growth,  they 
would  often  run  away  to  join  any  herd  of  their  wild  roving  kindred  coming 
into  the  neighborhood  ;  si.x  months  afterward  they  might  be  found  with  the  herd 
with  their  halters  or  harness  still  on  them.  From  the  earliest  time  of  which  we 
have  any  knowledge  they  were  extremely  numerous  but  about  the  time  the 
Indian  left,  they  all  migrated  to  the  west  in  a  body  apparently  and  our  Illinois 
country  knew  them  no  more.     Their  departure  was  sudden  and  complete. 

The  Indians  had  no  horses.  These  too  were  brought  over  from  Europe  by 
the  Spaniards,  and  probably  by  others  of  the  white  race.  They  eventually 
became  numerous ;  and  at  the  present  time  large  herds  of  wild  horses,  the  de- 
scendants of  the  early  importations,  are  found  on  some  of  our  western  plains. 
These  wild  horses  or  ponies  are  smaller  than  those  in  our  domestic  use,  but 
hardy  and  enduring,  and  cattle  ranchers  use  them  because  they  can  live  on  the 
short  grass  of  our  semi-arid  plains  summer  and  winter  without  other  food  or 
shelter.  It  was  only  after  the  Indians  obtained  and  learned  to  use  them,  that 
they  were  able  to  inhabit  or  migrate  across  the  prairies. 

Bears  were  to  be  found  and  the  Indians  greatly  prized  their  meat  for  food. 
There  were  also  turkeys,  ducks,  geese,  rabbits  and  foxes.  The  bears  and  foxes 
are  gone.  The  wolves  that  then  abounded  are  now  very  scarce  and  rapidly 
passing  away.  There  were  wild  pigeons  by  the  million  but  these  are  jow  no 
more.  There  were  prairie  chickens  but  now  one  can  seldom  be  found.  There 
doubtless  were  c|uail  and  we  still  have  them  as  well  as  the  rabbits  among  us; 
and  thanks  to  our  game  laws,  the  quail  may  be  preserved,  for  although  they 
are  not  a  domestic  bird  they  do  not  seem  to  flee  from  civilization. 

It  is  not  known  that  the  Indians  had  any  domestic  animal  except  prol>al)ly 
the  dog. 

The  rivers,  especially  the  Illinois,  were  at  that  time  as  now,  filled  with  an 
al)un<iance  of  the  finest  kind  of  fish  and  they  were  largely  used  for  food  by  the 
Indians. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  ABORIGINES 

"There's  a  sweetness  in  thy  name, 

Illinois,  Illinois! 
That  betrays  from  whence  it  came, 

Illinois,  Illinois! 
Soft  and  mellow  are  its  sounds, 
Loved  beyond  thy  river  bounds, 
Land  of  prairies  and  of  mounds, 

Illinois,  Illinois! 
Land  of  prairies  and  of  mounds, 

Illinois,   Illinois !" 

There  is  indeed  music  in  the  word  Illinois   (Ill-i-noi). 

Historians  agree  that  the  Indians  who  were  in  the  valley  of  the  Illinois  when 
it  was  first  visited  by  the  missionaries  were  neither  the  original  inhabitants  nor 
their  descendants,  but  that  this  whole  country  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi 
river  comprising  the  states  of  Missouri,  Iowa,  Illinois,  Ohio,  and  Indiana,  to- 
gether with  some  other  northern  states  and  also  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  were 
formerly  inhabited  by  a  race  which  has  either  perished  from  the  earth  or,  going 
farther  south  became  the  forefathers  of  the  Aztecs,  Toltecs  and  other  ancient 
peoples  of  Mexico  and  Central  America.  This  early  race  has  received  the  name 
of  Mound  Builders  because  mound  building  was  one  of  their  chief  characteris- 
tics and  the  one  by  which  we  now  know  of  their  existence.  Their  mounds  are 
found  without  number  in  Ohio  and  other  central  western  states.  Many  scores 
of  them  are  found  opposite  St.  Louis  on  the  Illinois  side  of  the  Mississippi 
river  and  some  within  the  boundaries  of  St.  Louis  itself.  Some  such  mounds 
have  been  seen  by  the  writer  in  Arizona.  There  are  some  smaller  mounds  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Illinois  river  near  Peoria  and  some  within  Peoria  County  near 
Chillicothe. 

These  ancient  people  seem  to  have  been  tillers  of  the  soil,  and  from  the  rec- 
ords which  they  have  left,  such  as  they  are,  ethnologists  have  concluded  that 
they  did  not  live  chiefly  by  hunting  or  fishing.  It  is  thought  that  the  buffalo 
were  not  here  in  their  day.  Whence  the  mound  builders  came  or  whither  they 
have  gone  is  as  yet  a  matter  of  conjecture.  It  is  an  interesting  study  which  the 
limits  of  our  history  do  not  permit  us  to  pursue. 

Mankind  in  ancient  times  and  in  many  ancient  countries  as  well  as  in 
Mexico  have  built  mounds  of  somewhat  similar  character,  sometimes  building 
of  stone,  sometimes  of  sunburnt  brick.  In  North  America,  they  are  often 
built  in  terraces,  the  lowest  part  reaching  a  height  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet, 
upon  which  one  or  more  smaller  mounds  are  superimposed,  as  is  the  case 
with  the  great  Cahokia  Mound.  They  are  supposed  to  have  been  built  as  places 
of  religious  worship  and  those  who  have  built  them  are  generally  supposed  to 
have  been  worshippers  of  the  sun. 

There  are  many  of  these  mounds  in  the  United  States,  some  of  them  being 
regular  and  perfect  pyramids   or  cones   of   earth,   not    faced   with   stone.     The 


6  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

largest  group  is  situated  on  the  level  plain  of  the  rich  lowland  bordering  the 
Mississippi  opposite  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  within  the  bounds  of  our  own  Illinois 
confederacy  at  the  time  of  the  first  discoveries.  In  the  midst  of  this  plain 
where  its  width  is  ten  or  twelve  miles,  there  are  still  to  be  seen  remains  of  a 
mound  builders'  city,  which  in  the  interest,  and  extent  of  its  ruin  will  compare 
favorably  with  anything  of  the  kind  in  the  world.  There  are  a  great  number 
of  mounds  and  earthworks  there.  In  the  midst  stands  the  great  Cahokia  pyra- 
mid, which,  though  not  so  high  is  said  to  be  larger  in  the  amount  of  ground  it 
covers  than  the  largest  of  the  pyramids  of  Eg}'pt  and  reaches  a  height  of  one 
hundred  and  two  feet.  It  covers  an  area  of  sixteen  acres.  Three  sides,  the 
north,  south  and  east,  still  retain  their  straight  lines.  The  other  has  been  some- 
what washed  away,  probably  by  rains  and  from  the  pasturing  of  cattle  on  the 
sides.  From  the  terrace,  a  well  eighty  feet  in  depth  penetrates  the  base  of  the 
structure,  which  is  seen  to  be  composed  almost  wholly  of  the  black  sticky  soil 
of  the  surrounding  plain.  This  is  not  an  oval  mound  but  a  pyramid  with  straight 
sides.     A  picture  of  it  is  presented  on  the  adjoining  page. 

We  may  readily  suppose  that  this  large  mound  was  built  by  manual  labor, 
the  earth  being  simply  carried  and  deposited  in  a  pile. 

The  curious  may  study  further  details  in  regard  to  the  Cahokia  Mound  in 
"The  Antiquities  of  Cahokia"  where  it  is  described  by  Breckinridge  who  visited 
it   in   1811. 

The  mounds  in  Illinois  have  never  been  as  thoroughly  investigated  as  we 
could  wish,  but  among  the  works  of  similar  and  probably  related  pre-historic 
people  is  a  mound  which  the  writer  has  seen  in  Arizona  about  seven  hundred 
or  eight  hundred  feet  long  and  half  as  broad  and  probably  twenty-five  feet 
high,  about  ten  miles  northeast  of  Phoenix.  It  has  been  explored  by  several 
reliable  parties  and  reports  of  their  explorations  may  be  seen  in  the  office  of 
the  Smithsonian  Tnstitution. 

The  ancient  cliff  dwellers  may  have  belonged  to  the  same  or  a  similar  race. 
Neither  thev  nor  the  INIound  Builders  seem  to  have  known  anything  of  the  use 
of  iron.  They  and  the  Mound  Builders  had  all  disappeared  before  the  Indians 
came  who  occupied  that  territory  both  in  Illinois  and  Arizona  when  first  dis- 
covered by  white  men  as  appears  from  the  fact  that  the  Indians  of  Illinois  when 
first  seen  by  white  men  were  unable  to  tell  anything  about  the  builders  of  any 
of  the  mounds,  or  the  houses  of  the  cliff  dwellers,  or  when  they  were  built,  or 
why.     They  seem  in  fact  hardly  to  have  noticed  their  existence. 

Among'  other  remains  of  these  prehistoric  people  are  painted  rocks,  with 
their  scarcelv  intelligible  records.  The  most  remarkable  of  these  pictographs 
in  Illinois  were  found  between  Alton  and  the  mouth  of  the  lUlinois  river  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Piasa  (pronounced  Pi"-a-saw )  Creek.  They  are  the  two  pictures 
of  the  Piasa  Bird— half  dragon  and  half  bird— cut  into  the  rock  one  hundred 
feet  up  the  face  of  the  cliff  and  painted  in  extremely  durable  colors  of  green, 
red,  and  black.  Near  these  pictures  of  the  Piasa  bird  there  were  several  pic- 
torial writings  which  archaeologists  think  they  are  able  to  interpret.  Who 
will  be  the  Champollian  who  shall  read  these  Rosetta  stones?  Unfortunately 
the  Piasa  bird  and  other  ]3ictographs  in  that  neighborhood  are  now  gone  for- 
ever for  within  the  last  generation  those  bluffs  have  been  quarried  by  the  m- 
mates  of  the  Alton  penite'ntiary  to  obtain  rock  to  manufacture  lime.  However, 
several  earlv  copies  were  made  and  are  to  be  found  in  books  of  history  and 
romance.  The  picture  of  the  Piasa  bird  as  described  by  Marquette  and  copied 
from  the  drawing  which  he  is  said  to  have  made  is  given  on  an  adjoining  page. 

^larquette,  who  was  the  first  white  man  to  see  it,  gives  the  following  de- 
scription :  t    •  1  J 

"As  we  coasted  along  rocks  (near  Alton),  frightful  for  their  height  and 
length,  we  saw  two  monsters  painted  on  one  of  these  rocks,  which  startled  us 
at  first,  and  on  which  the  boldest  Indian  dare  not  gaze  long.  They  are  as  large 
as  a  calf,  with  horns  on  the  head  like  a  deer,  a  fearful  look,  red  eyes,  bearded 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  7 

like  a  tiger,  the  face  somewhat  Hke  a  man's,  the  body  covered  with  scales,  and 
the  tail  so  long  that  it  twice  makes  the  turn  of  the  body,  passing  over  the  head 
and  down  between  the  legs,  and  ending  at  last  in  a  fish's  tail.  Green,  red,  and 
a  kind  of  black,  are  the  colors  employed.  On  the  whole,  these  two  monsters 
are  so  well  painted  that  we  conld  not  believe  any  Indian  to  have  been  the 
designer,  as  good  painters  in  France  would  find  it  hard  to  do  as  well ;  besides 
this,  they  are  so  high  ui)on  the  rock  that  it  is  hard  to  get  conveniently  at  them 
to  paint  them.  This  is  prettv  nearh-  the  tigure  of  these  monsters,  as  I  drew 
it  off." 

The  pictures  of  that  Piasa  Bird  as  seen  by  white  men  before  the  rocks  were 
destroyed  were  much  larger  than  calves.  Marquette  must  have  been  deceived 
by  the  distance  they  were  from  his  canoes. 

The  Piasa  Bird,  on  account  of  its  being  such  a  work  of  art  and  so  terrible, 
has  become  the  subject  of  traditions  amongst  the  Indians  since  Marquette's 
time,  but  such  traditions  as  ignorant  and  imaginative  people  might  originate 
themselves.  It  is  possibly  worth  our  time  to  relate  one  of'  these  traditions.  It 
is  as  follows : 

"Many  thousand  moons  before  the  arrival  of  the  pale  faces,  when  the  great 
Magalonyx  and  Mastodon,  whose  bones  are  now  dug  up,  were  still  living  in  the 
land  of  green  prairies,  there  existed  a  bird  of  such  dimensions  that  he  could 
easily  carry  oft'  in  his  talons  a  full-grown  deer.  Having  obtained  a  taste  for 
human  flesh,  from  that  time  he  would  prey  on  nothing  else.  He  was  as  artful 
as  he  was  powerful,  and  would  dart  suddenl}-  and  unex])ectcdly  upon  an 
Indian,  bear  him  oft'  into  one  of  the  caves  of  the  bluft'.  and  devour  him.  Hun- 
dreds of  warriors  attempted  for  years  to  destroy  him,  but  without  success. 
Whole  villages  were  nearly  depopulated,  and  consternation  spread  through  all 
the  tribes  of  the  Illini. 

"Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  Ouatogo,  the  great  chief  of  the  Illini, 
whose  fame  extended  beyond  the  great  lakes,  separating  himself  from  the  rest 
of  his  tribe,  fasted  in  solitude  for  the  space  of  a  whole  moon,  and  prayed  to 
the  Great  Spirit,  the  Master  of  Life,  that  he  would  protect  his  children  from 
the  Piasa. 

"On  the  last  night  of  the  fast  the  Great  Spirit  appeared  to  Ouatogo  in  a 
dream,  and  directed  him  to  select  twenty  of  his  bravest  warriors,  each  armed 
with  a  bow  and  poisoned  arrows,  and  conceal  them  in  a  designated  spot.  Near 
the  place  of  concealment  another  warrior  was  to  stand  in  open  view,  as  a  victim 
for  the  Piasa,  which  they  must  shoot  the  instant  he  pounced  upon  his  prey. 

"When  the  chief  awoke  in  the  morning,  he  thanked  the  Great  Spirit,  and 
returning  to  his  tribe  told  them  his  vision.  The  warriors  were  C|uickly  selected 
and  placed  in  ambush  as  directed.  Ouatogo  offered  himself  as  the  victim.  He 
was  willing  to  die  for  his  people.  Placing  himself  in  open  view  on  the  bluff's, 
he  soon  saw  the  Piasa  perched  on  the  cliff  eyeing  his  prey.  The  chief  drew  up 
his  manly  form  to  his  utmost  height,  and,  planting  his  feet  firmly  upon  the 
earth,  he  began  to  chant  the  deathsong  of  an  Indian  warrior.  The  moment  after, 
the  Piasa  arose  into  the  air,  and  swift  as  the  thunderbolt  darted  down  on  his 
victim.  Scarcely  had  the  horrid  creature  reached  his  prey  before  every  bow 
was  sprung  and  every  arrow  was  sent  c|uivering  to  the  feather  into  his  body. 
The  Piasa  uttered  a  fearful  scream,  that  sounded  far  over  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river,  and  expired.  Ouatogo  was  unharmed.  Not  an  arrow,  not  even 
the  talons  of  the  bird,  had  touched  him.  The  Master  of  Life,  in  admiration 
of  Ouatogo's  deed,  had  held  over  him  an  invisible  shield. 

"There  was  the  wildest  rejoicing  among  the  Illini,  and  the  brave  chief  was 
carried  in  triumph  to  the  council  house,  where  it  was  solemnly  agreed  that  in 
memorv  of  the  great  event  in  their  nation's  history,  the  image  of  the  Pia.sa 
should  be  engraved  on  the  bluff. 

"Such  is  the  Indian  tradition.  Of  course  I  cannot  vouch  for  its  truth.  This 
much,  however,  is  certain,  that  the  figure  of  a  huge  bird,  out  in  the  solid  rock, 
is  still  there,  and  at  a  height  that  is  perfectly  inaccessible. 


8  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

"How  and  for  what  purpose  it  was  made  I  leave  it  for  others  to  determine. 
Even  at  this  day  an  Indian  never  passes  the  spot  in  his  canoe  without  firing  his 
gun  at  the  figure  of  the  Piasa.  The  marks  of  the  balls  on  the  rock  are  almost 
innumerable." 

These  works  of  the  ])re-historic  races  are  interesting  to  us  because  they  are 
within  the  territory  occupied  by  our  Illinois  confederacy,  and  the  story  of  the 
Piasa  bird  because  it  was  probably  the  invention  of  the  Illinois  and  had  the 
chief  of  that  tribe  for  its  hero.  The  fact  that  the  Indians  who  were  here  when 
Marquette  and  other  missionaries  came  really  knew  nothing  about  these  old 
ruins  leads  archaeologists  to  believe  that  the  mound  builders  had  gone  long 
before  our  tribes  came,  as  otherwise  our  tribes  would  probably  have  had  some 
tradition  of  their  presence  or  of  how  they  were  driven  out.  The  mound  builders 
seem  to  have  enjoyed  a  higher  state  of  civilization  than  the  Indian  tribes  who 
succeeded  them.     Sic  transit  gloria  miuidi. 

The  Indians  who  were  found  here  were  a  barbarous  and  savage  race,  as 
were  most  of  those  then  found  within  the  present  territory  of  the  United 
States,  though  our  tribes  were  probably  not  so  fierce  and  brutal  as  many  others. 
Much  as  we  most  sincerely  regret  the  fate  of  the  Indians  who  seem  to  be  passing 
away,  the  author — as  a  present  representative  of  a  family  which,  for  seven 
generations,  has  lived  each  generation  on  the  Indian  frontier, — may  be  pardoned 
if  he  suggests  that  there  seems  to  have  been  some  excuse  for  the  maxim  of  the 
old  pioneers  that  "there  were  no  good  Indians  but  dead  Indians."  This,  like  all 
rules,  of  course,  is  to  be  understood  with  its  exceptions,  some  of  which  will 
have  attention  later.  There  were  some  noble  red  men,  and  many  of  them  were 
barbarously  treated  by  infamous  white  men.  It  is  a  painful  fact  that  the  selfish, 
cunning  and  strong  from  that  day  to  this  have  always  imposed  upon,  trodden 
down  and  destroyed  the  weak,  unwary  and  unwise,  whether  white,  red  or  black, 
and  are  doing  it  in  our  very  midst  to-day  notwithstanding  all  our  efiforts  and 
all  our  constitutions  and  laws  made  to  prevent  it. 

The  laws  of  nature  and  the  laws  of  God.  which  are  the  same  thing,  forbid 
that  the  magnificent  prairies  and  forests  with  which  He  has  blessed  mankind 
should  be  permitted  to  remain  in  their  primitive  state  as  pasture  ground  for 
bison  and  bears  in  order  to  accommodate  Indians  who  were  unwilling  to  work, 
thus  violating  God's  first  command  to  man — "In  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou 
eat  bread" — while  men  who  are  willing  to  work  and  who  can  make  one  acre 
produce  more  food  than  an  Indian  obtained  from  a  whole  section  must  be  al- 
lowed to  go  hungry.  The  Indians  had  no  title  to  the  land,  and  they  could  not 
use  it.  They  did  not  even  have  possession  of  any  of  it  except  for  villages  in 
which  they  made  no  valuable  improvements.  They  lived  here  and  there. 
Wherever"  thev  could  find  fishing,  they  set  up  their  wigwams  or  built  little 
cabins  sometimes  of  logs  plastered  with  mud  and  covered  with  grass. 

We  must  also  remember  that  the  first  white  men  that  came  to  visit  the 
Indians  came  for  the  purpose  of  teaching  them  a  better  mode  of  living,  a  thing 
they  needed  to  know  but  were  very  slow  to  learn. 

The  most  beautiful  parts  of  Virginia  and  Kentucky,  the  Shenandoah  \'alley 
and  the  P>lue  Grass  region  of  Kentucky  were  never  settled  by  the  Indians  at 
all  but  were  left  wildernesses  and  were  the  constant  scenes  of  their  internecine 
wars,  savages  fighting  savages  in  a  war  of  destruction  and  extermination,  and 
this  before  ever  the  white  men  came.  The  name  Kentucky,  which  the  Indians 
gave  to  that  country  meant  in  their  language  "the  dark  and  bloody  ground" 
and  they  had  made  it  such,  while  now  to  many  "the  old  Kentucky  Home"  is 
the  most  heavenly  place  on  earth. 

Nor  can  the  white  men  be  charged  with  killing  ofif  the  Indians  by  fightmg 
them;  for  between  the  time  the  first  white  men  came  and  the  time  when  they 
could  exert  any  influence  over  the  Indians  or  fight  them  aggressively,  many 
more  Indians  were  killed  by  Indians  than  were  ever  killed  by  white  men. 

It  is   the  usual  characteristic   of  all   Indian   warriors  that  they   indulged   in 


'■-^^.^ 


IIORSHOR  MILL,   KASI'   SIDK   ( IK  PEOIUA  LAKK 


^-^Sr 


■*t*?^^^^" 


^^^^^" 


KUKAl'OO   ROAD   SCENE— OLD   LOi;    HI    T 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  9 

polygamy,  made  slaves  of  their  squaws,  refusing  to  work  themselves,  tortured 
their  captives,  offered  human  sacrifices  to  their  pagan  gods  and  fought  neigh- 
boring tribes  to  extermination. 

THE    PEORIAS 

VVe  are  now  ready  to  be  introduced  to  the  Peorias  and  as  it  is  the  first  time 
that  we  have  met  them  and  as  Marquette  is  our  only  mutual  friend,  we  will 
permit  him  to  introduce  us  in  his  own  way. 

The  time  is  the  25th  of  June,  1673;  the  place,  the  western  bank  of  the 
Mississippi,  between  Burlington  and  I'^ort  Madison  at  the  mouth  of  the  Des 
Moines. 

Manjuette's  introduction  is  somewhat  long  but  very  interesting  and  he  gives 
us  a  pretty  good  description  of  their  manner  of  life  and  their  hospitality.  Al- 
though neither  he  nor  Joliet  had  ever  met  this  tribe,  each  party  had  learned 
something  of  the  other  through  the  traders  and  Marquette  and  Joliet  under- 
stood to  some  extent  the  languages  of  the  Indians  in  this  part  of  the  country. 
In  his  own  words  as  translated  for  our  better  understanding  by  John  G.  Shea, 
Marquette  says : 

"We  advanced  constantly,  but  as  we  did  not  know  where  we  were  going, 
having  already  made  more  than  a  hundred  leagues  without  having  discovered 
anything  but  beasts  and  birds,  we  kept  well  on  our  guard.  Accordingly  we 
made  only  a  little  fire  on  the  shore  at  night  to  prepare  our  meal,  and  after  sup- 
per kept  as  far  from  it  as  possible,  passing  the  night  in  our  canoes,  which  we 
anchored  in  the  river  pretty  far  from  the  bank.  Even  this  did  not  prevent  one 
of  us  from  always  serving  as  a  sentinel,  for  fear  of  a  surprise. 

"At  last,  on  the  25th  of  June,  w-e  perceived  footprints  of  men  by  the  water- 
side, and  a  beaten  path  entering  a  beautiful  prairie.  We  stopped  to  examine  it, 
and  concluding  that  it  was  a  path  leading  to  some  Indian  village,  we  resolved 
to  go  and  reconnoitre ;  we  accordingly  left  our  two  canoes  in  charge  of  our 
people,  cautioning  them  strictly  to  beware  of  a  surprise;  then  M.  Jollyet  and  I 
undertook  this  rather  hazardous  discovery  for  two  single  men.  who  thus  put 
themselves  at  the  discretion  of  an  unknown  and  barbarous  people.  VVe  fol- 
lowed the  little  path  in  silence,  and  having  advanced  about  two  leagues,  we 
discovered  a  village  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  two  others  on  a  hill,  half  a 
league  from  the  former. 

"Then,  indeed,  we  recommended  ourselves  to  God,  with  all  our  hearts  ;  and, 
having  implored  His  help,  we  passed  on  undiscovered,  and  came  so  near  that 
we  even  heard  the  Indians  talking.  We  then  deemed  it  time  to  announce  our- 
selves, as  we  did  by  a  cry,  which  we  raised  with  all  our  strength,  and  then 
halted  without  advancing  any  farther.  At  this  cry  the  Indians  rushed  out  of 
their  cabins,  and  having  probably  recognized  us  as  French,  especially  seeing  a 
black  gown,  or  at  least  having  no  reason  to  distrust  us,  seeing  we  were  but  two, 
and  had  made  known  our  coming,  they  deputed  four  old  men  to  come  and 
speak  with  us.  Two  carried  tol)acco-])ipes  well-adorned,  and  trimmed  with 
many  kinds  of  feathers.  They  marched  slowly,  lifting  their  pipes  toward  the 
sun  as  if  offering  them  to  him'to  smoke,  but  yet  without  uttering  a  single  word. 
They  were  a  long  time  coming  the  little  way  from  the  village  to  us.  Having 
reached  us  at  last,  they  stopped  to  consider  us  attentively.  I  now  took  courage, 
seeing  these  ceremonies,  which  are  used  by  them  only  with  friends,  and  still 
more  on  seeing  them  covered  with  stuffs,  which  made  me  to  judge  them  to 
be  allies.  I,  therefore,  spoke  to  them  first,  and  asked  them  who  they  were; 
they  answered  that  they  were  Illinois,  and,  in  token  of  jjeace,  they  presented 
their  pipes  to  smoke.  The\-  then  invited  us  to  their  village  where  all  the  tribe 
awaited  us  with  impatience.'  These  pipes  for  smoking  are  called  in  the  country, 
calumets,  a  word  that  is  so  much  in  use  that  I  shall  be  obliged  to  employ  it 
in  order  to  be  understood,  as  I  shall  have  to  speak  of  it  freciuently. 


10  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

■'At  the  door  of  the  cabin  in  which  we  were  to  be  received,  was  an  old  man 
awaiting  us  in  a  very  remarkable  posture,  which  is  their  usual  ceremony  in 
receiving  strangers.  This  man  was  standing,  perfectly  naked,  with  his  hands 
stretched  out  and  raised  toward  the  sun,  as  if  he  wished  to  screen  himself 
from  its  rays,  which  nevertheless  passed  through  his  fingers  to  his  face.  When 
we  came  near  him,  he  paid  us  this  compliment:  "How  beautiful  is  the  sun,  O 
Frenchman,  when  thou  comest  to  visit  us  I  All  our  town  awaits  thee,  and  thou 
shalt  enter  all  our  cabins  in  peace."  He  then  took  us  into  his  cabin  where  there  was 
a  crowd  of  people,  who  devoured  us  with  their  eyes,  but  kept  a  profound 
silence.  We  heard,  however,  these  words  occasionally  addressed  to  us :  'Well 
done,  brothers,  to  visit  us !' 

"As  soon  as  we  had  taken  our  places,  they  showed  us  the  usual  civility  of 
the  country,  which  is  to  present  the  calumet.  You  must  not  refuse  it,  unless 
you  would  pass  for  an  enemy,  or  at  least  for  being  impolite.  It  is,  however, 
enough  to  pretend  to  smoke.  While  all  the  old  men  smoked  after  us  to  honor 
us,  some  came  to  invite  us  on  behalf  of  the  great  sachem  of  all  the  Illinois  to 
proceed  to  his  town,  where  he  wished  to  hold  a  council  with  us.  We  w-ent  with 
a  good  retinue,  for  all  the  people  who  had  never  seen  a  Frenchman  among 
them  could  not  tire  looking  at  us ;  they  threw  themselves  on  the  grass  by  the 
wayside,  they  ran  ahead,  then  turned  and  walked  back  to  see  us  again.  All  this 
was  done  without  noise,  and  with  marks  of  a  great  respect  entertained  for  us. 

"Having  arrived  at  the  great  sachem's  town,  we  espied  liim  at  his  cabin-door, 
between  two  old  men,  all  three  standing  naked,  with  their  calumet  turned  to 
the  sun.  He  harangued  us  in  a  few  words,  to  congratulate  us  on  our  arrival, 
and  then  presented  us  his  calumet  and  made  us  smoke ;  at  the  same  time  we 
entered  his  cabin,  where  we  received  all  their  usual  greetings.  Seeing  all 
assembled  and  in  silence,  I  spoke  to  them  by  four  presents  which  I  made:  by 
the  first,  I  said  that  we  marched  in  peace  to  visit  the  nations  on  the  river  to 
the  sea;  by  the  second,  I  declared  to  them  that  God  their  Creator  had  pity  on 
them,  since,  after  their  having  been  so  long  ignorant  of  Him,  He  wished  to 
become  known  to  all  nations ;  that  I  was  sent  on  His  behalf  with  this  design ; 
that  it  was  for  them  to  acknowledge  and  obey  Him ;  by  the  third,  that  the  great 
chief  of  the  French  informed  them  that  he  spread  peace  everywhere,  and  had 
overcome  the  Iroquois.  Lastly,  by  the  fourth,  we  begged  them  to  give  us  all 
the  information  they  had  of  the  sea,  and  of  the  nations  through  which  we 
should  have  to  pass  to  reach  it. 

"When  I  had  finished  my  speech,  the  sachem  rose,  and  laying  his  hand  on 
the  head  of  a  little  slave,  whom  he  was  about  to  give  us,  spoke  thus:  T  thank 
thee,  Blackgown,  and  thee.  Frenchman,'  addressing  M.  Jollyet,  "for  taking  so 
much  pains  to  come  and  visit  us ;  never  has  the  earth  been  so  beautiful,  nor  the 
sun  so  bright,  as  today;  never  has  our  river  been  so  calm,  nor  so  free  from 
rocks,  which  your  canoes  have  removed  as  they  passed ;  never  has  our  tobacco 
had  so  fine  a 'flavor,  nor  our  corn  appeared  so  beautiful  as  w^e  behold  it  today. 
Here  is  mv  son,  that  I  give  thee,  that  thou  mayest  know  my  heart.  I  pray  thee 
to  take  pitv  on  me  and  all  my  nation.  Thou  knowest  the  Great  Spirit  who  has 
made  us  ail;  thou  speakest  to  Him  and  hearest  His  word;  ask  Him  to  give  me 
life  and  health,  and  come  and  dwell  with  us,  that  we  may  know  Him.'  Saying 
this,  he  placed  the  little  slave  near  us  and  made  us  a  second  present,  an  all- 
mysterious  calumet,  which  they  value  more  than  a  slave;  by  this  present  he 
showed  us  his  esteem  for  our  governor,  after  the  account  we  had  given  of  him ; 
by  the  third,  he  begged  us,  on  behalf  of  his  whole  nation,  not  to  proceed  further, 
on  account  of  the  great  dangers  to  which  we  exposed  ourselves. 

•T  replied,  that  I  did  not  fear  death,  and  that  I  esteemed  no  happiness 
greater  than  that  of  losing  my  life  for  the  glory  of  Him  who  made  all.  But 
this  these  poor  people  could  not  understand. 

"The  council  was  followed  bv  a  great  feast  which  consisted  of  four  courses, 
w  hich  we  had  to  take  with  all  their  ways ;  the  first  course  was  a  great  wooden 


HISTORY  ()!■    PEORIA  COUXTY  1] 

dish  full  of  sagnniity.  that  is  to  say,  of  Indian  meal  boiled  in  water  and  seasoned 
with  grease.  The  master  of  ceremonies,  with  a  spoonful  of  sagamity,  pre- 
sented it  three  or  four  times  to  my  mouth,  as  we  would  do  with  a  little  chil.l; 
he  did  the  same  to  M.  Jollyet.  I""or  the  second  course,  he  brought  in  a  second 
dish  containing  three  fish  ;  he  took  some  pains  to  remove  the  bones,  and  having 
blown  u[)on  it  to  cool  it,  put  it  in  my  mouth,  as  we  would  food  to  a  bird ;  for 
the  third  course,  they  produced  a  large  dog,  which  they  had  just  killed,  hut 
learning  that  we  did  not  eat  it,  it  was  withdrawn.  Finally,  the  fourth  course 
was  a  piece  of  wild  ox,  the  fattest  portions  of  which  were  init  into  our  mouths 

"After  this  feast  we  had  to  visit  the  whole  village,  which  consists  of  full 
three  hundred  cal)ins.  ^Vhile  we  marched  through  the  streets,  an  orator  was 
constantly  haranguing,  to  oblige  all  to  see  us  without  being  troublesome ;  we 
were  everywhere  presented  with  belts,  garters,  and  other  articles  made  of  the 
hair  of  the  bear  and  wild  cattle,  dyed  red,  yellow  and  gray.  These  are  ihcir 
rareties ;  but  not  l^eing  of  consequence,  we  did  not  burthen  ourselves  with  them. 

"We  slept  in  the  sachem's  cabin,  and  the  next  day  took  leave  of  him,  promis- 
ing to  pass  back  through  his  town  in  four  moons.  He  escorted  us  to  our  canoes 
with  nearly  si.x  hundred  persons,  who  saw  us  embark,  evincing  in  every  possible 
way  the  pleasure  our  visit  had  given  them.  On  taking  leave,  I  personally 
promised  that  I  would  return  the  next  year  to  stay  with  them,  and  instruct 
them.  Rut  before  leaving  the  Illinois  country,  it  will  be  well  to  relate  what 
I  remarked  of  their  customs  and  manners. 

"To  say  Illinois  is,  in  their  language,  to  say  'the  men"  as  if  other  Indians 
compared  to  them  were  mere  beasts.  And  it  must  be  admitted  that  they  have 
an  air  of  humanity  that  we  had  not  remarked  in  the  other  nations  that  we  had 
seen  on  the  way.  The  short  stay  I  made  with  them  did  not  permit  me  to 
acquire  all  tlie  information  I  would  have  desired.  The  following  is  what  I 
remarked  in  their  manners : 

"They  are  divided  into  several  villages,  some  of  which  are  quite  distant  from 
that  of  which  I  speak,  and  which  is  called  Peouarea.  This  produces  a  diversity 
in  their  language  which  in  general  has  a  great  affinity  to  the  Algonquin,  so  that 
we  easily  understood  one  another.  They  are  mild  and  tractable  in  their  dis- 
position, as  we  experienced  in  the  reception  they  gave  us.  They  have  many 
wives,  of  whom  they  are  extremely  jealous ;  they  watch  them  carefully,  and 
cut  off  their  nose  or  ears  when  they  do  not  behave  well ;  I  saw  several  who  bore 
the  marks  of  their  infidelity.  They  are  well-formed,  nimble,  and  very  adroit  in 
using  the  bow  and  arrow ;  they  use  guns  also,  which  they  buy  of  our  Indian 
allies  who  trade  with  the  French ;  they  use  them  especially  to  terrify  their 
enemies  by  the  noise  and  smoke,  the  others  lying  too  far  to  the  west,  have  never 
seen  them,  and  do  not  know  their  use.  They  are  war-like  and  formidable  to 
distant  nations  in  the  south  and  west,  where  they  go  to  carry  off  slaves,  whom 
they  make  an  article  of  trade,  selling  them  at  a  high  price  to  other  nations  for 
goods. 

"The  distant  nations  against  whom  they  go  to  war,  have  no  knowledge  of 
Europeans ;  thev  are  acquainted  with  neither  iron  nor  cojjper,  antl  have  nothing 
but  stone  knives.  When  the  Illinois  set  out  on  a  war  jiarty,  the  whole  village 
is  notified  by  a  loud  cry  made  at  the  door  of  their  huts  tlie  morning  and  evening 
before  they  set  out.  The  chiefs  are  distinguished  from  the  soldiers  by  their 
wearing  a  scarf  ingeniously  made  of  the  hair  of  bears  and  wild  oxen.  The  face 
is  painted  with  red  lead  or  ochre,  which  is  found  in  great  quantities  a  few  days' 
journey  from  their  village.  They  live  by  game,  which  is  abundant  in  this  coun- 
try, and  on  Indian  corn,  of  which  they  always  gather  a  good  crop,  so  that  they 
have  never  suffered  from  famine.  They  also  sow  beans  and  melons,  which  are 
excellent,  especially  those  with  a  red  seed.  Their  s(|uashes  are  not  of  the  best; 
they  dry  them  in  the  sun,  to  eat  in  the  winter  and  spring. 

"Their  cabins  are  verv  large :  they  are  lined  and  floored  with  rush  mats. 
Thev  make  all  their  dishes  of  wood,  and  their  s])oons  of  the  bones  of  the  buffalo, 
which  thev  cut  so  well  that  it  serves  them  to  eat  their  sagamity  easily. 


12  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

"They  are  liberal  in  their  maladies,  and  believe  that  the  medicines  given 
them  operate  in  proportion  to  the  presents  they  have  made  the  medicine-man. 
Their  only  clothes  are  skins ;  their  women  are  always  dressed  very  modestly 
and  decently,  while  the  men  do  not  take  any  pains  to  cover  themselves.  Through 
what  superstition  I  know  not,  some  Illinois,  as  well  as  some  Nadouessi  (Sioux 
or  Dacotas),  while  yet  young,  assume  the  female  dress,  and  keep  it  all  their 
life.  There  is  some  mystery  about  it,  for  they  never  marry,  and  glory  in  de- 
basing themselves  to  do  all  that  is  done  by  women ;  yet  they  go  to  war,  though 
allowed  to  use  only  a  club,  and  not  the  bow  and  arrow,  the  peculiar  arm  of  men ; 
they  are  present  at  all  the  juggleries  and  solemn  dances  in  honor  of  the  calumet; 
they  are  permitted  to  sing,  but  not  to  dance;  they  attend  the  councils,  and 
nothing  can  be  decided  without  their  advice ;  finally,  by  the  profession  of  an 
extraordinary  life,  they  pass  for  manitous  (that  is,  for  genii),  or  persons  of 
consequence. 

"It  now  only  remains  for  me  to  speak  of  the  calumet,  than  which  there  is 
nothing  among  them  more  mysterious  or  more  esteemed.  Men  do  not  pay  to 
the  crowns  and  sceptres  of  kings  the  honor  they  pay  to  it ;  it  seems  to  be  the 
god  of  peace  and  war,  the  arbiter  of  life  and  death.  Carry  it  about  you  and 
show  it,  and  you  can  march  fearlessly  amid  enemies,  who  even  in  the  heat  of 
battle  lay  down  their  arms  when  it  is  shown.  Hence  the  Illinois  gave  me  one,  to 
serve  as  my  safeguard  amid  all  the  nations  that  I  had  to  pass  on  my  voyage. 
There  is  a  calumet  for  peace,  and  one  for  war,  distinguished  only  by  the  color 
of  the  feathers  with  which  they  are  adorned,  red  being  the  sign  of  war.  They 
use  them  also  for  settling  disputes,  strengthening  alliances,  and  speaking  to 
strangers.  It  is  made  of  a  polished  red  stone,  like  marble,  so  pierced  that  one 
end  serves  to  hold  the  tobacco,  while  the  other  is  fastened  on  the  stem,  which  is 
a  stick  two  feet  long,  as  thick  as  a  common  cane,  and  pierced  in  the  middle ; 
it  is  ornamented  with  the  head  and  neck  of  difl:'erent  birds  of  beautiful  plumage; 
they  also  add  large  feathers  of  red.  green  and  other  colors,  with  which  it  is 
all  covered.  They  esteem  it  particularly  because  they  regard  it  as  the  calumet 
of  the  sun ;  and,  in  fact,  they  present  it  to  him  to  smoke  when  they  wish  to 
obtain  calm,  or  rain,  or  fair  weather.  They  scruple  to  bathe  at  the  beginning 
of  summer,  or  to  eat  new  fruits,  till  they  have  danced  it.     They  do  it  thus: 

"The  calumet  dance,  which  is  very  famous  among  these  Indians,  is  per- 
formed only  for  important  matters,  sometimes  to  strengthen  a  peace  or  to  as- 
semble for' some  great  war;  at  other  times  for  a  public  rejoicing;  sometimes 
they  do  this  honor  to  a  nation  who  is  invited  to  be  present ;  sometimes  they  use 
it  to  receive  some  important  personage,  as  if  they  wished  to  give  him  the  en- 
tertainment of  a  ball  or  comedy.  In  winter  the  ceremony  is  performed  in  a 
cabin,  in  summer  in  the  open  fields.  They  select  a  place  surrounded  with  trees, 
so  as  to  be  sheltered  beneath  their  foliage  against  the  heat  of  the  sun.  In  the 
middle  of  the  space  they  spread  out  a  large  parti-colored  mat  of  rushes;  this 
serves  as  a  carpet,  on  which  to  place  with  honor  the  god  of  the  one  who  gives 
the  dance;  for  every  one  has  his  own  god,  or  manitou  as  they  call  it,  which  is 
a  snake,  a  bird,  or 'something  of  the  kind,  which  they  have  dreamed  in  their 
sleep,  and  in  which  they  put  all  their  trust  for  the  success  of  their  wars,  fishing, 
and  hunts.  Near  this  'manitou  and  at  its  right,  they  put  the  calumet  in  honor 
of  which  the  feast  is  given,  making  around  about  it  a  kind  of  trophy,  spreading 
there  the  arms  used  by  the  warriors  of  these  tribes,  namely,  the  war-club,  bow, 
hatchet,  quiver,  and  arrows. 

"Things  being  thus  arranged,  and  the  hour  for  dancing  having  arrived,  those 
who  are  to  sing  take  the  most  honorable  place  under  the  foliage.  They  are  the 
men  and  the  women  who  have  the  finest  voices,  and  who  accord  perfectly.  The 
spectators  then  come  and  take  their  places  around  under  the  branches ;  but  each 
one  on  arrival  must  salute  the  manitou.  which  he  does  by  inhaling  the  smoke 
and  then  puffing  it  from  his  mouth  upon  it.  as  if  offering  incense.  Each  one 
goes  first  and  takes  the  calumet  respectfully,  and  supporting  it  with  both  hands, 


TTISTORV  ()I-    PEORTA  COUNTY  13 

makes  it  dance  in  cadence,  suitiiii,'  himself  to  the  air  of  the  song;  he  makes  it 
go  through  various  figures,  sometimes  showing  it  to  the  whole  assembly  by 
turning  it  from  side  to  side. 

"After  this,  he  who  is  to  begin  the  dance  appears  in  the  midst  of  the  as- 
sembly, and  goes  first ;  sometimes  he  presents  it  to  the  sun,  as  if  he  wished  it  to 
smoke ;  sometimes  he  inclines  it  to  the  earth ;  and  at  other  times  he  spreads 
its  wings  as  if  for  it  to  fly;  at  other  times,  he  approaches  it  to  the  mouths  of 
the  spectators  for  them  to  smoke,  the  whole  in  cadence.  This  is  the  first  scene 
of  the  ballet. 

"The  second  consists  in  a  combat,  to  the  sound  of  a  kind  of  drum,  which 
succeeds  the  songs,  or  rather  joins  them,  harmonizing  cjuite  well.  The  dancer 
beckons  to  some  brave  to  come  and  take  the  arms  on  the  mat,  and  challenges 
him  to  fight  to  the  sound  of  the  drums ;  the  other  approaches,  takes  his  bow 
and  arrow,  and  begins  a  duel  against  the  dancer  who  has  no  defence  but  the 
calmnet.  This  spectacle  is  very  pleasing,  especially  as  it  is  always  done  in  time, 
for  one  attacks,  the  other  defends;  one  strikes,  the  other  parries;  one  flies,  the 
other  pursues ;  then  he  who  fled  faces  and  puts  his  enemy  to  flight.  This  is 
all  done  so  well  with  measured  steps,  and  the  regular  sound  of  voices  and 
drums,  that  it  might  i)ass  for  a  very  pretty  opening  of  a  ballet  in  I'rance. 

"The  third  scene  consists  of  a  speech  delivered  by  the  holder  of  the  calumet, 
for  the  combat  being  ended  without  bloodshed,  he  relates  the  battles  he  was  in, 
the  victories  he  has  gained ;  he  names  the  nations,  the  places,  the  captives  he 
has  taken,  and  as  a  reward,  he  who  presides  at  the  dance  jjresents  him  with  a 
beautiful  beaver  robe,  or  something  else,  which  he  receives,  and  then  he  presents 
the  calumet  to  another,  who  hands  it  to  a  third,  and  so  to  all  the  rest,  till  all 
having  done  their  duty,  the  presitling  chief  presents  the  calumet  itself  to  the 
nation  invited  to  this  ceremony  in  token  of  the  eternal  peace  which  shall  reign 
between  the  two  tribes." 

Indian  customs  form  a  very  enticing  study  but  space  forbids  more  being 
said  about  them  here.  H.  H.  Bancroft  in  discussing  these  questions  says  that 
his  work  embodies  the  researches  of  some  five  hundred  travelers. 

Hennepin  gives  the  following  account  of  the  village  of  the  Kaskaskias  near 
Starved  Rock. 

"It  contains  four  hundred  and  si.xty  cabins  made  like  long  arbors  and  cov- 
ered with  double  mats  of  flat  flags,  so  well  sewed  that  they  are  never  pene- 
trated by  the  wind,  snow  or  rain.  Each  cabin  has  four  or  five  fires,  and  each 
fire  has  one  or  two  families,  who  all  live  together  in  a  good  understanding." 

This  was  probably  the  largest  and  best  built  village  in  the  territory  occupied 
by  the  Illinois  tribes  at  that  time. 

More  frequently  they  lived  in  wigwams,  a  kind  of  a  rude  tent  made  by 
setting  a  circle  of  poles  in  the  ground,  tying  the  tops  together  and  covering  them 
over  with  skins  of  wild  animals.  These  wigwams  they  could  take  down  and 
move  as  quickly  as  a  soldier  could  move  his  tent.  This  they  did  frequently,  and 
would  leave  even  their  villages  in  .-i  body  for  their  hunting  grounds,  only  re- 
turning with  the  change  of  season. 

Concerning  tribal  boundaries,   H.   H.   Bancroft  says: 

".Accurately  to  draw  partition  lines  between  primitive  nations  is  impossible. 
Migrating  with  the  seasons,  constantly  at  war,  driving  and  being  driven  far  past 
the  limits  of  hereditary  boundaries,  extirpating  and  being  extirpated,  over- 
whelming, intermingling:  like  a  human  sea,  swelling  and  .surging  in  its  wild 
struggle  with  the  winds  of  fate,  they  come  and  go,  here  to-day,  yonder  to-mor- 
row. A  traveler  passing  over  the  country  finds  it  inhabited  by  certain  tribes ; 
another  coming  after  finds  all  changed.  '  One  writer  gives  certain  names  to 
certain  nations;  another  changes  the  name,  or  gives  to  the  nation  a  totally  dif- 
ferent locality.  An  approximation,  however,  can  be  made  sufficiently  correct 
for  ])ractical  purposes." 

The  location  of  our  Illinois  tribes  is  somewhat  difficult    for  they  made  no 


14     •  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

permanent  improvements.  They  never  owned  their  land  in  severalty.  Xo 
Intlian  could  point  out  a  piece  of  land  as  belonging  to  him  and  to  his  family 
after  him.  and  as  being  his  to  improve  it  for  their  benefit. 

MIGR.\TIOXS   OF   THE   ILLINOIS 

The  location  of  our  Indian  tribes  is  shown  as  definitely  as  possible  by  the 
adjoining  maps. 

I'ractically,  when  first  discovered,  our  Illinois  tribes  occupied  the  Illinois 
\'al!ey  and  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  for  a  little  distance  below  it.  { See 
first  cut  on  the  adjoining  page.) 

Our  own  Peorians  occupied  a  village  where  Peoria  City  now  stands  and 
one  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Mississippi  river,  almost  due  west  from  Peoria 
together  with  all  of  the  territory  between  the  Illinois  and  ^Mississippi  rivers, 
south  of  a  line  connecting  these  two  villages. 

The  Kickapoos  were  found  between  the  Rock  River  and  the  Mississippi. 
The  Pottawottomies  in  the  southeastern  corner  of  Wisconsin  and  our  tribes 
were  bounded  on  the  northeast  by  the  W'ea  Aliamis  and  on  the  southeast  by 
the  Piankeshaw  Miamis,  while  the  powerful  and  bloody  Shawnees  extended 
over  into  the  southeast  corner  of  Illinois  along  the  Ohio  river. 

Eighty-one  years  later  in  1765  (see  cut  number  two),  when  this  territory 
was  ceded  by  France  to  England,  the  Indians  had  moved  further  south.  The 
Sauks  and  Foxes  then  inhabited  the  territory  between  the  Illinois  river  and  the 
Mississippi.  The  Pottawottomies  had  come  to  occupy  the  territory  about  the 
southern  end  of  Lake  Michigan.  The  Kickapoos  who  were  at  first  found  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Galena  were  now  occupying  central  Illinois  east  of  the 
Illinois  river,  and  the  Illinois  tribes,  very  much  reduced  in  number  were  driven 
down  and  were  living  about  the  mouth  of  the  Kaskaskia  river  opposite  St. 
Louis.  Yet  later,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  of  1812,  between  the  Americans 
and  the  English,  w'hile  the  W'innebagos  had  crowded  down  and  were  occupying 
part  of  the  territory  north  of  the  Rock  River,  the  Sauks  and  Foxes  were  still 
up  along  the  Mississippi  river.  The  Pottawottomies,  who  so  mercilessly  mas- 
sacred the  Kaskaskias  near  Starved  Rock,  were  occupying  the  northern  half 
of  the  valley  of  the  Illinois  and  the  Kickapoos  were  in  the  southern  part  of 
Illinois.  The  Piankeshaw  Miamis  were  driven  over  into  Indiana  and  the  rem- 
nant that  was  left  of  our  poor  Illinois  tribes  were  occupying  a  little  territory 
down  near  St.  Louis. 

General  William  IJ.  Harrison  in  a  letter  dated  1814  says  that  when  he  was 
first  appointed  governor  of  Indiana  territory,  in  1800,  our  once  powerful  Illinois 
confederacy  was  reduced  to  about  thirty  warriors  of  whom  twenty-five  were 
Kaskaskias,  four  Peorias  and  one  a  Mitchigamian.  A  furious  war  between 
them  and  the  Sauks  had  reduced  them  to  this  forlorn  remnant  and  they  had 
taken  refuge  among  the  white  people  of  the  towns  of  Kaskaskia  and  St.  Gene- 
vieve. Since  1800  they  have  been  moved  from  reservation  to  reservation  until 
in  1872  they  had  dwindled  to  forty  men,  women,  and  children,  and  were  located 
in  the  northeast  corner  of  what  is  now  Oklahoma,  having  merged  with  the 
!Miamis  and  other  tribes. 

The  Illinois  confederacy  had  already  commenced  to  decline  when  the  first 
white  men  came  here,  but  they  were  once  a  powerful  organization.  Father 
^lembre  says  that  in  1680  they  had  seven  or  eight  thousand  souls  in  their  one 
village  at  Starved  Rock.  In  the  days  of  their  power,  they  had  nearly  exter- 
minated the  \\"innebagos,  and  their  war  parties  had  penetrated  the  towns  of 
the  Iroquois  as  far  east  as  the  valleys  of  the  Mohawk  and  the  Genesee.  Mar- 
quette himself  says  in  the  passage  quoted  above,  "They  had  an  air  of  humanity 
that  we  had  not  remarked  in  the  other  nations  we  had  seen." 

A  daughter  of  a  sub-chief  of  the  Peoria  tribe  gave  birth  to  a  son  in  1793 
where  the  Kaskaskia  and  the  "River  of  the  Plains"  unite  to  form  the  beginning 


A  SCENK  IX   1'.1;A1)I-KV   I'AI;K 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  15 

of  the  Illinois  and  called  him  Eaptiste  Peoria.  His  reputed  father  was  a  French- 
Canadian  trader  named  Baptiste.  The  son  was  a  man  of  large  stature,  pos- 
sessed of  great  strength,  activity  and  courage  and  was  like  Keokuk,  the  great 
chief  of  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians,  a  fearless  and  expert  horseman.  He  soon 
came  into  prominence  and  his  known  integrity  and  ability  secured  the  confidence 
of  all  so  that  he  was  for  many  years  in  the  employ  of  the  United  States  govern- 
ment. By  precept  and  example  he  spent  the  better  portion  of  a  busy  life  in 
persistent  efforts  to  save  the  fragment  of  the  Illinois  and  Miamis  by  encourag- 
ing them  to  adopt  the  ways  of  civilized  life.  He  finally  collected  the  remnants 
of  the  scattered  tribes  of  Indians  and  in  1867  led  them  out  to  the  northeast 
corner  of  Indian  Territory,  where  he  died  at  the  age  of  eighty  years. 

It  will  be  interesting  to  those  who  now  reside  in  Peoria  and  vicinity  and 
own  and  occupy  the  land  once  occupied  by  the  Peorias  as  hunting  and  fishing 
grounds  when  the  white  men  first  came,  to  know  what  has  become  of  the  rem- 
nant of  the  Indians  who  lived  here  at  that  time. 

The  different  tribes  composing  the  Illinois  confederacy  were  amalgamated 
with  each  other  and  they  all  then  jjecanie  known  as  the  Peorias,  and  then  again 
thev  were  amalgamated  with  the  Miamis  and  were  called  the  Peoria-Miami 
Indians  and  we  have  seen  that  they  moved  out  to  northeastern  Oklahoma  to  a 
reservation  there,  where  they  are  now  living,  under  the  leadership  of  Baptiste 
Peoria,  one  of  their  leading  men. 

All  but  five  of  the  one  hundred  forty-four  Peorias  wear  citizen's  dress — 
that   is,   white  man's   dress. 

The  Indians  in  the  accepted  sense  have  disappeared  leaving  a  race  in  which 
white  blood  predominates — a  people  having  nothing  in  common  with  the  Indian 
and  having  everything  in  common  with  the  whites. 

As  long  ago  as  1890,  of  the  one  hundred  sixty  Indians,  one  hundred  forty 
could  converse  in  English  well  enough  for  ordinary  purposes. 

Twenty  years  ago,  all  the  Peorias  were  made  citizens  of  the  United  States 
and  of  Oklahoma.  Those  people  are  self-supporting,  not  having  received  any 
pension  for  the  last  twenty  years.  In  that  community  there  are  three  white 
persons  to  each  Indian. 

Upon  their  reservation  is  incorporated  a  town  called  Peoria,  where  they 
have  a  postofTice,  about  twelve  miles  northeast  of  Wyandotte,  with  a  popula- 
tion in  1Q04  of  two  hundred,  at  which  time  out  of  one  hundred  ninety-two 
Peorias,  there  were  seventy-one  half  blood  or  more  and  one  hundred  twenty-one 
of  less  than  half  blood. 

In  estimating  the  number  of  Indians  now  living  and  in  estimating  their  in- 
crease or  decrease  a  mistake  is  almost  always  made.  They  count  every  person 
of  more  or  less  Indian  blood  as  an  Indian  just  as  fully  as  if  he  were  a  full 
blooded  Indian.  It  might  be  if  this  process  was  kept  up  long  enough  we  would 
all  be  counted  as  Indians.  For  this  reason,  in  really  estimating  the  number  of 
Indians  of  the  Peoria-Miami  tribes  in  existence  at  present,  of  the  two  hundred 
who  are  half  bloods,  more  or  less,  that  ought  to  be  considered  as  one  hundred 
Indians  and  one  hundred  whites.  The  whites  are  as  well  entitled  to  count  a 
half  blood  as  the  Indians  are.  According  to  this  way  of  reckoning,  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  Indians  of  the  Peoria-Miami  tribe  now  .should  be  considered  as 
er]ual  to  one  hundred  full  blood  Indians. 

The  restriction  on  the  sale  of  their  homesteads  of  our  tribes  will  expire  in 

in  marriage  and  divorce  and  all  other  matters,  they  follow  the  laws  of  then- 
state.. 

^ince  they  have  become  citizens,  the  government  of  the  United  States  has 
no  further  control  over  their  persons.  .Although  some  Indians  are  poor,  the 
Peorias,  as  a  rule,  are  in  comfortable  circumstances  according  to  the  standard 
of  communities  such  as  theirs.  They  are  a  fairly  well-to-do  people,  there  being 
among  them  some  thrifty  and  successful  farmers  and  stock  raisers.     Therd  are 


16  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

a  few  uneducated  ones  in  the  tribe.  A  number  of  them  are  people  of  intelli- 
gence, education  and  refinement,  comparing  more  than  favorably  with  a  large 
proportion  of  the  whites  who  have  settled  among  them.  Several  reside  and 
are  engaged  in  business  in  Miami,  Oklahoma,  a  modern  town  of  about  three 
thousand  people  located  within  the  agency  on  the  Neosho  river. 

There  remain  a  very  few  full  bloods,  yet  among  these  are  some  of  the  best 
citizens.  Many  of  the  tribe  are  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends  and  others 
belong  to  various  denominations. 

The  wife  of  the  present  member  of  the  legislature  from  their  county  is  a 
Peoria,  a  member  of  one  of  the  old  and  respected  families  of  the  tribe. 

Soon  the  Indians  like  the  Angles,  the  Saxons,  the  Danes  and  the  Celts,  the 
Normans  and  the  Gauls  will  cease  to  exist  among  us  as  a  separate  people. 

Should  some  future  Bulwer  Lytton  write  the  romance  of  "The  Last  of  the 
Roving  Red  Monarchs  of  the  Prairies"  his  hero  would  be  Baptiste  Peoria. 


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CHAPTER  III 

FORCES  WHICH  MADE  PEORIA  AND  THE  .MATERIAL  OF  WHICH 

IT  WAS  MADE 

"I  beg  pardon,  once  and  for  all,  of  those  readers  who  take  up  'history' 
merely  for  amusement,  for  plaguing  them  so  long  with  old  fashioned  jjolitics, 
and  Whig  and  Tory,  and  Hanoverians  and  Jacobites.  The  truth  is,  I  cannot 
promise  them  that  this  story  shall  be  intelligible,  not  to  say  probable,  without  it." 
— Sir  Jl'alter  Scott. 

There  prevailed  in  Europe  in  the  days  of  Le  Grand  Monarque  and  the  great 
protector,  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  many  fundamental 
principles  and  ideas  influencing  society,  ecclesiastical  and  civil,  which  were 
strenuously  contending  with  each  other  for  supremacy.  These  warring  ele- 
ments prompted  and  controlled  the  discovery  and  settlement  of  North  America 
and  influenced  our  development,  determining  the  character  and  progress  of  our 
people  and  being  still  efl:'ective  in  the  shaping  of  our  institutions,  our  laws,  and 
our  civilization.  The  predominance  of  some  of  them  in  North  America  and 
their  former  suppression  in  South  America  have  made  the  difference  that 
exists  to-day  between  the  people,  the  laws,  the  civilization  and  progress,  the 
happiness  and  glory  of  these  two  continents.  Our  southern  sister  republics  are 
now  making  great  advances  and  for  several  decades  have  been  but  this  has  come 
about  largelv  through  their  efforts  to  follow  our  example  and  because  they  have 
been  under  the  shadow  of  our  flag.  In  all  probability  there  would  not  be  a 
republic  there  to-day  if  the  United  States  had  not  demonstrated  the  proposition 
that  a  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for  the  people  can  live,  at 
least  for  a  hundred  years  and  more. 

The  colonies  in  South  America  were  a  hundred  years  old  at  the  inception 
of  those  in  North  America.  This  was  perhaps  a  disadvantage  to  them  for  they 
were  begun  at  a  time  when  civil  and  religious  liberty  were  little  understood  any- 
where in  the  whole  world,  and  they  were  controlled  by  Spain  and  other  nations 
which  in  these  respects  were  the  least  progressive  of  all — church  and  state  were 
allied  and  autocratic ;  and  the  greatest  ambition  of  the  people  was  the  acquisition 
of  gold.  Only  one  party  was  allowed  in  Spain,  the  leaders  being  selfish,  cor- 
rupt and  tyrannical  while  the  working  people  were  little  better  than  serfs  or 
beasts  of  the  plow. 

On  the  other  hand  when  our  continent  was  colonized  personal  liberty,  espe- 
cially the  liberty  of  the  mind,  had  begun  to  be  developed ;  men  were  beginning 
to  pursue  their  own  wav  of  thinking  and  to  express  their  opinions  freely  and 
IHiblicly  and  the  plain  working  people  were  more  respected  through  all  luirope. 

In  England  at  this  time  four  great  classes  of  fundamental  principles  of  gov- 
ernment were  at  work  each  represented  by  a  political  party  and  each  favoring 
and  favored  by  some  special  religious  faith  and  form  of  church  government. 
The  churches  differed  from  each  other  as  much  in  their  form  of  government  as 
in  their  creeds  and  each  endeavored  to  have  the  civil  government  brought  as 
nearly  as  possible  to  the  rules  and  forms  under  which  it  controlled  its  ecclesias- 
tical matters.  The  Independents  carried  their  radical  democratic  principles  not 
only  into  matters  of  church  but  into  matters  of  state  as  well.     The  Presbyte- 

VoL  1—2  _ 

17 


18  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

rians  were  in  both  respects  more  conservative  and  stood  for  the  principles  of 
representative  republican  government.  Then  there  was  the  established  Episcopal 
Church  with  its  prelates  and  bishops,  its  hierarchy  in  church  and  its  specially 
favored  nobilitv  and  gentry,  its  primogeniture  and  entailed  estates.  The  fourth 
party  was  that  of  the  Roman  Catholics,  a  powerful  element  in  the  state.  Charles 
II  was  a  professional  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church  but  in  his  heart  he  was 
a  sympathizer  and  lover  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  died  in  its  confession. 
His  brother  and  heir  apparent  to  the  succession  was  an  open  and  pronounced 
Roman  Catholic  and  wdien  he  came  to  the  throne,  lived  on  a  pension  from  Louis 
XI\'  the  grand  master  of  absolutism.  The  kings  of  France  and  England  both 
believe  in  the  right  of  kings  to  rule  absolutely  by  divine  appointment  and  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  people.  Fortunately  no  one  of  these  four  principal  politi- 
cal parties  had  the  uncontrolled  power  for  any  great  length  of  time. 

In  France,  under  Louis  XI\",  the  last  of  these  four  principles  of  absolutism 
held  full  sway.  The  church  and  state  were  absolutely  allied  and  thoroughly 
autocratic,  and  the  king  allowed  no  opposition  to  his  own  views  or  wishes.  He 
surrounded  himself  with  able  men  who  merely  executed  his  will  and  whose 
highest  aim  was  to  increase  and  spread  abroad  the  glory  of  the  king.  Colbert, 
his  great  promoter  of  French  industry,  manufactures  and  trade,  and  his  gen- 
erals Turenne,  Conde  and  A'aban  surpassed  the  statesmen  and  soldiers  of  all 
other  countries  while  Louis  himself  was  pre-eminently  able,  efficient,  and  accom- 
plished among  the  kings  and  princes  of  his  time  which  he  rendered  the  most 
illustrious  in  the  French  annals.  He  caused  the  court  of  \'ersailles  to  be  every- 
where admired  as  the  model  of  taste,  refinement  and  distinction  but  he  sought 
nothing  but  the  gratification  of  his  own  selfishness  and  love  of  pleasure,  his 
pride  and  desire  of  renown  and  splendor.  His  reign  became  the  grave  of  free- 
dom, of  morals,  of  firmness  of  character,  and  of  manly  sentiment.  Court  favor 
was  the  end  of  everv  effort  of  his  subjects  and  flattery  the  surest  means  of 
reaching  it.  \'irtue  and  merit  met  with  little  acknowledgment.  He  built  up 
the  glory  and  magnificence  of  his  own  age  and  nation  while  he  destroyed  the 
only  sure  and  permanent  foundations  of  government.  Without  the  free  power 
in  the  people  to  conscientiously  criticize  superiors  with  impunity,  no  country  can 
be  progressive  and  enduring.  Louis  permitted  nothing  of  the  kind  in  either 
church  or  state.  Without  power  in  the  citizen  to  act  according  to  his  own  in- 
dividual judgment  and  on  his  own  initiative,  controlled  only  by  necessary  and 
equitable  laws  and  his  own  conscience  undominated  by  the  dictation  of  auto- 
cratic superiors,  no  people  can  be  intelligent,  progressive,  courageous,  strong  or 
safe.  This  power  in  either  church  or  state,  Louis  completely  crushed  out  in  his 
kingdom.  The  magnificent  centralization  of  wealth  and  splendor  in  his  tnne 
ended  after  a  few  generations  in  a  terrible  downfall  and  the  horrors  of  the 
French  revolution  and  Louis  and  his  wrong  principles  were  responsible  for  it. 
There  was  onlv  one  clause  in  the  constitution  of  France  and  that  was  made  by 
the  king  himself.     It  reads  thus,  "The  State,  I  am  the  State." 

Spain  too  was  a  monarchy  under  the  absolute  control  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
There  were  other  feebler  nations  that  made  settlements  in  what  is  now  the 
territory  of  the  United  States.  But  the  three  great  kingdoms  of  Europe — 
Spain,  England  and  France — were  almost  equal  in  strength,  and  for  hundreds 
of  years  it  was  the  policy  of  European  nations  to  preserve,  if  possible,  the  bal- 
ance of  power. 

At  the  time  the  history  of  Peoria  begins,  from  the  Gulf  of  :\Iexico  to  the 
North  Pole,  there  were  very  few  European  settlements  situated  more  than  ten 
miles  distant  from  a  port  accessible  to  ocean  vessels  and  these  were  small  and 
insignificant. 

Florida  was  held  bv  the  Spaniards.  St.  Augustine  is  the  oldest  settlement 
in  the  L^nited  States.  It  was  and  is  a  walled  town,  founded  in  1565  by  Spaniards. 
Possibly  Santa  Fe.  New  Mexico,  also  Spanish,  was  the  next.  French  Calvinists, 
under  the  patronage  of  Admiral  Coligny,  had  made  a  settlement  a  short  time 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  19 

before  at  St.  John  in  Florida,  Ijui  the  Spanish  navy  ruthlessly  destroyed  the 
place,  murdering  the  women  and  children  and  making  slaves  of  the  men  whom 
they  did  not  murder.  These  peoi>le  were  destroyed  because  they  were  Protes- 
tants. 

Meanwhile  the  Fnglish  were  planting  enduring  colonies.  The  Dutch  had 
settled  in  New  York  and  the  Swedes  in  Delaware  but  their  control  was  of 
short  duration.  Except  for  these  little  colonies,  which  were  soon  absorbed  by 
the  English,  the  Atlantic  coast  was  settled  from  Florida  to  Canada  under  the 
auspices  and  protection  of  the  English  government.  However,  the  colonies  dif- 
fered greatlv  in  character.  Each  one  of  the  four  parties  of  England  was  spe- 
cially interested  in  its  own  particular  colony  and  the  people  of  each  colony  par- 
took of  the  characteristic  of  the  party,  church  or  sect  which  colonized  it. 

New  England  was  colonized  by  the  Independents.  They  were  divided  into 
different  sects  and  were  not  always  tolerant  of  each  other,  but  they  did  not  differ 
greatly  in  the  character  of  their  people  or  even  in  important  matters  of  creed 
or  of  ecclesiastical  and  civil  government. 

The  Dutch  colony  of  New  York  (New  Amsterdam)  soon  passed  into  the 
control  of  the  Duke  of  York,  a  Roman  Catholic,  but  all  religions  were  tolerated 
and  most  were  to  be  found  there. 

Pennsylvania  belonged  to  a  Quaker  and  Quakers  predominated  there ;  but 
it  also  contained  man\-  Presbyterians  and  men  of  other  sects,  all  of  whom  en- 
joyed religious  liberty. 

New  Jersey  and  Delaware  were  settled  partly  by  Swedes  and  Quakers  and 
largely  by  Presbyterians. 

Maryland  belonged  to  a  Roman  Catholic  proprietor  but  although  thus  owned 
and  governed  the  majority  of  the  people  were  Protestants  from  a  very  early 
day.  Religious  liberty  prevailed  there  until  1692  when  it  passed  for  a  short 
time  under  the  control  of  the  PZpiscopalians. 

The  leading  \irginians  were  from  the  beginning  lovers  and  imitators  of  the 
English  gentry.  They  loved  the  English  Episcopal  Church,  which  was  the  es- 
tablished church  until  after  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  it  was 
rather  intolerant  in  the  lower  counties,  nevertheless  the  \'irginians  were  always 
strong  and  valiant  defenders  of  liberty.  For  business  reasons,  the  Lutherans 
were  tolerated  by  sjjecial  statute  at  an  early  date ;  and  the  valleys  of  the  Shenan- 
doah and  Holston  rivers  were  first  settled  by  the  Scotch  and  Scotch-Irish  Pres- 
byterians, whom  Gov.  Gooch  sought  to  introduce,  on  account  of  their  heroic 
fighting  qualities,  as  a  defense  against  the  Shawnees,  Cherokees,  and  other  war- 
like Indians  promising  that  they  should  be  allowed  to  enjoy  their  own  religion 
in  their  own  way.  There  were  also  some  Dutch  immigrants  who  were  Protestant 
dissenters.  It  will  be  seen  in  another  chapter  that  Virginia  was  really  Illinois' 
mother  country. 

Neither  of  the  Carolinas  nor  Georgia  was  sufficiently  settled  before  the  mid- 
dle of  the  seventeenth  century  to  make  it  an  appreciable  element  in  early  colonial 
life  or  politics. 

At  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  Illinois,  there  were  jirobably  150,000  white 
people  settled  on  the  shores  of  the  .Atlantic  Ocean  within  the  present  territory  of 
the  United  States ;  to  the  west  of  them  in  a  territory  bounded  ijy  the  great  lakes, 
the  Mississippi  river,  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  there  were  approximately  an 
equal  number  of  Indians  (150,000).  Probably  Plymouth  had  6,500  whites; 
Connecticut,  13,000;  Massachusetts,  19,000;  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  and  Rhode 
Island  had  about  3,500  each;  New  York,  icS,ooo;  Virginia  about  42,000;  Mary- 
land probablv  ifi,ooo;  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey  and  Delaware  possibly  6,000; 
the  Carolinas  and  Georgia  together,  7,000. 

We  have  given  this  review  of  the  condition  of  the  eastern  colonies  because 
they  were  at  that  time  establishing  and  developing  those  great  principles  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty  upon  which  they  united  and  formed  of  themselves  a 
great  nation  which  from  the  days  of  George  Rogers  Clark  and  his  \'irginians 


20  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

protected  and  defended  us  and  of  which  we  ourselves  have  since  become  a 
part  so  that  their  destiny  and  ours  have  become  one ;  and  further  because  the 
men  of  heroic  character,  indomitable  energy,  self-rehance  and  individual  initia- 
tive who  made  Peoria  were  themselves  the  unique  product  of  those  older 
colonies. 

There  was  not  a  prelate  of  any  church  or  sect  within  the  territory  of  the 
colonies  until  after  the  Revolutionary  War  nor  a  nobleman,  except  those  who 
were  made  noble  in  nature  by  the  grace  of  God  and  their  own  efforts. 

The  attempt  of  France  to  colonize  the  new  world  had  not  been  very  success- 
ful. They  made  their  first  permanent  settlement  at  Port  Royal  three  years 
before  Jamestown  was  settled.  Champlain  established  a  colony  at  Quebec  in 
1608.  In  1644  Cardinal  Richelieu  organized  the  "Company  of  New  France" 
which  was  to  have  the  monopoly  of  trade  for  fifteen  years  and  on  the  other  hand 
it  agreed  to  take  three  hundred  French  Roman  Catholic  settlers  each  year  to 
the  colony  and  to  provide  each  settlement  with  three    priests. 

In  1660  there  were  no  more  than  two  thousand  French  settlers  in  New  France 
and  there  were  not  probably  more  than  two  or  three  times  that  many  at  the  time 
Marquette  and  Joliet  visited  Illinois. 


CHAPTER  IV 
DISCO\ERY  BY  THE  FRENCH 

"Thou  too  sail  on.  O  ship  of  State! 

Sail  on,  O  Union,  strong  and  great! 

Humanity   with  all  its   fears, 

With  all  the  hopes  of  future  years, 

Is  hanging  breathless  on  thy  fate ! 

We  know    what  .Master   laid  thy   keel. 

What  Workman  wrought  thy  ribs  of  steel. 

Who  made  each  mast,  and  sail,  and  rope, 

What   anvils   rang,   what  hammers   beat, 

In  what  a  forge  and  what  a  heat 

Were  shaped  the  anchors  of  thy  hope." 
■'Our  hearts,  our  hopes,  are  all  with  thee, 

Our  hearts,  our  hopes,  our  prayers,  our  tears, 

Our  faith  triumphant  o'er  our  fears, 

Are  all  with  thee, — are  all  with  thee!" 

In  the  foregoing  pages  we  have  given  something  like  a  "flying  machine"  view 
of  the  forces  that  united  in  the  making  of  Peoria  and  have  controlled  its  destiny 
It  remains  to  see  how,  when,  and  for  what  purpose,  those  various  influence; 
explored  and  finally  colonized  and  developed  our  city  and  county. 

We  have  seen  how  our  beautiful  valley  of  the  Illinois  and  the  whole  valley 
of  the  Mississippi  were  inhabited  successively  by  two  great  races  which  have 
moved  away  forever  or  perished  from  the  earth.  Meanwhile  the  forces  oi 
history  were  preparing  for  the  coming  of  the  third, — the  white  race.  We  have 
seen  that  in  Euro])e  \his  race  was  then  divided  into  four  great  parties,  each 
of  which  was  represented  in  America,  and  we  have  seen  how  they  differed  among 
themselves  in  principles  and  ideas  of  government.  We  have  omitted  discussion 
of  the  Quakers  and  other  small  sects,  which  did  not  much  believe  in  any  form 
of  government.  How  these  great  parties  contended  on  the  farther  side  of  the 
Atlantic  and  on  this  side,  and  have  continued  to  contend  to  the  present  day.  and 
how  their  principles  have  affected  us  and  still  affect  us  and  how  we  Americans 
have  endeavored  with  more  or  less  success  to  eliminate  the  bad  and  retain  the 
good  of  each,  are  among  the  interesting  questions  now  before  us. 

Earlv  in  the  seventeenth  century  the  French  had  commenced  to  establish 
trading  posts  and  missionary  stations  on  our  northern  lakes.  There  was  one 
of  these  at  La  Pointe  near  the  southwestern  corner  of  Lake  Superior,  surrounded 
by  the  Apostle  Islands,  almost  due  north  from  the  western  part  of  Peoria 
County.  It  was  from  there  in  1653. — twenty  years  before  Marquette  and  Joliet 
started  on  their  vovage  of  discovery,  when  the  Grand  Monarch  has  been  ten 
years  on  the  throne  of  France,  ten  years  after  the  formation  of  the  first  con- 
federacv  between  the  New  England  colonies  for  the  purpose  of  resisting  the 
encroachment  of  the  French  and  Indians,  and  about  the  time  Cromwell  was 
dissolving  the  Long  Parliament — that  a  missionary.  Father  Jean  Dequcrre.  a 
Jesuit,  early  in  1653,  started  for  the  Illinois  and,  it  is  said,  established  a  flourish- 

21 


22  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

ing  mission — the  first  mission  in  the  Mississippi  valley — probably  at  the  place 
where  Peoria  is  now  situated.  "He  visited  various  Indian  nations  on  the  borders 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  was  slain  in  the  midst  of  his  apostolical  labors  in  1661. 
"In  1657,  Father  Jean  Charles  Drocoux,  Jesuit,  went  to  the  Illinois,  and  re- 
turned to  Quebec  the  same  year." 

"In  1663,  Father  Claude  Jean  Allouez  was  appointed  Vicar  General  of  the 
north  and  west,  including  Illinois.  He  preached  to  the  Pottawottomies  and 
Aliamis  about  Green  Bay;  in  1665,  he  returned  to  Quebec,  and  went  to  the  Illi- 
nois in  1668,  and  visited  the  missions  on  the  Mississippi." 

"In  1670,  Father  Hugues  Pinet,  Jesuit,  went  to  the  Illinois,  and  established 
a  mission  among  the  Tamarois,  or  Cahokias,  at  or  near  the  present  site  of  the 
village  of  Cahokia,  on  the  borders  of  the  Mississippi.  He  remained  there  until 
the  year  1686,  and  was  at  that  mission  when  Marquette  and  Joliet  went  down 
the  Mississippi.  In  the  same  year  M.  Bergier,  priest  of  the  Seminary  of  Quebec, 
succeeded  him  in  the  mission  to  the  Tamaroas  or  Cahokias:  and  Father  Pinet 
returned  to  the  mission  of  St.  Louis  (Peoria),  where  he  remained  until  he  died, 
the  i6th  of   Tulv,  1704,  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine." 

"In  1670,"  M'.  Augustine  Meulan  de  Circe,  priest  of  the  Seminary  of  Quebec, 
went  to  Illinois.  He  left  the  mission  there  in  1675  and  returned  to  France." 
"Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  for  tzventy  years,  to  wit.  from  1653  to  1673,  anterior 
to  the  discovery  of  Marquette  and  joliet,  there  was  a  succession  of  missions  in 
the  Illinois."  "There  are  no  other  memorials  of  these  missions  now  extant, 
as  known  to  us,  except  those  preserved  in  the  Seminary  of  Quebec,  from  a  copy 
of  which  the  above  notices  are  taken.  The  only  object  is  to  show,  that  for 
years  before  Marquette  and  Joliet  visited  the  country,  the  'Illinois'  and  'Mis- 
sissippi' had  been  discovered,  and  missions  actually  established  on  their 
borders.  That  these  good  fathers  made  notes  on  their  travels,  and  rendered 
accounts  of  the  various  Indian  tribes  which  they  visited  along  the  Father  of 
Waters,  to  their  superiors,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  What  have  become  of  these 
memorials  of  early  western  adventure  and  discovery  now?  It  is  impossible  to 
say.  That  they  would  throw  much  light  on  the  early  history  of  the  west,  there 
can  be  no  doubt." 

The  Grand  Monarque  who  always  had  in  his  service  the  most  alert,  ac- 
complished, able  and  devoted  officers,  i'n  1873  had  Count  de  Frontenac  as  governor 
of  Canada,  M.  Talon,  as  Intendent,  or  Supervisor  of  the  Civil  Government, 
and  Claud  F.  Dablon,  as  the  Father  Superior  of  the  Jesuit  :\Iissions.  These 
able  men  knew  the  importance  of  the'  discoveries  made  by  the  missionaries  and 
traders,  for  they  had  been  told  about  the  Mississippi  and  believed  that  it  emptied 
either  into  the  Gulf  of  California  or  into  the  Gulf  of  :\Iexico;  and  they  now 
determined  to  have  that  matter  thoroughly  and  officially  explored.  For  this 
purpose  they  selected  Sieur  Jollyet,  who  was  a  most  able  and  thoroughly  com- 
petent young  man,  born  in  this"  country  and  endowed  with  every  quality  that 
could  be  desired  in  such  an  enterprise,  having  experience  and  a  knowledge  of 
the  languages  of  the  Ottawa  Country,  where  he  had  spent  several  years;  hav- 
ing moreover  the  tact  and  prudence  necessary  for  an  expedition  so  dangerous 
and  difficult,  and  a  courage  that  feared  nothing. 

For  several  years,  Father  James  Marquette,  a  Jesuit  missionary,  has  longed 
to  have  the  great  river  and  the  prairies  of  Illinois  explored  and  the  Gospel  car- 
ried to  the  Indians;  and  when  an  opportunity  was  offered  of  accompanying 
Toliet  he  at  once  accepted  it  with  delight  and  enthusiasm,  putting  their  expedi- 
tion under  the  protection  of  the  Blessed  \'irgin  Immaculate,  and  promising 
her  that  if  she  did  him  the  grace  to  discover  the  great  river,  he  would  give  it  the 
name  of  "Conception."  In  1669  while  stationed  at  Che-goi-me-gon  he  selected 
a  young  Illinois  as  a  companion  by  whose  instructions  he  became  familiar  with 
the  dialect  of  that  tribe.  .  ,  t    ■ 

Toliet  and  Marquette  with  two  canoes  and  five  service  men  started  on  their 
trip  the  17th  of  May,  1673,  from  the  Mission  of  St.  Ignez  opposite  Mackinack. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  23 

They  coasted  along  the  northern  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  and  entered  the  waters 
of  Green  Bay ;  from  its  head  they  passed  the  portage  into  the  river  Wisconsin 
and  down  that  into  the  Mississippi,  the  great  river,  tiien  without  a  name,  and 
named  it  Conception  River.  This  discovery  was  made  on  the  i/th  of  June, 
1673,  just  thirty  days  after  they  started.  Without  many  interesting  incidents 
they  followed  down  the  Mississippi  until  they  arrived  at  three  little  villages  of 
the  I'eorias,  members  of  the  Illinois  Confederacy,  on  the  western  shore  of  the 
Mississippi  almost  directly  west  of  Peoria.  Marquette's  description  of  this  visit 
has  been  already  quoted.  From  there  they  went  on  south  to  the  vicinity  of  the 
Arkansas  River  where  they  found  a  different  and  more  warlike  people.  They 
were  already  convinced  that  the  great  river  emptied  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
and  they  were  told  that  it  w^ould  be  very  dangerous  for  them  to  go  any  farther, 
not  only  because  the  Indians  there  were  unfriendly  and  warlike,  but  because 
they  might  meet  Spanish  explorers.  For  these  reasons  they  wisely  concluded 
to  return  and  report  their  valuable  discoveries  rather  than  to  go  on  further  and 
by  their  own  deaths  cause  the  loss  of  all  they  had  gained.  They  therefore 
started  up  the  .Mississippi  River  but  on  reaching  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  they 
determined  to  take  it  as  a  shorter  route  to  the  lakes.  Near  Alton  they  dis- 
covered the  pictures  of  the  Piasa  Bird  and  other  pictographs  already  described. 

It  was  on  the  17th  of  July,  just  thirty  days  after  their  discovery  of  the 
Mississippi,  that  they  began  their  return  voyage.  Marquette  expresses  his 
admiration  of  what  he  saw  in  the  Illinois  valley  in  the  following  language: 

"We  had  seen  nothing  like  this  river  for  the  fertility  of  the  land,  its  prairies, 
woods,  wild  cattle,  stag,  deer,  wild-cats,  bustards,  swans,  ducks,  parrots  and  even 
beaver ;  its  many  little  lakes  and  rivers.  That  on  which  we  sailed  is  broad,  deep, 
and  gentle  for  sixty-five  leagues.  During  the  spring  and  part  of  the  summer, 
the  only  portage  is  half  a  league." 

^Marquette  was  a  very  devoted  missionary  and  never  lost  an  opportunity  to 
publish  the  Gospel  to  the  Indians  whom  he  met.  He  stopped  three  days  at  the 
village  of  Peoria,  preaching  his  faith  in  all  their  Cabins.  As  he  was  embarking, 
the  Indians  brought  to  him  at  the  water's  edge  a  dying  child  which  he  baptized 
a  little  before  it  expired;  deeming  this,  as  he  says,  "an  admirable  providence" 
for  the  salvation  of  that  innocent  soul  and  one  by  which  all  the  fatigue  of  his 
voyage  was. well  repaid. 

We  regret  exceedingly  that  Manjuette  did  not  more  fully  describe  his  visit 
to  our  Peoria  village.  He  says  nothing  of  the  previous  visits  of  Father  Jean 
Dec|uerre,  or  by  any  of  the  other  priests  that  are  said  to  have  been  here  before 
him.  Perhaps  he  may  not  have  known  atwut  these  visits  or  he  may  have  had 
his  own  reason  for  not  mentioning  them.  I  believe  he  does  not  mention  the  fact 
that  the  Indians  here  were  the  same  tribe  that  he  met  in  Iowa  but  this  was 
undoubtedly  the  case.  At  any  rate,  he  seems  to  have  been  well  received  and  to 
have  spent  a  busy  three  days  with  them  and  to  have  baptized  a  child.^  Perhaps, 
though  he  does  not  refer  to  it,  the  Indians  already  knew  something  of  Christianity 
from  former  missionaries. 

This  expedition  of  Jolict  and  .Marquette  "was  a  w^onderful  journey,"  says 
Stephen  L.  Spear,  "without  serious  accident  or  misadventure  from  start  to 
finish.  Xo  deaths,  no  sickness,  no  desertions,  no  dissensions  among  them- 
selves, no  conflicts  wdth  the  natives,  no  fatal  scarcity  of  corn,  no  waste  of  time, 
no  change  of  plan,  none  of  the  usual  misfortunes  accompanying  such  expeditions 
in  those  days — a  canoe  voyage  of  more  than  2,300  miles  in  bark  canoes  over  an 
uncharted  route  without  map  or  guide — without  shelter  from  scorching  sun 
or  pelting  rain  or  driving  wind — anchoring  near  mid-stream  at  night,  not  daring 
to  go  forward  for  fear  of  rock  and  rapids ;  not  daring  to  camp  on  shore  for  fear 
of  surprise  by  hostile  natives ;  refraining  from  shooting  the  game  with  which  the 
country  abounded  for  fear  of  attracting  the  attention  of  unwelcome  neighbors — 
their  little  stock  of  corn  and  dried  meat  the  only  commissary  on  which  they  could 
draw  for  supplies ;  yet  20  miles  a  day  upstream  and  down,  through  foul  weather 


24  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

and  fair,  including  all  stops  and  portages,  returning  to  their  point  of  departure 
without  a  mishap  worthy  of  record." 

Marcjuette  has  generally  been  considered  the  historian  of  that  exploring 
expedition.  Joliet  lost  his  instruments  and  his  memoranda  and  nearly  lost  his 
life  at  La  Chine  Rapids,  yet  he  nevertheless  prepared  a  map  from  memory, 
which  was  sent  to  France  by  Frontenac.  The  report  of  Marquette  was  intended 
as  Joliet's   official   report  of   his   voyage. 


CHAPTER  V 
TAKING  POSSESSION  BY  LA  SALLE 

The  last  chapter  gave  an  account  of  the  discovery  of  the  Illinois  country. 
This  will  describe  how  it  was  claimed  and  held  for  the  French  King  and  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church. 

Eight  years  before  Joliet  and  ]\Iarquette  made  their  historic  exploration, 
Jean  Talon,  Coun.selor  and  Intendant  to  Louis  XIY,  wrote  to  John  Colbert, 
the  King's  Prime  '^Minister,  as  follows: 

"Canada  is  of  such  a  vast  e.xtent  that  I  know  not  of  its  limits  on  the  north, 
thev  are  so  great  a  distance  from  us.  and  on  the  south  there  is  nothing  to  prevent 
his  Majesty's  name  and  arms  being  carried  as  far  as  Florida,  New  Sweden, 
New  Netherlands,  New  England ;  and  that  through  the  first  of  these  countries 
access  can  be  had  even  to  Mexico.  All  this  country  is  diversely  watered  by  the 
Saint  Lawrence  and  the  beautiful  rivers  that  flow  into  it  latterly,  that  com- 
municate with  divers  Indian  nations  rich  in  furs,  especially  the  more  northern 
of  them.  The  southern  nations  can  also  be  reached  by  way  of  Lake  Ontario,  if 
the  portages  (beyond)  with  which  we  are  not  yet  acquainted,  are  not  very 
difficult,  though  this  may  be  overcome.  If  these  southern  nations  do  not  abound 
in  peltries  as  those  of  the  north,  they  may  have  more  precious  commodities. 
And  if  we  do  not  know  of  these  last,  it  is  because  our  enemies,  the  Iroquois, 
intervene  between  us  and  the  countries  that  produce  them." 

Talon  does  not  seem  to  consider  the  possibility  of  reaching  the  southern 
country  by  the  way  of  the  Illinois  and  Mississippi,  or  even  by  the  way  of  the 
Wabash  and  Ohio,  which  afterwards  were  avenues  of  trade  and  travel.  Per- 
haps he  was  not  sufficiently  sure  about  them.  His  plan  seems  to  have  been 
to  follow  up  some  river  and  make  a  connection  by  a  portage  with  the 
head  waters  of  the  Ohio.  Talon's  scheme  would  probably  have  been  better 
than  the  western  ones  if  he  could  have  succeeded  and  held  it,  because  it  would 
have  confined  the  Atlantic  colonies  east  of  the  mountains  more  easily;  but  it 
would  have  been  more  difficult  to  hold  because  the  portage  would  have  been 
longer  and  the  Iroquois  and  the  colonies  were  dangerously  near. 

Talon  also  wrote  Colbert  in  1671,  two  years  before  Marquette's  expedition, 
as  follows :  ■  . 

"I  am  no  Courtier,  and  assert,  not  through  a  mere  desire  to  please  the  King, 
nor  without  just  reason  that  this  portion  of  the  F"rench  Monarch  will  become 
something  grand."  "What  I  discover  around  me  causes  me  to  foresee  this,  and 
those  colonies  of  various  nations  so  long  settled  on  the  seaboard  already  tremble 
with  afifright  in  view  of  what  his  Majesty  has  accomplished  here  in  the  interior 
within  seven  years.  Measures  adopted  to  confine  them  within  narrow  limits 
by  taking  possession,  which  I  have  caused  to  be  effected,  do  not  allow  them  to 
spread,  without  subjecting  themselves  at  the  same  time  to  be  treated  as  usurpers 
and  to  have  war  waged  against  them,  and  this  truth  is  what,  by  all  their  acts, 
they  seem  to  greatly  fear.  They  already  know  that  your  name  is  spread  abroad 
among  the  savages'  throughout  all  those  countries  and  that  he  alone  is  there 
regarded  by  them,  (the  savages)  as  the  arbitrator  of  peace  and  war.  All  detach 
themselves    insensibly    from    other    Europeans    and    excepting   the    Iroquois,    of 

25 


26  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUXTY 

whom  I  am  not  as  yet  assured,  we  may  safely  promise  ourselves  to  make  the 
others  take  up  arms  whenever  we  please." 

The  King's  able  minister  and  his  intendant  saw  the  great  importance  of  tak- 
ing possession  of  the  valleys  of  the  ^Mississippi,  Illinois,  and  Ohio,  and  of  hemming 
in  and  confining  the  Atlantic  seaboard  colonies  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  Alle- 
ghany Alountains,  for  they  belonged  to  rival  nations  in  Europe  and  were  founded 
on  theories  of  government — as  regards  both  church  and  state  and  social  life — 
very  different  from  those  of  P'rance,  besides  being  aggressive  competitors  for 
the  Indian  trade. 

La  Salle  was  an  extraordinary  man.  "It  is  easy  to  reckon  up  his  defects 
but  it  is  not  easy  to  hide  from  sight  the  Roman  virtues  that  redeemed  them. 
Beset  by  a  throng  of  enemies,  he  stands  like  a  King  of  Israel,  head  and  shoulders 
above  them  all.  He  was  a  tower  of  adamant  against  whose  front  hardships 
and  dangers,  the  rage  of  men,  of  the  elements,  the  southern  sun,  the  northern 
blast,  fatigue,  famine  and  disease,  delay,  disappointment  and  hope  deferred, 
emptied  their  cjuivers  in  vain.'' 

Four  years  before  Joliet's  discovery  La  Salle  had  fitted  out  an  expedition 
to  explore  the  Ohio  from  its  source  to  the  sea,  and  had  actually  started  on 
the  expedition ;  but  owing  to  disagreements  with  the  ecclesiastical  part  of  his 
associates,  he  was  diverted  from  his  purpose  and  returned  home  without  even 
reaching  the  Ohio.  Then  for  some  years  he  led  the  life  of  a  "Runner  of  the 
Woods,''  but  he  was  more  than  a  runner.  He  was  of  good  birth  and  education 
and  of  correct  habits,  a  promoter  of  great  enterprises  whose  management  he 
imposed  on  himself,  a  man  of  great  ambition  and  tenacity,  shirking  no  hard- 
ships, apparently  incapable  of  discouragement  and  unconscious  of  defeat  to  the 
last. 

Joliet,  after  his  return  from  his  exploring  expedition  with  Marquette,  met 
La  Salle  at  Fort  Frontenac.  Here  the  two  celebrated  explorers  conferred 
together  as  to  the  geography  of  the  country  and  its  future  possibilities.  La  Salle, 
enterprising  and  ambitious  as  he  was,  saw  in  its  development  a  great  opportunity 
and  seized  it  with  delight,  energy  and  enthusiasm.  He  applied  to  the  King  for 
a  charter,  which  was  granted.  May  12,  1678.  This  authorized  him  to  build  a 
new  and  much  stronger  fort  at  Fort  Frontenac,  (now  Kingston,  Canada)  granted 
him  a  large  tract  of  land  in  the  vicinity  and  authorized  him  to  take  possession 
of  the  country,  of  which  they  hoped  to  make  a  glorious  New  France,  and  to 
fortify  it  and  hold  it  for  the  great  King  and  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

His  party  was  soon  gathered.  Chevalier  Henri  de  Tonti,  an  Italian  by  birth, 
son  of  the  merchant  who  invented  the  Tontine  system  of  accumulating  money. 
a  professional  soldier  with  much  experience  in  European  wars,  a  brave  and  able 
man,  who  afterwards  proved  himself  to  be  a  most  faithful  and  loyal  friend  of 
La  Salle,  was  introduced  to  him  by  Prince  de  Conti ;  and  they,  together  with 
Louis  Hennepin,  a  Franciscan  Friar,  Father  Gabriel  de  La  Ribourde,  and  Zeno- 
bius  or  Zenoble  Membre,  all  members  of  the  Franciscan  order  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  furnished  the  ability,  intelligence  and  character  for  the  new 
expedition.  The  priests  of  this  order  were  sometimes  called  "Gray  Friars," 
and  they  were  also  known  in  Belgium,  Holland  and  France  as  "Recollects," 
while  the  Indians  called  them  "Bare  Feet''  or  "Gray  Gowns."  La  Salle  seems 
to  have  preferred  this  order  to  that  of  the  Jesuits,  although  both  orders  were 
prominent  and  devoted  to  the  missionary  work  everywhere ;  and  the  writings 
of  these  two  orders  constitute  nearly  the  entire  written  history  of  this  valley 
until  it  was  ceded  by  France  to  England  in  1763,  or  even  as  late  as  July  4th, 
1778,  when  George  Rogers  Clark  under  a  commission  from  Patrick  Henry,  the 
Governor,   took  possession   of   this   country   for   Virginia. 

La  Salle  and  Tonti  organized  their  expedition  and  built  at  Fort  Frontenac, 
a  ship  called  the  Griffon,  with  whicli  they  expect  to  keep  up  the  communication 
with  the  settlements  on  the  western  lakes  and  carry  on  their  commerce.  La 
Salle,  Tonti,  Hennepin,  and  the  two  Recollects,  with   thirty-two  persons  in  all 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  27 

sailed  from  Fort  I-'rontenac  the  7tli  of  August,  1679,  after  the  "Te  Deum"  and 
amid  the  firing  of  cannon,  bringing  a  good  supply  of  arms,  merchandise,  and 
seven  small  cannon. 

La  Salle's  plan  was  to  seize  and  fortify  the  Mississippi  and  Illinois  rivers  and 
establish  trading  posts  and  missionary  stations  which  should  be  put  under  the 
charge  of  the  Friars. 

Reaching  Mackinac  with  his  party  in  September,  1679,  he  passed  on  to 
Green  P)ay  and  remained  there  until  their  vessel,  the  Griffon,  was  loaded  with 
furs.  This  was  sent  back  with  a  pilot  and  five  good  sailors  for  Montreal  to 
dispose  of  the  cargo  and  return  as  soon  as  possible  with  the  additional  sup- 
plies needed  for  the  furtherance  of  the  expedition.  Among  other  things  it  was 
to  bring  iron  and  material  to  build  and  equip  a  vessel  on  the  Illinois  river  to  be 
used  in  navigating  that  river  and  the  Mississippi.  La  Salle  and  fourteen  men 
then  proceeded  with  four  canoes,  considerable  merchandise  and  a  quantity  of 
utensils  and  tools  to  the  southern  bend  of  Lake  Michigan  and  built  a  fort  at 
the  mouth  of  St.  Joseph's  river,  where  he  was  joined  by  Tonti  with  twenty  addi- 
tional men. 

On  the  third  of  December,  La  Salle  with  thirty  men  and  eight  canoes  ascended 
the  Miami  river  to  a  point  near  South  Bend  to  make  a  portage  to  the  Kankakee 
and  thus  reach  the  Illinois.  When  they  reached  the  village  of  the  Kaskaskias 
at  Starved  Rock,  they  found  it  deserted.  The  Indians,  however,  as  was  their 
custom  on  leaving  their  villages  in  the  fall  for  a  hunting  season  in  the. south, 
had  stored  some  corn  for  their  use  on  their  return.  La  Salle  was  compelled  to 
take  about  twenty  bushel  of  this  for  he  was  out  of  provisions. 

With  these  fresh  supplies  he  passed  on  down  the  Illinois  to  Peoria  Lake. 
Here  they  saw  a  number  of  wooden  canoes  on  both  sides  of  the  river  and  about 
eight  cabins  full  of  Indians,  who  did  not  see  them  until  they  had  doubled  a  point 
behind  which  the  Illinois  were  encamped  within  half  a  gun  shot.  La  Salle  and 
his  men  were  in  eight  canoes  abreast  with  all  their  arms  in  their  hands.  At 
first  the  Indians  were  alarmed  and  ran  away.  He  managed  to  call  them  back 
and  after  a  day  spent  in  dancing  and  feasting,  Hennepin  notified  them  that 
they  had  come  not  to  trade  but  to  preach.  For  this  purpose,  they  assembled  the 
chiefs  of  the  villages,  which  were  on  both  sides  of  the  river.  La  Salle  explained 
that  the  French  desired  to  be  their  allies  and  that  they  would  bring  over  addi- 
tional Frenchmen,  who  would  protect  them  from  the  attacks  of  their  enemies 
and  would  furnish  them  all  the  goods  they  needed,  and  that  they  intended  to 
build  a  great  wooden  canoe  and  sail  down  to  the  sea  bringing  them  all  kinds  of 
merchandise  by  that  shorter  and  more  easy  route.  The  Indians  agreed  and  gave 
a  description  of  the  Mississippi  river. 

At  Peoria  La  Salle  met  a  large  number  of  t!ie  Kaskaskias  returning  to  their 
village.  La  Salle  explained  to  them  that  he  had  taken  some  of  their  corn  as  a 
matter  of  necessity  and  he  settled  with  them  for  it  to  their  satisfaction.  La  Salle 
now  decided  to' remain  at  Peoria  until  the  opening  of  the  river  in  the  spring. 

The  next  day  after  they  landed,  a  Miami  chief  named  Monso  arrived  with 
a  lot  of  kettles,  axes,  knives,  etc..  in  order  bv  these  presents  to  make  the  Illinois 
believe  that  the  F"renchmen  intended  to  join  their  enemies  who  lived  beyond  the 
Colbert  (Mississippi)  river.  One  of  the  Illinois  chiefs,  named  Omaouha,  notified 
La  Salle  that  the  Miamies  were  working  against  them.  La  Salle  believed  that 
Monso  had  been  sent  by  other  Frenchmen  who  were  jealous  of  his  success  for 
he  was  surprised  to  find  that  Monso  knew  all  about  his  affairs  in  detail. 

Nicanape,  a  brother  of  the  most  important  of  the  Illinois  chiefs,  made  a  speech 
at  the  feast  trying  to  persuade  the  Frenchmen  to  abandon  their  idea  of  going  on 
down  the  river,  telling  them  that  the  river  was  unnavigalile.  full  of  falls  and 
sandbars  and  infested  with  dangerous  enemies.  .After  the  meal  La  Salle  explained 
to  Nicanape  that  when  Monso  was  plotting  with  him  the  night  before  in  secret. 
La  Salle  had  not  been  asleep  and  his  manifest  knowledge  of  the  motive  of 
Nicanape  silenced  him.     In  the  meantime  Monso  started  back.    The  Indians  sent 


28  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

runners  after  Monso  to  bring  him  back  for  cross-examination  but  as  his  tracks 
were  hidden  by  a  recent  fall  of  snow  they  were  unable  to  overtake  him.  Never- 
theless La  Salle's  men  were  somewhat  disheartened  and  six  of  them  deserted. 
They  were  at  that  time  probably  on  the  western  side  of  the  river  near  Birket's 
Hollow. 

La  Salle,  having  gotten  consent  of  the  Indians,  now  commenced  to  build  a 
fort,  a  stockade  of  logs.  This  was  soon  finished  and  named  Fort  Creve  Coeur. 
Concerning  the  location  of  this  fort  there  has  been  a  great  deal  of  controversy 
and  argument.  It  seems  certain,  however,  that  the  main  fort  was  built  at  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  lake  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Illinois  river:  some  think 
it  was  located  above  the  lower  end  of  the  lake  near  the  upper  free  bridge,  and 
some  that  it  was  located  three  miles  below,  near  Wesley  City.  Each  of  these 
locations  has  been  marked  by  a  stone  and  both  are  on  high  points  of  the  bluff. 

It  is  now  confidently  asserted  by  Daniel  R.  Sheen,  Esquire,  of  this  city,  that 
Fort  Creve  Coeur  was  situated  just  across  the  river  from  Peoria  on  the  line  of 
Fayette  street,  and  on  a  little  mound  only  a  few  feet  above  high  water  mark. 
Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  both  of  the  other  locations  for  Creve  Coeur  have 
been  endorsed  by  enthusiastic  societies  and  marked  by  monuments,  I  am  rather 
inclined  to  think  that  Fort  Creve  Coeur  was  located  in  the  latter  place,  not  only 
because  it  seems  to  meet  the  descriptions  given  by  the  builders  better,  but  because 
it  is  the  most  reasonable  place  for  such  a  fort  built  for  the  purpose  for  which 
this  was  constructed.  At  that  place  and  from  there  on  down,  the  river  is  always 
open  in  the  spring  several  weeks  earlier  than  it  is  above.  There  is  also  at  that 
place  a  bend  in  the  shore  and  a  slough  making  a  kind  of  port  or  harbor.  The 
ground  is  high  enough  to  avoid  the  danger  of  overflow  in  high  water  and  it  is 
low  enough  for  boats  to  be  brought  up  close  to  the  fort  or  even  within  the  pali- 
sades. It  is  manifest  that  this  would  be  desirable  as  the  fort  was  not  built  for  a 
temporary  purpose  only,  but  as  a  protection  to  the  commerce  they  hoped  to 
establish  on  the  Illinois  river;  and  for  this  latter  purpose  it  would  be  necessary 
that  it  should  be  close  to  the  harbor  and  to  the  boats  that  were  to  be  protected. 
The  white  men  had  no  cannon  of  long  range;  and  the  Indians  had  none  at 
all,  while  their  muskets  were  only  short  range  guns.  They  did  most  of  their 
fighting  with  clubs  and  bows  and  arrows.  Thus  a  fort  on  a  high  point  of  the 
bluff  would  afiford  no  protection  to  a  boat  in  the  water  below.  jNIoreover  it 
would  be  hard  to  keep  a  fort  so  located  supplied  with  provisions  and  water,  a 
very  essential  thing.  From  a  military  point  of  view  it  seems  to  me  altogether 
probable  that  the  fort  would  have  been  built  on  a  little  bay  near  the  water's 
edge  at  a  place  where  the  water  from  the  numerous  springs  coming  into  the 
river  would  keep  it  open  and  free  from  ice  a  much  greater  part  of  the  year 
than  it  would  be  a  little  farther  up,  and  where  the  boats  would  not  be  threatened 
with  floating  ice  as  they  would  have  been  if  anchored  near  where  Wesley  City 
now  stands.  Also,  it  would  have  been  placed  near  enough  to  the  village  of 
Peoria  on  the  western  shore  to  be  in  easy  communication  with  it  and  yet  free 
from  danger  of  an  attack  from  it.  The  location  of  this  fort  is  a  very  interesting 
question  because  the  buildings  there  were  the  first  ones  erected  by  white  men 
in  Illinois. 

It  would  be  well  to  have  careful  examination  made  into  this  matter  and  to 
examine  the  old  remains  of  the  fort  that  are  alleged  to  be  found  at  the  place 
named  h\  Mr.  Sheen  and  perhaps  erect  another  monumental  stone  to  show  the 
location  of  the  first  building  erected  by  white  men  in  Illinois.  Peorians  are 
specially  interested  in  this  location  for  if  the  fort  were  standing  now  where  Mr. 
Sheen  claims  it  stood  it  would  face  our  city  and  be  plainly  visible  from  our 
steamboat  landing. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  fort  was  being  built  the  keel  for  a  vessel  was  laid 
near  the  fort,  but  before  the  work  on  the  boat  had  advanced  far,  some  of  Tonti's 
men  deserted,  partly  from  want  of  pay,  perhaps  partly  through  a  disposition  to 
cut  lose  from  restraint  and  perhaps  from  fear  of  the  Irociuois.     This  made  it 


HISTORY  OI'   PKORIA  COUXTY  29 

necessary  to  suspend  work  on  the  vessel  and  La  Salle  and  Tonti  agreed  that 
the  former  should  go  back  on  foot  to  enlist  a  fresh  force  of  men  and  bring  the 
necessary  supply  of  materials  for  finishing  and  furnishing  the  boat  and  that 
Tonti  should  liave  the  river  explored  farther  west  and  south. 

A  young  Illinois  passing  La  Salle's  shipyard  traced  for  them  with  coal  a 
fairly  accurate  map  of  the  Mississippi  river,  assuring  them  that  there  were  no 
falls  or  rapids  between  them  and  the  gulf,  giving  the  names  of  the  nations  along 
the  shore.  The  next  morning,  after  public  prayers,  La  Salle  visited  the  village, 
where  he  found  the  Illinois  assembled  having  a  feast.  They  again  tried  to  per- 
suade him  of  the  dangers  of  proceeding  down  the  river.  La  Salle  informed  them 
that  he  knew  all  about  it  and  the  savages  thought  he  had  learned  it  all  in  some 
very  mysterious  way.  Tlie  Illinois  then  apologized  saying  that  they  had  told 
him  their  false  stories  only  with  the  desire  to  keep  the  Frenchmen  with  the 
Illinois ;  and  they  then  all  admitted  that  the  river  was  navigable  to  the  sea.  The 
chief  Oumahouha  ( Omaha )  adopted  Zenoble  Membre  as  his  son.  Tiie  tribe 
lived  at  that  time  only  half  a  league  from  Fort  Creve  Coeur. 

Early  in  March  La  Salle  left  Tonti  in  command  at  Fort  Creve  Coeur  and 
taking  five  men  went  back  to  Niagara  to  look  after  the  Griffon  and  secure  neces- 
sary supplies.  Hennepin  started  down  the  river  Illinois  on  his  exploring  expedi- 
tion. February  29,  1680.  He  describes  the  river  as  skirted  by  hills,  ascending 
which  you  discover  prairie  further  than  the  eye  can  reach.  Hennepin  reached 
the  Tamaroas,  two  leagues  from  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois,  Alarch  7,  1680.  The 
Tamaroas  then  had  their  village  six  or  seven  leagues  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Illinois  and  west  of  the  river  ^Mississippi.  On  April  11,  1680,  Hennepin  was 
captured  by  Indians  on  the  upper  Mississippi.  After  a  long  captivity  and  much 
suffering,  he  was  rescued  by  Daniel  Greysolon  Duluth,  a  cousin  of  Tonti. 

When  Hennepin  and  La  Salle  were  gone,  Tonti  commenced  the  construc- 
tion of  another  fort  on  the  western  side  of  the  river,  supposed  to  be  where  the 
old  pottery  stood  near  llirket's  Hollow.  In  all  this  work  the  French  were 
doubtless  very  greatly  assisted  by  the  Illinois,  who  as  well  as  the  French  would 
feel  the  need  of  it  as  a  defense  against  their  terrible  common  enemies,  the 
Iroquois.  When  Tonti  was  left  by  La  Salle  in  command  of  F'ort  Creve  Coeur, 
he  was  supplied  with  powder  and  lead,  guns  and  other  arms  to  defend  himself 
in  case  he  was  attacked  by  the  Iroquois. 

La  Salle  while  on  his  trip  east  sent  back  orders  to  Tonti  to  go  to  Starved 
Rock  and  build  a  strong  fort  there,  and  for  this  purpose  Tonti  started  north- 
ward. On  the  way,  however,  all  of  his  men  deserted  except  two  Recollects 
and  three  men  newly  arrived  from  France,  taking  with  them  everything  that 
was  most  valuable.  Tonti  went  back  to  hold  Fort  Creve  Coeur  with  his  six 
men  and  did  hold  it  all  summer. 

On  September  10,  1680,  sudden  as  a  clap  of  thunder,  the  Iroquois  invaded 
the  Illinois.  Tonti  had  only  a  few  hours  notice  and  in  trying  to  negotiate  with 
the  Iroquois  came  near  being  treacherously  killed.  The  Illinois  fled  down  the 
river,  leaving  everything  behind,  even  their  corn,  which  was  destroyed.  Tonti 
and  Zenoble  met  the  Irof|uois  in  council  .September  18,  1680.  The  Iroquois 
told  Tonti  they  were  going  to  eat  some  of  the  Illinois  before  they  went  away, 
whereupon  Tonti  resenting  the  inference  that  he  might  be  persuaded  to  desert 
his  friends,  kicked  away  their  presents  and  the  parley  broke  up  in  anger.  I'onti 
expected  to  be  killed  before  morning  and  resolved  to  sell  his  life  dearly.  At 
day-break,  however,  the  Iroquois  told  Tonti  and  his  men  to  depart,  which  they 
promptly  did  knowing  they  could  no  longer,  by  remaining,  be  useful  to  the  Illi- 
nois. Tonti  was  wounded  during  the  parley  but  was  allowed  to  start  for  Green 
Bay  with  his  few  men.  The  next  day.  September  19th,  after  Tonti  started 
back.  Father  Gabriel  Ribourde,  who  had  retired  a  short  distance  for  private 
prayer  was  killed  by  a  band  of  renegade  Kickapoos.  The  Iroquois  returned  to 
New  York  taking  a  large  number  of  female  jirisoners  with  them.  During  the 
continuation  of    this    parley,  the  Iroquois  must    have    been    encamped  or  had  a 


30  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

village  near  Fort  Creve  Coeur.  This  probably  was  a  very  temporary  village  as 
well  as  temporary  fort  because  the  Iroquois  had  come  in  only  eight  days  before 
like  a  clap  of  thunder.  Their  fort  must  have  been  near  Creve  Coeur  because 
they  exchanged  messages  several  times  a  day. 

Tonti  went  on  up  to  Canada  hoping  to  join  La  Salle  but  for  the  time  being 
failed  to  find  him. 

La  Salle,  meanwhile,  on  returning  to  Peoria,  finding  that  his  fort  was  de- 
stroyed and  that  the  Indians  had  been  driven  away,  passed  on  down  the  river 
seeking  for  Tonti.  but  not  finding  him,  he  returned  to  Fort  St.  Joseph.  There 
he  met  Tonti  and  proceeded  with  consummate  ability  to  organize  a  great  con- 
federacy of  the  western  Indians,  including  the  Illinois,  ]\Iiamies,  Foxes,  Shaw- 
nees,  Tamaroas  and  others,  forming  an  alliance  offensive  and  defensive  with  the 
French  and  each  other  against  their  mutual  enemies,  the  Iroquois,  who  were  the 
allies  of  the  colonies  east  of  the  Alleghanies.  La  Salle  then  returned  east  for 
new  supplies,  again  leaving  Tonti  in  command. 

La  Salle  again  rejoined  Tonti  in  December,  1681,  and  started  on  the  third 
winter's  journey  down  the  Illinois  for  the  mouth  of  the  Alississippi  river  with 
a  party  of  twenty-three  Frenchmen  and  thirty-one  Indians.  This  time  they 
crossed  Lake  Michigan  and  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Chicago  river.  From  there 
they  followed  down  the  course  of  the  Deep  Waterway  Canal  (which  was  not 
built  then,  and  is  not  yet.  but  will  be  soon)  and  halted  at  Peoria  long  enough 
to  repair  their  canoes  and  transfer  their  supplies  from  the  sledges  to  the  boats, 
for  this  trip  as  far  as  Peoria  had  been  made  by  placing  their  boats  on  sledges 
and  drawing  them  by  hand  on  the  ice  on  the  frozen  rivers  and  on  the  snow 
across  the  portage.  They  then  successfully  passed  on  down  the  Illinois  and 
Mississippi  river  to  the  Gulf  of  ^Mexico,  and  took  possession  of  the  country  and 
all  its  seas,  harbors,  ports,  etc.,  including  the  long  string  of  particulars  that  in 
those  days  were  included  in  documents  of  that  sort,  in  the  name  of  the  "most 
high,  mighty,  invincible  and  victorious  Prince  Louis  the  Great,  by  the  Grace  of 
God,  King  of  France  and  Navarre,  P^ourteenlh,  by  that  name,"  April  9.  1682. 

They  then  started  on  their  return.  La  Salle  fell  sick  and  had  to  be  left  behind 
at  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  while  Tonti  came  on  ahead.  La  Salle  followed  later  and 
joined  him  at  Alackinac.  All  this  magnificent  domain  was  then,  according  to 
the  charter  granted  him  by  the  Grand  Monarch,  "La  Salle's  Country"  to  be 
held  by  him  for  and  in  the  name  of  the  French  King  and  for  his  own  profit. 

La  Salle  on  his  return  proceeded,  in  the  winter  of  1682  and  1683,  to  erect  a 
fort  at  Starved  Rock  called  Fort  St.  Louis  du  Rocher,  about  which  he  gathered 
the  remnant  of  many  western  tribes,  twenty  thousand  or  more  Indians.  This 
was  to  be  the  military  headquarters  of  La  Salle's  Country,  the  principal  trad- 
ing post  of  the  whole  region,  the  rallying  point  of  all  of  the  western  red  war- 
riors in  opposition  to  the  Iroquois.  \\'hen  it  was  finished,  he  placed  Tonti  in 
command  and  early  in  the  summer  of  1683,  La  Salle  left  his  glorious  domain — 
never  to  see  it  again.  Some  time  after  he  was  gone.  Tonti  led  or  accompanied 
his  Illinois  allies  and  joining  a  body  of  French  and  Canadian  Indians  drove  the 
Iroquois  back  to  their  home  villages  and  punished  them  severely. 

La  Salle's  friend.  Count  Frontinac,  had  been  succeeded  by  La  Barre.  who  was 
an  enemy  of  La  Salle's  and  thwarted  him  in  every  possible  way;  so  that  now 
La  Salle  was  compelled  to  return  to  France  and  appeal  directly  to  the  French 
King.  There  he  was  successful  and  organized  a  new  expedition  with  the  inten- 
tion of  returning  to  America  and  establishing  a  fort  and  a  commercial  city  for 
his  territory  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  river.  It  was  a  grand  conception 
and  if  he  had  not  accidentally  missed  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  landing 
further  west  on  the  shore  of  Texas,  thus  losing  his  ships  and  his  life  in  an 
efifort  to  return,  it  is  hard  to  determine  how  great  a  colony  that  able  man 
might  have  developed.  His  plans  were  magnificent.  His  ability  was  great.  His 
life  was  terminated  by  the  treachery  of  one  of  his  own  men. 


CHAPTER  VI 
PEORIA  UNDER  THE  FRENCH 

Joliet  and  Marquette,  La  Salle  and  Tonti  had  come  and  gone  like  meteors 
in  the  sky,  wonderful  in  their  brilliant  achievements  as  any  of  the  knights  of 
old.  After  them  there  is  little  to  be  told  of  the  French  occupation  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi valley  that  is  creditable  to  the  mother  country. 

Tonti  was  left  by  La  Salle  in  charge  at  Starved  Rock  of  all  his  fortifications 
and  headquarters  for  all  his  wide  domain  and  for  the  confederacy  of  the  west- 
ern Indians  which  he  had  organized.  But  the  enemies  of  La  Salle  were  in  charge 
of  Quebec  and  they  sent  Chevalier  de  Bogis  to  supersede  Tonti  in  his  com- 
mand, which  he  did  but  retained  Tonti  as  a  captain  of  troops.  They  remained 
in  charge  of  the  Fort  at  Starved  Rock,  representing  different  interests  and  hav- 
ing but  little  symi)athy  with  each  other's  plans.  In  the  following  March,  the 
approach  of  their  common  enemy,  the  Iroquois,  compelled  them  to  unite  in  a 
defense  of  their  post,  where  they  were  besieged  for  six  days  by  two  thousand 
warriors.  Their  position,  however,  was  so  strong  and  their  means  of  defense 
so  adequate  that  the  hitherto  victorious  Iroquois  were  repulsed  with  loss  and 
compelled  to  abandon  the  siege.  This  was  the  last  invasion  of  the  savages  from 
the  east.  From  this  time  on  for  many  years,  the  Illinois  and  allied  tribes  re- 
sumed their  yearly  residence  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fort  without  molestation.  The 
protecting  guns  of  the  French  and  the  presence  of  Tonti,  who  made  the  fort  his 
headquarters  for  many  years,  rendered  their  safety  secure.  It  was  also  the 
abode  of  many  French  traders  and  merchants  with  their  families. 

From  this  point  Tonti  roamed  the  Western  world  over,  and  trading,  fight- 
ing, and  exploring,  he  made  six  trips  up  and  down  the  Mississippi  and  visited 
Montreal.  i\lackinac  and  points  on  Lake  Michigan.  In  1702  he  was  deprived 
of  his  command  and  joined  d'Iberville  to  aid  him  in  his  efforts  to  colonize  lower 
Louisiana,  and  the  fort  at  Starved  Rock  was  ordered  abandoned.  It  was,  how- 
ever, occasionally  occu[)ied  as  a  trading  port,  until  1718,  when  it  was  raided  by 
the  Indians  and  burned  on  account  of  the  licentiousness  of  the  French 
inhabitants. 

In  1686-9  he  accompanied  Rev.  J.  F.  Buisson  Sentsome  on  his  trip  with  a 
company  of  priests  from  Mackinaw  down  to  Natchez. 

To  the  Recollet  monks  of  St.  Francis  was  first  assigned  the  care  of  the 
American  mission  l)Ut  Cardinal  Richelieu  superseded  this  order  and  confined  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  natives  and  settlers  of  Canada  to  the  Jesuits.  There 
were  accremonious  quarrels  between  these  two  rival  religious  orders,  which 
were  intensitied  by  the  ])articipation  therein  of  the  civil  authorities  and  which 
continued  until  the  suppression  of  the  Jesuits  in  most  of  the  provinces  of  France 
and  their  expulsion  from  the  province  of  Louisiana,  in  1763  or  before,  and  from 
the  entire   Dominion  of   France   in    1764. 

After  the  departure  of  La  Salle  there  was  luit  little  done  by  the  French  in 
Illinois  for  the  next  thirty  years.  An  account  of  the  succession  of  priests,  who 
were  sent  to  the  missions  at  Peoria  by  the  religious  orders  to  which  they  be- 
longed to  care  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  French  traders  and  Indians,  is 
all  there  is  to  keep  up  the  continuity  of  the  story.     It  is  a  melancholy  tale  of 

31 


32  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

suffering  and  death,  and  an  evidence  of  the  warmth,  zeal,  and  piety  of  these 
faithful  followers  of  the  cross. 

Father  Gabriel  Lanibronde,  Jesuit,  went  as  a  missionary  to  the  Illinois  in 
1678  and  was  slain  at  his  mission  in  1680. 

Father  Maxime  Le  Clerc  went  to  the  Illinois  in  1678.  He  was  killed  by  the 
Indians  in  1687. 

Father  Zenoble  Membre,  Recollet,  went  to  the  Illinois  in  1678,  returned  in 
1680,  and  was  employed  in  visiting  the  tribes  on  the  Mississippi. 

Father  Louis  Hennepin  went  to  the  Illinois  in  1678  with  La  Salle;  was  oc- 
cupied in  making  discoveries  on  the  Mississippi  where  he  was  made  prisoner 
in  1680  and  afterwards  ransomed. 

M.  Jean  Bergier,  mentioned  as  the  successor  of  Father  Pinet,  priest  of  the 
Seminary  of  Quebec,  went  to  the  Illinois  in  1686;  was  at  the  Tamaroas  or 
Cahokia  mission;  died  there  in  1699;  was  buried  by  Father  Marest,  who  was 
in  the  mission  to  the  Kaskaskias. 

During  the  year  1694-5  Father  Grevierre  attended  his  labors  among  Peorias 
until  1699  when  he  was  recalled.  He  returned  to  the  Illinois  mission  in  1700 
and  continued  his  labors  with  the  Peorias,  where  he  was  assaulted  by  a  med- 
icine man  of  the  tribe  from  whom  he  received  a  severe  wound  which  finally 
resulted  in  his  death,  at  Mobile  in  1706. 

Peoria  then  was  left  without  a  priest  until  the  Indians  had  promised  better 
behavior,  when  Father  Deville  was  sent  to  them. 

M.  Phillip  Boucher,  priest  of  the  Seminary  of  Quebec,  was  sent  to  the  Tam- 
aroas or  Cahokia  mission,  to  assist  M.  Bergier;  remained  with  him  until  1696, 
when  he  went  to  visit  the  Arkansas  and  other  Indian  tribes  on  the  lower  Mis- 
sissippi: returned  and  died  at  Peoria  in  1719. 

In  1692,  Father  Louis  Hyacinth  Simon,  went  as  missionary  to  "St.  Louis," 
(Peoria)  ;  went  from  there  in  1694  to  visit  the  different  establishments  and  posts 
on  the  Mississippi;  returned  to  Quebec  in  1699. 

Father  Julien  Benettau,  Jesuit  priest,  went  to  the  Illinois  in  1696;  labored 
at  the  mission  of  (Peoria?)  St.  Louis  with  great  success;  died  there  in  1709. 

M.  Francois  Juliet  de  Montigney,  priest,  in  1696  was  sent  to  Louisiana  in 
the  character  of  vicar-general,  by  the  bishop  of  Quebec.  He  visited  the  mis- 
sions in  Illinois.  St.  Louis,  the  Tamaroas  or  Cahokias,  while  M.  Bergier  was 
there,  traversed  the  whole  country,  and  returned  to  Quebec  in  1718. 

M.  Michael  Antoine  Gamelin,  priest  of  the  Seminary  of  Quebec,  accom- 
panied him.     They  descended  the  Mississippi,  and  went  as  far  as  Mobile. 

Father  Gabriel  Marest,  Jesuit,  went  to  the  Illinois  in  1699;  fixed  his  resi- 
dence at  Kaskaskia ;  died  there  in  1727. 

Father  Antoine  Darion,  priest,  went  in  1700  on  a  mission  to  the  Tunicas,  a 
tribe  living  on  the  Mississippi;  and  adjoining  the  Natchez.  He  went  from 
Quebec. 

Rev.  Phillip  Boucher  labored  a  while  at  St.  Louis  (Peoria)  and  died  there 
in  1718. 

Under  the  French  government  the  territory  of  Illinois  was  at  first  under 
the  administration  of  the  governor  of  Canada,  the  seat  of  government  being  at 
Quebec.  The  region  being  so  very  remote  and  the  population  so  exceedingly 
sparce,  little  if  any  civil  authority  was  exercised  over  the  people.  As  the  Illi- 
nois country  had  been  settled  by  Frenchmen  coming  through  Canada,  who  had 
left  manv  relatives  there,  and  as  they  liad  always  traded  there,  the  affections 
of  the  old  French  settlers  still  remained  with  Canada ;  but  in  consequence  of 
La  Salle's  discovery  of  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  and  of  his  taking  posses- 
sion, in  the  name  of  his  king,  of  all  the  countries  drained  by  it,  the  people  of 
France  now  began  to  come  into  the  Mississippi  valley  by  way  of  the  Gulf,  as 
La  Salle  had  foreseen  and  planned.  As  early  as  the  year  1700,  they  had  pene- 
trated as  far  north  as  the  River  Maramac,  not  more  than  twenty  miles  south 
from  St.  Louis,  and  had  there  begun  the  smelting  of  lead  with  which  that  region 
was  supposed  to  abound. 


vW 


\1K\V   (iK    A    I'KdUIA    1!KS11)KX(  K    STIIKKT 


Vli:\V   OF   PKORIA'S    PRINCIPAL   BUSIXKSS   S'lRKET 


PKdlMA    WAIKi;    l-Kn\r.    I-|;(IM    TIIK    l.oWKi;    KUKK    ISKIDiiK 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  33 

In  171 1  that  portion  of  Canada  or  New  France  in  which  this  part  of  the 
State  of  IlHnois  is  located  was  detached  from  Canada  and  attached  to  the  prov- 
ince of  Louisiana,  and  thereafter  continued  for  many  years  to  constitute  a  part 
of  it. 

In  those  days  fabulous  stories  of  the  great  wealth  of  Louisiana  in  gold, 
silver,  pearls  and  precious  stones  were  circulated  in  Europe.  Such  paltry 
things  as  the  great  fertility  of  the  soil,  or  as  coal,  iron,  and  lead  were  uot  much 
thought  of.  Adventurers  explored  the  country  throughout  its  entire  extent  in 
search  of  the  precious  metals,  little  of  which  was  found,  but  great  discoveries 
were  made  of  lead,  iron  and  mineral  coal. 

In  the  spring,  1712,  the  French  at  Fort  St.  Louis  "The  Rock"  (Starved 
Rock)  established  a  trading  post  here  at  Peoria  Lake,  and  a  number  of  families 
came  thither  from  Canada  and  built  cabins  in  the  Indian  village.  For  fifty 
years  French  and  half-breeds  continued  to  live  in  the  town  with  the  Indians  as 
one  people,  and  during  that  time  peace  and  harmony  prevailed  between  them. 

On  August  17,  1 71 7,  John  Law,  the  celebrated  financier,  procured  from  the 
king  a  charter  for  the  Company  of  the  Occident  for  the  whole  of  the  colony  of 
Louisiana,  which  included  Illinois,  with  power  to  sell  and  alienate  the  lands  in 
such  manner  as  they  might  think  proper,  and  with  power  to  appoint  governors 
and  other  superior  officers  and  to  dismiss  them  and  to  appoint  others.  They 
were  also  given  a  monopoly  of  the  tobacco  and  slave  trades  and  the 
exclusive  right  to  refine  gold  and  silver.  In  pursuance  of  this  charter, 
a  government  was  organized  over  the  whole  territory,  including  the  Illinois 
country.  On  the  9th  of  F"ebruary,  1718,  there  arrived  at  Mobile  by  ship  from 
France,  Pierre  Duque  Boisbriant,  a  Canadian  gentleman,  with  the  commission 
of  Commandant  at  Illinois.  He  was  a  cousin  of  Bienville,  then  governor  of 
Louisiana,  and  had  already  served  under  him  in  that  province.  In  October  of 
the  same  year,  one  hundred  years  before  Illinois  became  a  state,  accompanied 
by  several  officers  and  a  detachment  of  troops,  he  departed  for  the  Illinois  coun- 
try, where  he  was  ordered  to  construct  a  fort.  Late  in  the  year  Boisbriant 
reaclwJ  Kaskaskia  and  selected  a  site  for  his  fort  sixteen  miles  above  the  vil- 
lage,|^n  the  left  bank  of  the  JMississippi.  Merrily  rang  the  a.xes  of  the  soldiers 
in  the  forest  by  the  mighty  river,  as  they  hewed  out  the  ponderous  timbers  for 
IJalisades  and  bastian.  And  by  degrees  the  walls  arose,  and  the  barracks  and 
commandant's  house,  and  the  store  house  and  great  hall  of  the  Indian  company 
were  built  and  the  cannon,  bearing  the  Coat  of  Arms  of  Louis  XIV,  were 
placed  in  position.  In  the  spring  of  1720  all  was  finished  and  the  lilies  of  the 
Bourbons  floated  over  the  work  which  was  named  "Fort  Chartres." 

In  1719,  while  Fort  Chartres  was  in  process  of  erection,  the  company  of 
the  East  Indies,  established  years  before  by  Colbert,  was  tmited  with  the  Com- 
pany of  the  \\  est  under  the  name  of  the  Company  of  the  Indies,  which  latter 
company  then  assumed  jurisdiction  over  the  province  of  Louisiana.  Under  its 
authority  a  provincial  council  for  Illinois  was  established. 

This  council  speedily  made  Fort  Chartres  the  center  of  the  civil  govern- 
ment and  of  the  colony,  and  its  members  executed  grants  of  land  upon  which 
some  titles  still  rest,  though  but  few  permanent  improvements  and  actual  settle- 
ments were  made.  They  dispensed  justice,  regulated  titles  and  administered 
estates,  in  fact  established  the  court  which  for  more  than  forty  years  decided 
the  causes  which  arose  in  the  Illinois  country  according  to  the  principles  and 
mode  of  procedure  recognized  by  the  civil  law. 

Phillip  Francis  Renault,  director  general  of  the  mines  of  the  Company  of 
the  Indies,  and  formerly  a  banker  of  Paris,  reached  Fort  Chartres  before  its 
completion  and  made  his  headquarters  at  the  post.  He  brought  with  him  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miners  and  soldiers  and  five  hundred  slaves  from  San  Do- 
mingo.    This  is  said  to  have  been  the  beginning  of  slavery  in  Illinois. 

Renault,  as  director  of  the  Mines,  pursued  for  years  with  indefatigable  en- 
ergy the  exploration  of  the   Mississippi   valley   for  mineral,  carrying  his  pros- 


34  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

pecting  far  up  the  Missouri  to  the  Rocky  Mountain  and  up  the  Ohio  and  its 
tributaries  to  the  Alleghanies.  He  obtained  a  concession  to  himself  of  several 
tracts  of  laud  some  of  which  are  known  to  have  contained  valuable  mines.  The 
concession  in  which  we  Peorians  are  most  interested  embraced  a  tract  of  land  on 
Peoria  lake,  which  under  the  name  of  Renault  claims  gave  rise  to  much  contro- 
versy in  congress,  as  well  as  some  unrest  at  Peoria. 

This  claim  was  described  as:  "One  league  in  front  at  Pimiteau  ou  the 
River  Illinois  facing  the  east  and  adjoining  to  the  lake  bearing  the  name  of  the 
village,  and  on  the  other  side  of  the  banks  opposite  the  village  for  a  half  league 
above  it  with  a  depth  of  five  leagues,  the  point  of  the  compass  following  the 
Illinois  river  down  the  same  upon  one  side  and  ascending  by  the  river  of  Arcary 
[de  d'Arescy,  elsewhere  called  the  des  Arcouy. — Ed.]  which  forms  the  middle 
through  the  rest  of  the  depth." 

The  wording  of  this  grant  goes  to  show  that  at  that  time,  June  14,  1723, 
there  was  a  village  located  on  Lake  Pimiteau,  or  Lake  Peoria,  the  precise  loca- 
tion of  which  is  not  definitely  stated.  The  heirs  of  Renault  have,  from  time 
to  time,  set  up  a  claim  to  the  land  so  granted  at  Lake  Peoria.  Their  last  claim 
was  that  it  embraced  a  tract  lying  on  both  sides  of  the  Kickapoo  creek  at  its 
mouth  extending  up  the  river  as  far  as  Bridge  street,  and  following  the  creek 
as  its  middle  line  for  a  distance  of  five  leagues,  or  fifteen  miles  by  one  league, 
or  three  miles,  in  width.  The  description  however  is  of  such  an  uncertain  na- 
ture it  was  not  possible  to  locate  it  with  any  degree  of  accuracy,  and  it  never 
has  been  recognized  by  the  government  in  any  of  its  surveys. 

Here  we  have  the  fact  well  authenticated  by  a  grant  of  land  based  thereon 
that  in  1723  there  existed  at  Pimiteau  (  Pimiteoui )  a  village  bearing  the  same 
name  as  the  lake  upon  which  it  was  situated.  Whether  or  not  this  was  the 
same  village  mentioned  by  IMarquette,  St.  Cosme,  and  Grevierre,  does  not  appear. 
But  that  it  was  a  French  village  can  scarcely  be  doubted.  Tradition  says  that 
the  object  of  this  grant  was  to  secure  control  of  a  lead  mine,  of  which  some 
evidence  had  been  found.  In  the  light  of  the  present  day  it  would  seem  more 
highly  probable  that  Renault's  aim  was  to  secure  control  of  the  valuaWPKSroal 
fields  which,  it  was  evident,  bordered  upon  the  Kickapoo  creek,  then  calT^anhe 
Arcary  or  Arcoury. 

In  1732  the  charter  of  the  Company  of  the  Indies  was  surrendered,  and 
Louisiana,  including  what  is  now  the  state  of  Illinois,  was  thereafter  governed 
by  officers  appointed  directly  by  the  French  crown,  under  a  code  of  laws  known 
as  the  Common  Law  of  Paris.  These  laws  however  not  being  adapted  to  the 
exigency  of  civil  or  social  relations  in  a  new  country  were  not  generally  en- 
forced ;  the  commandant  exercising  an  arbitrary  but  mild  authority  which  was 
acquiesced  without  complaint. 

The  majority  of  the  colonies  who  had  come  with  the  Indies  company  were 
poor  and  illiterate  and  for  the  most  part  they  took  themselves  to  hunting  and 
iDoating.  Few  men  of  talent  and  enterprise  remained  and  became  merchants 
and  traders  on  a  large  scale  with  the  Indians. 

In  1734  Pierre  d'Artaguiette  was  appointed  commander  of  the  Illinois  dis- 
trict and  his  administration  was  popular  and  successful.  In  1736,  however,  he 
conducted  a  disastrous  expedition  against  the  Chickasaws  who  had  long  op- 
posed the  advancement  of  the  French  settlers  on  the  Mississippi.  His  force 
was  composed  of  a  part  of  the  garrison  of  Fort  Chartres,  a  company  of  vol- 
unteers from  the  French  villages,  and  a  large  portion  of  the  warriors  of  the  Kas- 
kaskias.  making  an  army  of  two  hundred  French  and  four  hundred  Indians. 
The  Illinois  and  Miami  Indians  were  under  the  command  of  chief  Chicagou. 
Major  d'Artaguiette  had  been  promised  re-inforcements  from  New  Orleans 
but  they  failed  to  arrive  and  there  was  nothing  left  to  the  brave  young  com- 
mander but  to  fight.  He  was  severely  wounded  in  the  engagement  as  were 
manv  of  his  officers.  His  Indian  armies  fled  and  the  Chickasaws  soon  remained 
masters  of  the  bloody  field.  D'Artaguiette  and  some  other  Frenchmen  were 
taken  prisoners  and  burned  at  the  stake. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  35 

We  have  reached  the  point  where  the  names  of  Washington  and  Virginia 
come  into  our  story. 

In  1611,  March  12th,  the  English  king  had  granted  to  the  Virginia  company 
all  the  land  between  parallels  thirty  and  forty-one  nmning  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  western  sea.  The  northern  line  of  \'irginia  under  that  charter  ran  about 
three  miles  north  of  Peoria  county,  so  that  the  whole  of  Peoria  county  was  in 
Virginia. 

As  the  French  and  English  colonies  increased  in  population  and  extended 
their  settlements,  the  question  of  the  boundary  between  them  became  one  of  in- 
creasing importance  and  brought  the  two  rival  nations  into  collision  with  each 
other.  The  first  strong  competition  took  place  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Ohio 
river.  The  first  exciting  cause  of  this  was  the  formation  of  the  Ohio  Com- 
pany under  a  grant  from  the  English  crown.  Not  an  Englishman  had  at  that 
time  settled  northwest  of  the  Ohio  river.  The  Indians  held  the  whole  country 
with  a  tenacious  grip  and  had  not  even  a  distant  fear  that  the  English  would 
ever  be  able  to  dispossess  them. 

The  grant  to  the  Ohio  company  was  obtained  for  a  tract  situated  within  the 
present  limits  of  the  state  of  Ohio.  The  company  was  composed  of  eight  asso- 
ciates, of  whom  Lawrence  Washington,  Augustine,  and  George  Washington 
were  three.  Measures  for  the  occupancy  of  these  lands  were  taken  by  com- 
mencing to  build  a  fort  near  where  Pittsburg  now  stands  but  the  men  there 
employed  were  driven  away  by  a  large  force  of  French  and  Indians.  This  was 
the  beginning  of  the  French  and  Indian  war,  which  lasted  from  1754  to  1759. 
It  involved  nearly  the  whole  of  Europe  in  the  struggle,  for  its  issue  was  en- 
tangled with  the  old  question  as  to  the  balance  of  power  on  the  continent. 

The  Canadian  tribes  of  Indians  sided  with  the  French ;  the  Iroquois  and 
others  sided  with  the  English,  and  all  of  the  Indians  were  on  the  warpath  on 
one  side  or  on  the  other  to  help  settle  this  question,  one  of  the  momentous  ques- 
tions of  the  world's  history,  as  events  have  proven. 

Washington  had  investigated  the  situation  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Ohio 
to  learn  what  was  the  strength  of  the  enemies  and  of  their  forts  and  what  they 
were  proixibly  ])lanning  to  do.  The  information  brought  by  Washington  con- 
vinced the  governor  of  Virginia  that  the  French  were  preparing  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  Ohio  valley,  and  Major  Washington,  as  he  then  was,  was  ordered 
to  the  confluence  of  the  Allegheny  and  Monongahela  rivers  to  superintend  the 
completion  of  a  fort  there.  V^hen  he  arrived  at  the  place,  he  found  that  it  had 
already  been  taken  possession  of  by  the  French  with  a  force  of  a  thousand  men. 
He  thereupon  determined  to  proceed  to  the  mouth  of  Red  Stone  Creek  where 
the  warehouses  of  the  Ohio  company  were  situated.  He  encountered  Sieur  de 
Jumonville  de  \'illiers,  who  had  been  despatched  with  a  military  force  and  a 
summons  to  Washington  to  require  him  to  withdraw  from  French  territory.  On 
May  28th,  Washington  successfully  attacked  him,  killed  ten  of  the  French  in- 
cluding De\'illiers,  and  captured  twenty-one  prisoners,  while  his  own  loss  was 
one  killed  and  three  wounded.  This  was  Washington's  first  battle,  in  which  he 
was  twenty-two  years  old. 

Coulan,  a  brother  of  the  deceased  French  general,  was  sent  from  Montreal 
with  twelve  hundred  French  and  Indians.  As  Washington  only  had  three  hun- 
dred all  told,  he  retreated  to  Fort  Necessity.  Here  he  was  attacked  on  July  3rd 
and  compelled  to   surrender. 

Fort  Chartres,  Illinois,  at  this  time  was  garrisoned  by  a  regiment  of  grena- 
diers and  the  fort  had  just  been  rebuilt  of  stone,  for  it  had  been  of  wood,  at  a 
cost  of  a  million  dollars. 

Upon  learning  of  the  defeat  of  Jumonville  de  Villiers,  Captain  Neyon  de 
Villiers  of  Fort  Chartres  was  despatched  with  a  company  to  join  the  force  of 
his  brother  Coulan  from  Fort  Duquesne  to  aid  in  overcoming  "Monsieur  de 
Wachenston."  The  result  of  this  campaign  brought  to  the  gallant  Captain 
\'illicrs  and  his  post  on  the  Mississippi  a  well  earned  distinction,  for  the  Illinois 


36  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

country  was  largely  depended  upon  for  supplies,  which  were  transported  in 
boats  down  the  Mississippi  and  up  the  Ohio  to  Fort  Duquesne,  in  which  ser- 
vice Neyon  de  Villiers  rendered  valuable  aid.  His  honors  in  this  war  were 
dearly  bought  for  he  was  the  only  one  of  several  brothers,  who  was  not  slain 
in  the  defense  of  Canada. 

Five  years  before  this  time,  that  is,  in  1749,  the  British  white  population  of 
the  thirteen  colonies  was  estimated  at  one  million,  fifty-one  thousand.  That  of 
the  French  in  all  of  New  France,  exclusive  of  their  Indian  allies,  was  about 
fifty-two  thousand. 

The  desire  of  the  English  colonists  to  speculate  in  the  lands  northwest  of  the 
Ohio  was  very  strong  and  many  prominent  men  were  connected  with  all  such 
schemes,  including  Ijesides  the  Washingtons  already  mentioned,  John  Murray, 
Earl  Dunmore,   Governor  of   Virginia,  and  the   Franklins,   father  and  son. 

The  French  and  Indian  war  which  was  begun  as  we  have  seen,  at  what  is 
now  Pittsburg,  was  practically  ended  five  years  later,  Sept.  13,  1759,  on  the 
plains  of  Abraham  at  Quebec  where  the  gallant  and  able  commanders  on  each 
side  lost  their  lives.  From  this  time  forth  France  lost  all  power  and  control 
in  Canada  and  the  whole  north  west. 

As  soon  thereafter  as  the  dilatory  movements  of  the  governments  could  bring 
it  about,  France  surrendered  all  her  claims  to  her  remaining  possessions  in 
North  America  to  Great  Britain  by  the  treaty  of  Paris,  which  was  signed  in 
1763.  She  had  ceded  her  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi  to  Spain  the  year 
before. 

Thus  ended  the  magnificent  scheme  planned  by  La  Salle  for  making  in  the 
Mississippi  valley  a  new  France,  even  greater  than  the  old.  It  failed  because 
it  was  not  based  upon  proper  fundamental  principles  of  government.  Abso- 
lutism and  despotism  cannot  succeed  in  a  new  country  such  as  this  was. 

At  the  end  of  almost  ninety  years  of  French  control,  it  will  be  interesting 
to  consider  w-hat  Illinois  gained  by  it.     In  the  year  1763  when  France  ceded  this 
country  to  Great  Britain,  what  did  she  transfer  within  that  part  now   included 
in  Illinois?     A  population  consisting  of  about  two  thousand  whites  and  five  or 
six   hundred   negro   slaves — and  a   system   of  legalized   slavery.     The   soil   and 
forests   as  nature  had  made  them.     Here  and  there  a   little   wooden  town;   a 
magnificent  stone  fortress,  the  grandest  that  up  to  that  time  had  been  built  within 
the  present  borders  of  the  United  States,  standing  on  a  sandy  foundation  too  close 
to   the    channel    of   the   erratic    Mississippi ;   a    rude   wooden    village   insecurely 
founded  on  the  same  treacherous  stream ;  three  or  four  other  villages  scarcely 
worth  naming  and  a  few  inefficient  water  mills  located  on  unreliable  streams. 
And  wdiat  else  besides?     No  agriculture  beyond  the  supply  of  immediate  wants, 
and  possibly  for  export,  as  much  flour,  bacon,  pork,  hides,  tallow  and  leather 
as  would  be  produced  on  one  good  prairie  farm  of  six  hundred  acres ;  no  build- 
ings but  the  rudest  and  they  of  wood — there  were  no  brick;  no  commerce  ex- 
cept trade  and  barter  with  the  natives  of  the   forest ;  no  mines  developed ;  no 
looms  or  churns  in  use  and  no  factories  built,  no  schools  established,  no  print- 
ing press  set  up,  no  roads  except  the   trail  of  the   Indian  and  the  buff^alo,  no 
bridge  other  than  an  occasional  tree  felled  across  a  narrow  stream  and  no  trans- 
portation facilities  superior  to  those  of  the  red  men  :  no  civil  officers,  no  popular 
election  ever  held,  few  people  outside  of  the  priests  who  were  able  to  read,  and 
there  were  not  many  of  them — the  Jesuits  having  just  been  expelled  in  a  sum- 
mary  manner — no   civil   courts   and   no   legislatures.     There    were   only   a    few 
homesteads  so  owned  by  the  occupants,  that  they  could   develop  and   improve 
them,  leave  them  to  their  heirs  with  a  good  title.    There  was  nothing  to  broaden 
and  strengthen  the  intellectual  life  of  the  people  or  their  political  life.     There 
was  nothing  to  produce  the  strong,  active,  self-reliant,  progressive,  and  courage- 
ous  characters   that    are   necessarily    found    in   the    successful    frontiersman    or 
pioneer.     There  was  little  or  no  inducement  to  the  citizen  to  do  anything  for 
the  progress  of  the  country,  and  little  ability  on  the  part  of  the  people  to  ac- 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  37 

complisli  it  if  they  had  so  desired.  All  of  this  was  the  fault  of  their  institu- 
tions. The  government  was  centralized  and  autocratic  both  of  church  and  state. 
The  initiative  was  not  accepted  or  desired  on  the  part  of  the  private  citizen,  or 
indeed  permitted  to  them.  Without  these  no  new  country  can  prosper.  I-"rench 
institutions  themselves  on  both  sides  of  the  sea  were  tottering.  The  Grand 
Monarque  had  died  many  years  before.  The  financial  interests  of  the  country 
had  been  committed  to  John  Law,  the  author  of  the  Mississippi  bubble,  and  the 
bubble  had  burst  and  John  Law  had  died  in  poverty.  Even  the  kingdom  of 
France  was  approaching  its  downfall.  The  whole  institutions  of  government  in 
every  branch  were  resting  on  foundations  as  insecure  as  the  foundation  of  their 
magnificent  fort.  It  remains  to  be  .seen  when  Clarke  and  his  \'irginians  come 
what  can  be  done  with  the  same  natural  advantages  by  free  men  under  free 
institutions  which  allow  the  citizens  a  large  degree  of  personal,  religious,  and 
civil  freedom  and  cultivate  in  him  self-reliance  and  energy,  train  him  to  do  his 
own  thinking,  and  offer  him  an  opportunity  to  labor  for  his  own  benefit  and 
the  benefit  of  his  children  and  heirs,  guaranteeing  to  him  the  reward  of  his 
labor.  The  government  heretofore  has  existed  for  the  benefit  of  the  governing 
class  and  the  result  shows  beyond  a  doubt  that  such  a  government  will  ulti- 
mately be  a  failure  evervwhere.  The  French  made  no  effort  to  establish  colonies 
of  self-supporting,  self-governing  people. 


CHAPTER  VII 
BRITISH    RULE   IN   ILLINOIS— 1763-1778 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  government  of  the  I'rench  over  this  region  for 
eiglity  years  or  more  had  been  of  httle  or  no  benefit  to  the  people  of  Illinois. 
We  will  now  see  that  the  government  exercised  by  the  English  was  worse,  for  it 
was  as  damaging  as  they  could  make  it. 

The  English  government  desired  colonies  solely  for  the  benefit  they  could 
derive  from  them  in  the  way  of  trade  and  they  used  every  means  to  keep  them 
in  such  a  state  of  subjection  that  England  could  monopolize  that  trade,  a  policy 
which  they  had  already  so  successfully  and  so  cruelly  carried  out  in  the  case  of 
Ireland.  This  they  hoped  to  be  able  to  do  in  the  colonies  along  the  sea-coast, 
for  by  their  navy  they  controlled  the  ocean ;  but  they  felt  sure  they  would  not 
be  able  to  secure  any  considerable  amount  of  benefit  to  themselves  from  the 
inland  settlements,  for  the  transportation  from  there  to  Great  Britain  for  pro- 
duce and  from  Great  Britain  to  them  for  manufactured  articles  would  be  so 
great  that  such  commerce  could  not  be  made  profitable.  For  this  reason  they 
discouraged  settlement  in  the  northwest. 

Another  strong  reason  they  had  for  not  wishing  to  encourage  such  settlement 
was  that  they  hoiked  by  use  of  the  Indian  tribes  on  the  frontiers  to  be  able  to 
keep  the  eastern  colonies  in  a  more  servile  state  of  subjection.  In  furtherance 
of  this  policy,  they  continually  made  large  presents  to  the  Indians  and  endeav- 
ored in  every  possible  way  to  prejudice  them  against  the  colonists,  and  prom- 
ised them  that  the  vast  territory  of  the  Ohio  and  Illinois  valleys  and  western 
lakes  should  be  kept  as  one  vast  hunting  ground  for  the  red  men. 

Notwithstanding  this,  after  England  had  driven  the  French  from  Canada  and 
the  Northwest,  the  Indians  fearing  they  could  no  longer  rely  upon  the  protection 
of  the  French,  and  that  they  would  be  entirely  within  the  despotic  power  of  the 
English  when  the  colonies  and  the  king  should  be  united,  shrewdly  concluded 
they  must  at  once  make  a  strong  and  desperate  defense  of  the  country  west  of 
the  .\lleghanies  or  be  driven  from  the  lands  of  their  fathers. 

They  had  been  taught  by  the  French  to  hate  the  English  and  many  of  the 
tribes  near  the  colonies  who  had  been  friendly  to  them  up  to  this  time,  began  to 
think  that  they  must  unite  with  their  red  brethren  of  the  west  or  be  rendered 
entirely  helpless. 

Pontiac,  who  has  been  called  the  Colossal  Chief  of  the  Northwest,  the  King 
and  Lord  of  all  that  country.  Chief  of  the  Ottowas,  respected  and  adored  in  a 
manner  by  all  of  the  Indians,  a  man  of  "integrity  and  humanity"  according  to 
the  morals  of  the  wilderness,  of  a  comprehensive  mind,  fertile  in  resources  and 
of  an  undaunted  nature,  conceived  the  idea  of  uniting  all  of  the  Indian  tribes 
and  entirely  driving  out  the  whites  from  the  whole  of  the  northwest  and  the 
Mississippi' valley.  He  proceeded  with  consummate  ability  to  execute  his  plan. 
He  secured  the  co-operation  of  nearly  all  of  the  Indian  tribes  and  planned  that 
on  one  and  the  same  fateful  day,  May  i,  1763,  they  should  surprise,  attack, 
and  destrov  all  of  the  forts  of  the  white  men  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  This 
they  carried  out  within  sixty  days  in  a  way  that  would  seem  incredible.  The 
forts  were  all  surprised  and  destroyed  except  two. 

39 


40  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

Jt  would  be  an  interesting  story  to  tell  how  each  of  these  forts  was  captured 
without  any  intimation  of  the  coming  calamity,  and  men,  women,  and  children 
massacred.  The  only  two  forts  in  all  the  country  that  were  not  surprised  and 
captured  were  those  at  Detroit  and  Pittsburg.  They  managed  to  withstand  a 
siege  until  they  were  relieved.  Except  them,  the  entire  northwest  was  in  the 
power  of  Pontiac.  Under  his  able  leadership  this  unexampled  and  magnificent 
confederation  of  Indians  had  intended  to  make  this  a  war  of  extermination  of  the 
whites  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  They  hoped  to  get  rid  of  the  white  men  at 
once  and  forever  in  all  this  country  and  so  terrify  the  English  that  none  of 
them  would  ever  attempt  to  enter  their  hunting  grounds  again.  "They  roamed 
the  wilderness,  massacring  all  whom  they  met.  They  struck  down  more  than 
a  hundred  traders  in  the  woods,  scalping  every  one  of  them ;  quaffing  their 
gushing  life-blood,  horribly  mutilating  their  bodies.  They  prowled  round  the 
cabins  of  the  husbandmen  of  the  frontiers ;  and  their  tomahawks  struck  alike 
the  laborer  in  the  field  or  the  child  in  the  cradle.  They  menaced  Fort  Ligonier, 
at  the  western  foot  of  the  Alleghanies,  the  outpost  of  Fort  Pitt.  They  passed 
the  mountains  and  spread  death  even  to  Ikdford.  The  unhappy  emigrant  knew 
not  whether  to  brave  danger,  or  to  leave  his  home  and  his  planted  fields,  for 
wretchedness  and  poverty."  Of  course  we  know  that  Pontiac  and  his  allies 
were  fighting  against  the  inevitable.  His  people  with  their  methods  of  life,  with 
their  civilization  and  their  government  such  as  it  was,  were  unable  to  develop 
the  strength  of  the  wonderful  regions  they  possessed  and  must  submit  to  the 
power  of  Great  Britain,  which  sent  in  regiments  of  regular  soldiers  and  called 
out  the  volunteers  and  militia  and  soon  put  an  end  to  Pontiac"s  reign.  It  had 
not  been  possible  for  him  to  know  the  tremendous  forces  of  the  colonies  and  the 
king  beyond  the  Alleghanies  and  the  ocean,  wdiom  he  had  set  himself  up  to 
oppose,  or  he  W'ould  never  have  tried  it. 

Amherst,  the  British  commander,  then  stationed  at  New  York  and  represen- 
tative of  the  British  government  in  North  America,  treated  the  Indians  with  con- 
tempt. He  issued  an  order,  August  lo,  1763,  offering  one  hundred  pounds  to 
anyone  who  would  assassinate  Pontiac  and  ordered  his  soldiers  to  take  no  pris- 
oners but  to  put  to  death  all  that  fell  into  their  hands.  He  deemed  the  Indians 
as  unfit  to  be  accepted  as  allies  and  unworthy  to  be  respected  as  enemies,  and  he 
ordered  his  soldiers  to  take  no  prisoners  but  to  put  to  death  all  that  fell  into 
their  hands  of  the  "nations  who  had  so  unjustly  and  cruelly  committed 
depredation." 

Pontiac  appealed  to  the  French  for  further  assistance  but  was  told  that  the 
French  had  ceded  this  country  to  the  English  and  could  no  longer  assist  them. 
Despondent,  yet  revengeful,  he  returned  to  the  Illinois  country.  Here  is  where 
he  had  first  received  the  encouragement  which  determined  him  to  make  the 
attempt  to  drive  out  the  English,  and  here  at  least  he  thought  he  would  find  a 
friend  in  Neyon  de  \'illiers,  the  only  survivor  of  six  brothers  who  lost  their  lives 
in  fighting  the  English  ;  but  receiving  answer  that  he  had  already  been  sent  word 
that  France  and  Great  Britain  were  at  peace  and  that  his  scheme  was  imprac- 
ticable, and  when  he  was  still  further  assured  by  Crogan  that  the  French  would 
adhere  to  their  treaty  with  the  English  and  could  no  longer  oiifer  the  Indians 
any  support,  his  feelings  can  be  more  easily  imagined  than  described;  seeing 
that  his  cause  w^as  lost,  he  surrendered  and  made  peace,  a  treaty  which  he  there- 
after respected. 

As  compared  with  the  officers  of  the  English  government  who  attempted  to 
secure  the  assassination  of  the  peaceful  farmers  and  traders  of  their  own  blood 
and  religion,  by  offering  gold  and  trinkets  to  bloody  savages  for  the  scalps  of 
citizens  murdered  by  stealth  in  their  quiet  homes,  and  who  finally  offered  five 
hundred  dollars  for  the  assassination  of  Pontiac  himself,  Pontiac — considering 
that  he  was  raised  a  barbarian — was  a  man  of  integrity  and  honor  worthy  of  our 
esteem.  He  had  led  out  his  Ottowa  warriors  to  assist  in  Braddock's  defeat. 
He  organized  his  brother  red  men  in  order  to  drive  the  invader  from  the  land 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  41 

of  his  fatliers,  led  them  and  ])lanned  for  them  with  consummate  abihty  until 
overwhelmed  by  superior  force. 

It  is  said  that  Pontiac  while  visiting^  his  old  friends,  St.  Ange  and  Chouteau 
at  St.  Louis,  then  a  Spanish  colony,  learned  that  the  Indians  were  carousing 
at  Cahokia  and  concluded  to  join  the  party.  While  he  was  there  and  they  were 
all  drinking  heavily,  a  hired  assassin,  for  the  promise  of  a  barrel  of  wdiiskey, 
stole  up  behind  him  and  buried  his  tomahawk  in  his  brains,  and  left  him  lying 
where  he  fell  until  St.  .Ange  claimed  his  body  and  buried  it  in  St.  Louis,  early 
in  April,   1769. 

Pontiac's  red  friends  of  the  Northwest  most  wrongfully  blamed  the  Illinois 
Indians  with  the  murdering  of  Pontiac  and  resolved  to  exterminate  them.  They 
attacked  them  at  their  chief  village,  La  Vantum,  in  sight  of  Starved  Rock,  where 
the  most  of  them  were  at  that  time  assembled,  and  after  terrific  and  bloody 
fighting  for  a  whole  d^y,  in  which  a  large  proportion  of  the  Illinois  warrior's 
were  slain,  compelled  them  to  retire  during  the  night  to  the  summit  of  Starved 
Rock.  There  they  were  starved  to  death  and  perished,  all  but  one  young  warrior 
who  during  a  severe  rain-storm  and  darkness  of  the  night  took  a  buckskin  cord, 
which  had  been  used  for  drawing  water,  and  fastening  it  to  the  trunk  of  a  cedar 
tree  let  himself  down  into  the  river  and  thus  made  his  escape,  the  only  survivor 
of  this  fearful  tragedy.  This  young  warrior  was  partly  white,  being  a  descend- 
ant, on  his  father's  side,  from  the  French  who  lived  at  Fort  St.  Louis  many 
years  before.  Being  alone  in  the  world,  without  friends  or  kindred,  he  went  to 
Peoria,  joined  the  colony,  and  there  ended  his  days.  He  embraced  Christianity, 
became  an  officer  in  the  church,  assuming  the  name  of  Antonia  La  Bell,  and 
his  descendants  were  living  in  1882  near  Prairie  du  Rocher,  one  of  them,  Charles 
La  Bell,  being  a  party  to  a  suit  in  the  United  States  court  to  recover  a  part  of 
the  land  where  Peoria  now  stands. 

ENGLISH    T.\KE    POSSESSION 

Going  back  to  four  years  before  the  death  and  Imrial  of  Pontiac.  we  find 
that  the  first  step  of  the  English  toward  taking  actual  possession  of  the  north- 
west was  to  send  George  Croghan  on  an  expedition  down  the  Ohio  on  his  way 
to  Illinois.  On  reaching  the  soil  of  Illinois,  just  below  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash, 
he  was  attacked,  on  the  6th  of  June,  1765,  by  eight  Kickapoo  warriors  and  com- 
pelled to  surrender.  When  he  had  been  taken  as  far  as  Vincennes,  the  Indians 
found  they  had  a  man  not  to  be  trifled  with,  since  he  was  the  representative  and 
agent  of  the  great  and  powerful  nations  which  had  just  put  a  successful  end  to 
Pontiac's  War.  They  released  him  on  the  i8th  of  July  and  he  started  for  the 
Illinois  villages.  On  the  way  he  met  Pontiac  at  the  head  of  a  detachment  of 
Indians.  Now  for  the  first  time,  Pontiac's  stubborn  resolution  gave  way  and  he 
consented  to  confer  with  Croghan  as  to  peaceful  relations,  which  resulted  in  his 
renouncing  his  hostile  policy  and  promising  to  use  his  influence  in  favor  of 
peace.  This  made  it  unnecessary  for  Croghan  to  go  further  and  he  started  for 
Detroit,  where  he  had  a  council  with  other  Indians. 

A  detachment  of  the  42d  regiment  of  the  Highlanders  under  Captain  Stirling 
was  sent  to  Fort  Chartres,  where  they  arrived  on  the  loth  of  October,  1765,  by 
the  way  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers  and  on  that  day  the  last  flag  bearing 
the  lilies  of  France  within  the  state  of  Illinois  fell  from  the  flag  staflf  and  the 
cross  of  St.  George  rose  in  its  stead. 

The  first  English  court  ever  convened  in  Illinois  held  its  first  session  at  Fort 
Chartres,  December  9,  1768,  under  orders  from  General  Gage.  By  proclama- 
tions from  George  III,  dated  1765  and  1772,  private  ownership  in  the  soil  was 
forbidden.  The  inference  was  plain  that  he  intended  to  divide  the  whole  country 
up  into  baronial  estates,  still  following  the  policy  that  the  country  was  to  be 
governed  for  the  benefit  of  the  rulers  rather  than  of  the  people,  a  policy  which 
could  not  succeed   in  a   new   country   to  be  settled  by   independent  Americans. 


42  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

The  thirteen  colonies  were  already  beginning  to  be  insubordinate  and  were  still 
further  provoked  by  the  act  of  June  2,  1774,  called  the  Quebec  Bill,  by  which 
parliament  extended  the  limits  of  Canada  to  include  all  of  the  territory  north 
of  the  Ohio,  in  seeming  utter  disregard  of  the  jurisdictional  rights  of  \'irginia 
and  some  other  colonies  under  their  charter  from  the  king.  The  people  com- 
posing the  French  province  were  of  a  character  much  more  easily  to  be  ruled 
by  the  autocratic  decrees  of  their  superiors  than  were  the  people  of  tlie  thir- 
teen colonies. 

DECLARATION   OF   INDEPENDENCE 

This  policy  of  suppression  led  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence  on  the 
4th  day  of  July,  1776.  Although  this  northwestern  territory  was  not  repre- 
sented in  the  convention  that  adopted  that  declaration,  wrongs  to  the  north\yest- 
ern  territory  were  given  as  some  of  the  reasons  for  the  dissolution  of  the  political 
bands.  The  charges  against  the  king  were  that  "He  had  endeavored  to  prevent 
the  population  of  these  states ;  for  that  purpose  obstructing  the  laws  for  natural- 
ization of  foreigners;  refusing  to  pass  others,  to  encourage  their  migration 
hither,  and  raising  the  conditions  of  new  appropriations  of  lands."  His  consent 
to  laws  "for  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world;"  "For  abolishing 
the  free  system  of  English  laws  in  a  neighboring  province  (Canada),  establish- 
ing therein  an  arbitrary  government,  enlarging  its  boundaries  so  as  to  render  it 
at  once  an  example  and  fit  instrument  for  introducing  the  same  absolute  rule  into 
these  colonies ;"  and,  "he  has  excited  domestic  insurrections  amongst  us,  and  has 
endeavored  to  bring  on  the  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers  the  merciless  Indian 
savages,  whose  known  rule  of  warfare  is  an  undistinguished  destruction  of  all 
the  ages,  sexes  and  conditions." 

Virginia's  conquest  of  the  northwest 

The  attack  of  the  Indians  on  the  American  frontier  had  become  so  numerous, 
so  treacherous,  and  so  bloody,  and  were  so  evidently  excited  by  the  British, 
that  George  Rogers  Clark,  one  of  the  great  men  of  the  frontier,  who  had  been 
appointed  by  Mrginia  to  organize  the  militia  in  what  was  afterward  the  county 
of  Kentuck'v,  concluded  that  the  proper  way  to  prevent  those  attacks  was  to 
drive  the  British  out  of  the  Northwest.  For  this  purpose  he  called  on  Patrick 
Henry,  the  governor,  and  received  a  commission  to  raise  volunteers  for  the 
defense  of  Kentucky.  The  success  of  the  expedition  depended  so  largely  on  the 
celerity  and  the  secrecv  with  which  it  should  be  carried  out,  that  it  was  not 
thought  practicable  to  take  anyone  into  confidence  except  the  governor,  Patrick 
Henrv,  and  George  \\'vthe,  George  Mason,  and  Thomas  Jefferson.  They  gave 
Clark  twelve  hundred  pounds  in  money  and  promised  to  use  their  influence 
to  secure  three  hundred  acres  of  land  for  every  man  who  should  engage  in  the 
expedition. 

The  secret  instructions  to  Clark  were  to  go  west  ostensibly  for  the  purpose 
shown  by  his  commission  and  open  letter  of  instructions,  and  then  under  a 
private  letter  of  instructions,  suddenly  to  attack  the  British  at  Fort  Chartres 
and  \'incennes  and  then  at  Detroit.  \Mien  he  told  his  men  at  Louisville,  Ky., 
the  object  of  his  expedition,  a  considerable  part  of  them  refused  to  go  further. 
W'ith  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  men,  instead  of  the  three  hundred  and  fifty 
which  he  expected  to  have,  he  concluded  to  press  forward.  He  had  been  notified 
by  spies  whom  he  sent  out  for  that  purpose,  of  the  condition  of  affairs  at  Fort 
Chartres  and  Vincennes.  He  passed  down  the  Ohio  in  boats  with  his  oars  double 
manned  and  working  night  and  day  continuously,  reached  the  soil  of  Illinois, 
landed  and  at  once  proceeded  on  foot  without  any  sort  of  baggage  wagons  to 
Fort  Chartres,  which  he  reached  in  six  days  more,  making  ten  days  from  Louis- 
ville to  Fort  Chartres.     He  arrived  in  the  evening  of  the  4th  of  July,  and  con- 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  43 

cealed  his  men  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  until  dark,  in  the  meantime  sending 
out  spies  to  reconnoiter.  After  dark  he  proceeded  to  and  took  possession  of  the 
old  ferry  house  about  a  mile  above  the  town,  making  prisoners  of  the  family. 
They  waited  until  the  town  was  wrapped  in  slumber,  when,  with  his  men  as- 
sembled around  him,  Col.  Clark  delivered  to  them  a  short  address.  This 
address  is  printed  in  full  as  nothing  could  so  well,  so  authoritatively  and  plainly, 
describe  the  motives  and  feelings  that  compelled  these  men  to  undergo  the 
privations  they  did : 

"Soldiers,  we  are  near  the  enemy  for  which  we  have  been  struggling  for 
years.  We  are  not  fighting  alone  for  liberty  and  independence,  but  for  the 
defense  of  our  frontiers  from  the  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife  of  the  Indians. 
We  are  defending  the  lives  of  our  women  and  children,  although  a  long  distance 
from  them.  These  British  garrisons  furnish  the  Indians  with  powder  and  lead 
to  desolate  our  frontiers,  and  pay  gold   for  human  scalps. 

"We  must  take  and  destroy  these  garrisons.  The  fort  before  us  is  one  of 
them,  and  it  must  be  taken.  \\'e  cannot  retreat,  we  have  no  provisions,  and 
we  must  conquer. 

"This  is  the  4th  of  July ;  we  must  act  to  honor  it  and  let  it  not  be  said  in 
after  times  that  \'irginians  were  defeated  on  that  memorable  day.  The  fort  and 
town,  I  repeat  it,  must  be  taken  at  all  hazards. 

"After  these  stirring  remarks  they  began  crossing  the  river  in  silence,  to 
accomplish  which  took  about  two  hours.  He  immediately  divided  his  little 
army  into  two  divisions  and  marched  half  his  men  quietly  into  the  town  at  one 
end,  and  half  at  the  other.  When  in  the  town  they  raised  their  horrible,  un- 
earthly yell,  which  struck  terror  into  all  of  the  inhabitants,  for  it  was  the  first 
intimation  they  had  that  the  "Long  Knives'  were  in  the  country.  The  garrison 
oblivious  of  an  enemy  were  taken  completely  by  surprise. 

"Simon  Kenton,  at  the  head  of  a  small  detachment,  sought  the  quarters  of 
Gov.  Rocheblave,  and  found  that  official  peacefully  sleeping  beside  his  wife,  he 
having  no  intimation  of  danger  until  Kenton,  tapping  him  on  the  shoulder, 
informed  him  he  was  a  prisoner. 

"The  capture  of  the  post  was  complete. 

"What  little  knowledge  of  French  the  Americans  possessed  was  utilized  in 
proclaiming  to  the  French  inhabitants  tliat  if  they  remained  in  their  homes 
cjuictly  they  would  not  be  molested,  but  if  they  acted  to  the  contrary,  they  would 
be  annihilated." 

Clark's  policy  was  to  terrorize  the  inhabitants  at  first  and  make  them  feel 
their  helplessness  and  then  show  them  leniency. 

The  next  day  when  the  priest  came  to  ask  permission  to  have  religious  services 
in  the  church  to  seek  the  divine  blessing  before  leaving,  and  asked  permission  to 
take  some  of  their  provisions  with  them,  Clark  suddenly  changing  his  aspect, 
wished  to  know  why  they  wanted  to  go  away,  telling  them  that  he  had  come  to 
take  them  in  as  citizens  of  the  United  Colonies  and  did  not  wish  to  interfere 
with  their  religion,  or  their  property,  or  their  laws,  or  their  business;  but  that 
if  any  of  them  desired  to  leave,  they  might  peacefully  withdraw.  He  also 
told  them  that  the  king  of  France  had  united  his  armies  with  those  of  the  Ameri- 
cans, which  was  news  to  them  and  greatly  pleased  both  the  French  and  Indians 
and  added  to  their  confidence  in  the  American  cause.  The  inhabitants  were 
so  well  pleased  that  the  French  immediately  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
United  Colonies  with  enthusiasm. 

Col.  Clark  was  disposed  also  to  deal  leniently  with  Rocheblave,  and  invited 
him  to  dine  with  him;  but  instead  of  meeting  his  courtesies  half-way  and  making 
the  best  of  his  misfortunes,  the  disgruntled  Franco-British  officer  became  violent 
and  insulting.  To  such  a  length  did  he  carry  his  insolence  that  the  colonel  felt 
compelled  to  place  him  in  irons,  and  soon  after  sent  him  to  Williamsburg  as  a 
prisoner  of  war.  In  1780,  breaking  his  parole,  he  made  his  way  to  New  York, 
where,  in  17S1,  he  applied  for  a  command  and  authority  to  recapture  the  Illinois 


44  HISTO"RY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

posts.  His  slaves  were  confiscated  and  sold,  the  proceeds,  amounting  to  five 
hundred  pounds,  being  distributed  among  the  troops  of  Col.  Clark. 

When  Clark  was  about  to  proceed  to  V'incennes  to  capture  that  post,  Gibault, 
the  priest,  persuaded  him  not  to  do  it  but  to  send  him  over  as  ambassador,  which 
Clark  did ;  Gibault  went  over  with  a  small  party  and  as  there  were  no  forces 
there  except  French  and  Indians,  easily  persuaded  them  to  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  United  Colonies.  Captain  Helm  of  Clark's  regiment,  who  had 
gone  over  with  Gibault,  took  charge. 

When  Hamilton  at  Detroit  learned  what  had  happened,  he  took  a  detach- 
ment of  three  hundred  fifty  warriors  in  October,  1778,  to  retake  possession  of 
Vincennes.  As  he  approached  the  fort  and  was  within  hailing  distance.  Captain 
Flelm  haulted  him,  standing  by  his  gun  with  a  lighted  fuse.  When  Hamilton 
called  for  his  surrender  at  discretion.  Helm  refused  unless  he  was  granted  the 
honors  of  war,  which  was  done.  He  then  surrendered  himself  and  one  man, 
all  he  had. 

When  news  of  what  had  happened  came  to  George  Rogers  Clark,  he  knew 
that  his  own  situation  was  desperate.  He  was  receiving  no  support  from 
Virginia  and  his  forces  were  too  small  to  withstand  a  siege,  although  he  com- 
menced to  prepare  for  one,  the  best  he  could.  Just  then  Francis  \  igo,  an  Italian 
trader  of  St.  Louis,  arrived  from  \'incennes  and  informed  Clark  that  Hamil- 
ton was  confident  that  nothing  would  be  done  until  spring,  at  which  time  he 
proposed  to  make  an  advance  in  force ;  but  in  the  meantime  had  weakened  him- 
self by  sending  out  his  force  of  Indians  in  dift'erent  directions,  especially  down 
to  the  Ohio  river  to  prevent  Clark  from  returning  to  \'irginia  and  to  prevent 
reinforcements  being  sent  to  Clark.  The  genius  of  Clark  came  to  his  relief. 
He  knew  and  said  that  he  must  immediately  take  Hamilton  prisoner  or  Hamilton 
would  take  him.  He  thereupon  called  together  all  the  forces  he  could,  a  con- 
siderable part  of  which  were  Frenchmen,  and  on  the  7th  of  February  started 
across  the  country  to  capture  \'incennes.  In  eleven  days  he  reached  the  edge 
of  the  drowned  lands  of  the  Wabash  river,  which  were  flooded.  To  cross  these 
required  five  days  more,  during  two  of  which  they  had  to  travel  in  water  up  to 
their  breasts  at  times. 

Hamilton  was  one  of  the  most  bloodthirsty  of  the  representatives  of  the 
British  government  in  this  country.  He  was  methodical  in  his  use  of  the  In- 
dians. He  gave  standing  rewards  for  scalps  but  offered  none  for  prisoners, 
thereby  winning  for  himself  the  nickname  of  "The  Hair  Buyer."  His  contin- 
uous volunteer  parties  composed  of  Indians  and  whites,  spared  neither  men, 
women  nor  children. 

He  promised  that  in  the  coming  year  as  early  as  possible  all  of  the  nations 
from  the  Chickasaws  and  Cherokees  to  the  Hurons  and  Five  Nations  should 
join  in  the  expedition  against  A'irginia. 

Clark's  force  on  reaching  dry  land  made  no  delay  whatever  but  with  drum 
beating  and  white  flag  flying,  entered  Mncennes  at  the  lower  end  of  the  vil- 
lage. The  town  surrendered  immediately  and  assisted  in  the  siege  of  the 
fort,  which  was  immediately  invested.  During  the  night  Clark  threw  up  in- 
trenchments  within  rifle  shot  of  the  fort,  and  under  their  protection  his  riflemen 
silenced  two  pieces  of  cannon.  In  the  forenoon  when  Hamilton  asked  for 
parley,  Clark  demanded  his  surrender  at  discretion,  to  which  the  British  replied 
they  would  sooner  perish  to  the  last  man;  and  oft'ered  to  capitulate  on  the  con- 
dition that  they  might  march  out  with  the  honors  of  war,  and  return  to  Detroit. 
Clark  replied  that  he  could  by  no  means  agree  to  that.  He  said.  "I  will  not 
again  leave  it  in  your  power  to  spirit  up  the  Indian  nations  to  scalp  men,  women, 
and  children."  Before  night  Hamilton  and  his  garrison,  hopeless  of  succor  and 
destitute  of  provisions,  and  overestimating  Clark's  strength,  surrendered  as 
prisoners  of  war. 

Steps  were  immediately  taken  to  conciliate  the  Indians,  "who,  observing  the 
success  of  the  Americans  in  obtaining  possession  of  so  many  important  British 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  45 

posts,  began  to  reflect  whether  it  was  not  for  their  interest  to  make  friends  with 
the  winning  side.  The  consideration  which  most  inlliicnced  their  decision,  how- 
ever, was  the  fact,  repeatedly  urged  upon  them,  that  'their  old  father,  the  king 
of  the  French,  had  come  to  life  again  and  was  mad  at  them  for  fighting  for  the 
British.'  A  council  was  held  at  which  all  the  tribes  of  the  Wabash  were  repre- 
sented, who  declared  themselves  to  have  changed  their  minds  in  favor  of  the 
Americans." 

The  forces  that  X'irginia  had  raised  to  send  to  reinforce  Clark  were  neces- 
sarily diverted  to  an  attack  upon  the  Cherokees,  who  were  part  of  the  force 
relied  upon  by  Hamilton  and  who  were  terribly  punished  by  those  X'irginia 
troops. 

For  the  rest  of  the  year  the  western  settlements  enjoyed  peace,  and  the  con- 
tinued flow  of  immigrants  through  the  mountains  of  Kentucky  and  the  country 
on  the  Holston  river  so  strengthened  them  that  they  were  never  again  in  danger 
of  being  broken  up  by  any  alliance  of  the  savages. 

This  ended  the  control  of  the  liritish,  such  as  it  was.  over  the  state  of  Illi- 
nois and  the  northwest.  It  lasted  for  fifteen  years,  during  which  time  the 
British  government  had  shown  itself  unfriendly  to  the  people  of  this  country 
and  during  the  last  three  years  of  which  she  had  been  carrying  on  ilie  war  of 
the  Revolution,  with  the  aid  of  the  Indians.  From  this  time  on  the  govern- 
ment passed  to  the  commonwealth  of  Virginia. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
ILLINOIS  AS  A  PART  OF  X'IRGIXIA— 1778-1784 

With  the  capture  of  Kaskaskia  and  the  fort  there  on  the  4th  of  July,  1778, 
the  Northwest  ceased  to  be  a  part  of  the  British  dominion  and  became  a  part 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia — at  least  as  far  north  as  the  limits  of  the  Vir- 
ginia charter — and  it  so  remained  until  March  ist,  1784. 

During  all  of  this  time  except  the  last  months  the  Revolutionary  war  was 
still  pending,  and  through  all  of  that  time  there  were  murderous  excursions  by 
the  Indians,  prompted  by  the  English,  into  all  of  the  Northwest,  into  Kentucky 
and  the  western  part  of  X'irginia.  These  were  stealthy  parties,  as  a  rule,  and 
were  of  almost  weekly  occurrence,  but  they  were  at  this  time  usually  confined 
to  the  country  now  within  the  states  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Kentucky,  and  western 
\'irginia ;  Illinois  being  comparatively  free  from  them. 

We  have  seen  that  the  regiment  that  was  raised  by  the  Commonwealth  of 
\^irginia  to  re-inforce  Col.  Clark  was  diverted  to  intercept  the  Cherokees.  who 
were  preparing  to  come  to  the  support  of  the  British  in  the  Northwest.  That 
attack  was  very  successful  but  it  left  Col.  Clark  unsupported.  With  wonderful 
ability  he  succeeded  in  securing  and  retaining  the  support  of  the  French  and 
Indians  and  managed  to  hold  the  country  for  X'irginia. 

The  \'irginia  llouse  of  Burgesses  or  delegates  proceeded  immediately  to 
extend  a  civil  jurisdiction  over  the  country,  and  in  October,  within  three 
months  of  the  capture  of  Kaskaskia,  it  enacted  a  law  establishing  the  county 
of  Illinois,  which  included  then  all  of  the  Northwest,  and  provided  for  the 
appointment  of  a  county  lieutenant  or  commandant,  who  should  take  the  oath 
of  fidelity  to  the  commonwealth  according  to  his  own  religion,  whatever  that 
might  be.  .All  of  the  civil  officers  to  which  the  inhabitants  had  Ijeen  accustomed, 
necessary  for  the  preservation  of  peace  and  the  administration  of  justice,  were 
to  be  continued  and  the  officers,  except  those  of  the  militia,  were  to  be  chosen 
by  the  majority  of  the  citizens  at  elections  to  be  convened  for  that  purpose  in 
their  respective  districts  by  the  county  lieutenant  or  his  deputy,  such  officers  to 
be  commissioned  by  the  county  lieutenant. 

Patrick  Henry  being  then  the  governor  of  X'irginia.  thus  became  ex-officio 
the  first  governor  of  Illinois.  He  appointed  Col.  John  Todd  of  Kentucky 
county,  the  first  commandant  of  the  county  of  Illinois  and  gave  him  a  letter 
instructing  him  to  cultivate  the  good  friendship  of  the  French  and  Indians,  for, 
if  unhappily  this  territory  should  be  lost  to  the  French,  it  might  never  be  again 
secured,  since  early  prejudices  are  so  hard  to  wear  out. 

As  the  head  of  the  civil  government.  Todd  was  to  have  command  of  the 
militia,  who  were  however  not  to  be  under  command  until  ordered  out  by  the 
civil  authority  to  act  in  conjunction  with  it. 

Col.  Todd  was  born  in  Montgomery  county.  Pa.,  but  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated in  X'irginia  by  his  uncle,  the  Rev.  John  Todd  of  Hanover  county,  \'a., 
who  conducted  a  school  or  college  there.  Todd  studied  law  and  settled  in  Fin- 
castle  in  X'irginia.  where  he  practiced  for  several  years  and  about  1775  moved  to 
Kentucky. 

Col.  John  Todd  immediatelv  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office  as  county 

47 


48  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

lieutenant  and  was  seldom  absent  from  his  government  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death.  He  was  authorized  to  raise  a  regiment  for  the  defense  of  the  frontier. 
His  career  was  ended  by  his  death  in  the  llattle  of  Blue  Licks.  He  was  a  man 
of  fine  personal  appearance  and  talents,  an  accomplished  gentleman,  universally 
beloved,  and  died  without  a  stain  upon  his  character  and  without  even  one  enemy 
upon  earth. 

The  elections  provided  for  by  this  act  of  Virginia  are  believed  to  be  the  first 
elections  held  in  Illinois  under  authority  of  law,  and,  the  settlers  there  being 
mostly  French,  they  resulted  in  the  election  of  Frenchmen  to  nearly  all  of  the 
offices  except  those  in  the  militia. 

To  prevent  the  taking  uj)  of  large  tracts  of  land  by  prospectors  and  specu- 
lators, Todd  issued  a  proclamation  enjoining  all  persons  from  making  any  new 
settlements  of  lands  and  requiring  the  exhibition  to  duly  appointed  officers  of 
the  evidence  of  title  of  those  already  in  possession.  To  those  who  are  ac- 
quainted with  the  difficulties  arising  from  the  complication  of  title  in  a  new 
settlement  or  country  by  speculators  under  doubtful  laws,  and  where  the  lands 
had  not  been  properly  surveyed  in  advance,  this  will  be  recognized  as  a  very 
wise  provision. 

Licenses  to  erect  factories,  conduct  stores  and  traffic  in  general  merchan- 
dise were  granted  without  restrictions. 

Under  instruction  from  Governor  Henry,  Todd  proposed  to  the  Spanish 
authorities  in  St.  Louis  and  St.  Genevieve,  the  establishing  of  commercial  rela- 
tions between  the  governments  of  Spain  and  Virginia  and  oft'ered  military  as- 
sistance in  case  it  should  be  needed.  This  offered  friendship  was  in  the  end 
basely  betrayed. 

In  1779  Todd  was  commissioned  colonel  of  a  \'irginia  regmient  and  was 
thereafter  actively  engaged  in  military  operations  throughout  the  west  but  con- 
tinued to  fulfill  his  duties  as  commandant  as  well  as  distance  and  the  calls  of 
duty  upon  him  would  permit. 

August  5th,  1779,  Gen.  Clark  turned  over  his  military  command  of  Ilhnois 
to  Col.  John  Montgomery  with  headquarters  at  Kaskaskia,  who  assigned  Capt. 
Linetot  to  duty  along  the  Illinois  river. 

It  was  feared  that  the  English  would  endeavor  to  recover  the  territory  of 
Illinois  and  it  was  not  clear  that  the  Spaniards  would  not  willingly  suffer  these 
Illinois  settlements — although  they  were  their  allies — to  fall  into  British  hands, 
hoping  in  that  case  for  an  opportunity  to  retake  them  and  make  them 
Spanish  territory.  The  governor  of  Canada  did  proceed,  under  instructions 
from  home,  to  organize  an  attack  upon  the  Spanish  posts  along  the  Alississippi 
and  upon  the  Illinois  settlements,  and  the  governors  of  the  British  garrisons 
were  instructed  by  secret  circular  letters  to  co-operate  in  the  movement.  This 
was  discovered  by  the  interception  of  letters  by  the  Spanish  governor  at  New 
Orleans,  who  immediately  attacked  the  English  stations  in  the  vicinity  and  thus 
prevented  the  re-inforcements  expected  by  the  British  in  their  attack  on  St. 
Louis,  St.  Genevieve,  and  the  Illinois  settlements. 

The  English  expedition  arrived  on  May  26,  1780,  before  St.  Louis  and  pre- 
pared to  make  the  attack.  Clark,  who  had  been  informed  of  this  while  at  the 
Falls  of  the  Ohio,  hastened  to  and  arrived  at  Cahokia  with  a  small  force  twenty- 
four  hours'  before  the  appearance  of  the  British  and  their  allies.  His  mere 
presence  was  a  tower  of  strength. 

The  commander  of  the  English  expedition  reported  to  his  superior  that  they 
failed  on  account  of  the  infidelitv  of  some  of  their  Indian  allies  but  boastfully 
claimed  that  sixty-eight  of  the  enemy  were  killed,  eighteen  black  and  white 
people  made  prisoners,  many  cattle  destroyed,  and  forty-three  scalps  brought  m. 
The  retreat  of  the  English  was  a  very  hasty  one,  they  being  closely  followed 
by  Col.  John  Montgomery  with  a  force  of  three  hundred  fifty  men,  including  a 
party  of"  Spanish  allies.  'Montgomery  followed  them  to  Peoria  lake  and  thence 
to  Rock  river,  destroying  towns  and  crops  on  the  way.  Thereafter,  the  In- 
dians were  not  disposed  to  attack  the  people  of  Illinois 


CHILDREN'S  PLAV  CKdlM)  IN  (;LK\  liAK  I'AUK 


(I.X    lioSK    ISLAND.  CiLEN    UAK    I'AIIK 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  49 

Some  time  after  the  repulse  of  this  invading  force  of  the  liritish,  a  company 
of  only  seventeen  Illinoisans,  commanded  by  Thomas  Brady,  a  patriotic  citizen 
of  Cahokia.  retaliated  by  attacking  the  British  post  at  St.  Joseph  in  what  is  now 
the  state  of  Michigan,  and  capturing  it;  but  he  was  ambushed  and  defeated  on 
his  way  back  to  Illinois  and  most  of  his  command  taken  prisoners.  He  escaped 
and  St.  Joseph  fell  again  into  the  hands  of  the  British.  Thereupon  the  author- 
ities at  St.  Louis  and  Cahokia,  joining  the  forces  of  the  Illinoisans  and  the 
Spanish,  organized  an  expedition  of  about  thirty  Spaniards  under  the  command 
of  Don  Ugenio  Pourre,  and  aijout  thirty  French  under  the  command  of  Jean 
(John)  Baptiste  Maillet.  and  some  two  hundred  Indians,  and  proceeded  to  re- 
take it.  The  Spanish  officer  was  senior  in  rank  and  had  command  of  the  ex- 
pedition. They  placated  the  Indians  on  the  way  and  captured  St.  Joseph  again 
without  striking  a  blow;  the  British  flag  there  was  replaced  by  that  of  Spain 
and  possession  taken  in  the  name  of  his  Catholic  Majesty  who  claiined  not  only 
St.  Joseph  and  its  dependencies  but  also  the  valley  of  Illinois  river,  an  extreme 
exhibition  of  infidelity  to  the  Illinoisans  who  had  assisted  in  the  campaign.  The 
Spanish  commander  made  such  reports  to  .Madrid  as  to  create  an  important 
complication  in  the  final  settlement  of  the  treaty  between  England  and  the 
United  States  and  might  have  given  Spain  the  country  north  of  the  Ohio  river 
but  that  his  Catholic  Majesty  demanded  too  much  from  the  British,  including 
the  cession  of  Gibralter.  To  this  demand  the  British  never  would  consent  but 
were  prompted  by  it  to  release  their  claim  to  the  Northwest  to  the  United  States 
to  prevent  it  from  falling  into  the  power  of  Spain.  Since  St.  Joseph  at  the  time 
it  was  captured  was  not  a  part  of  the  Illinois  country,  either  as  a  district  or 
territory,  the  claim  of  the  Illinois  river  as  a  sequence  to  the  capture  of  that  fort 
was  a  l)arefaced  fraud  without  a  shadow  of  evidence  to  supj)ort  it ;  nevertheless, 
it  required  all  of  the  sagacity,  firmness,  and  wisdom  of  Jay,  Franklin  and  Adams 
to  prevent  the  claim  from  being  allowed.  If  Spain  had  succeeded  in  making 
the  Northwest  Spanish  territory  instead  of  American,  it  would  have  been  the 
death  blow  to  the  prosperity  of  Peoria  and  all  of  the  Northwest,  as  well  as  to 
the  whole  United  States,  and  would  have  made  the  Father  of  Waters  a  private 
Spanish  canal. 

This  Jean  Baptiste  Maillet  is  the  same  man  who  settled  in  Peoria  in  1778, 
and  in  1779  was  commissioned  captain  of  militia  for  Peoria,  receiving  his  com- 
mission from  Cahokia  to  which  district  Peoria  then  belonged.  It  is  probable 
that  at  the  time  this  expedition  started,  he  was  at  Cahokia,  for  the  French  had 
been  driven  down  there  temporarily  and  most  of  his  men,  although  they  may 
have  been  Peorians,  were  probably  there  at  the  time  they  started  for  St.  Joseph. 
This  is  the  same  Maillet  also  who  started  Ville  de  Maillet  or  Lower  Peoria 
about  1778  about  where  Bridge  and  Llarrison  streets  are,  which  new  village 
was  named  for  him.  Maillet  deserved  to  have  the  new  village  named  for  him 
for  in  his  time  he  was  one  of  Peoria's  greatest  men.  He  extended  his  trading 
operations  far  and  wide  even  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.     He  was  killed  in  1801. 

This  is  the  last  expedition  during  the  Revolutionary  war  in  which  Peorians 
or  other  Illinoisans  took  part. 

On  account  of  the  attention  of  Virginia  being  diverted  to  resisting  the  at- 
tacks of  the  Indians  n.earer  home,  the  county  of  Illinois  received  very  little  at- 
tention and  was  practically  without  a  government  imtil  it  passed  beyond  the 
control  of  \''irginia  by  the  cession  of  the  country  to  the  United  States. 

Through  this  interim  the  French  inhabitants  were  the  greatest  sufferers,  be- 
ing easily  imposed  upon  and  not  being  of  the  character  of  people  to  defend 
themselves. 

Several  years  before  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  it  began  to  be  ap- 
parent that  the  confederation  of  the  colonies  did  not  confer  power  enough  upon 
the  general  government  to  enable  it  to  preserve  its  own  existence,  and  that  a 
closer  bond  of  union  must  be  provided  or  the  government  would  fall  to  pieces ; 
but  the  smaller  colonies  which  had  no  territory  west  of  the  mountains,  feared  to 


50  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

go  into  a  closer  bond  with  the  large  colonies  with  their  great  expanse  of  terri- 
tory for  fear  they  would  be  overruled  and  be  deprived  of  their  equal  rights  in 
the  government.  Congress,  therefore,  in  1780  recommended  to  those  states 
which  owned  territory  in  the  west,  to  cede  it  all  to  the  United  Colonies.  This 
they  finally  concluded  to  do. 

Virginia  by  an  act  passed  January  2,  1781,  authorized  her  delegates  in  the 
confederate  congress  to  transfer  her  claims  to  western  lands,  as  well  as  her 
jurisdiction  over  the  country,  to  the  United  States  on  certain  conditions.  This 
tender  was  accepted  by  the  general  government  and  Virginia  by  a  new  act  of 
December  20.  1783,  authorized  her  delegates  in  the  confederate  congress,  by 
proper  deed  under  their  hands  and  seals,  to  convey,  transfer,  assign,  and  make 
over  to  the  United  States  in  congress  assembled,  for  the  benefit  of  said  states, 
all  right,  title,  and  claim,  as  well  the  soil  as  the  jurisdiction  which  the  common- 
wealth had  to  the  country  within  the  limits  of  the  Virginia  charter  lying  north- 
west of  the  Ohio  river — upon  the  condition  that  the  territory  so  ceded  should 
be  laid  out  and  formed  into  distinct  republican  states,  having  the  same  right 
of  sovereignty,  freedom,  and  independence  as  the  other  states,  congress  to  pay 
\'irginia  the  necessary  reasonable  expenses  incurred  by  that  state  in  subduing 
the  P.ritish  forts  and  maintaining  forts  and  garrisons  and  defending  them.  That 
the  French  and  Canadian  inhabitants  who  had  professed  themselves  citizens  of 
\'irginia  should  have  their  possessions  confirmed  to  them  and  should  be  pro- 
tected in  the  enjoyment  of  their  rights  and  liberties.  Also,  that  a  quantity  of 
land,  not  exceeding  one  hundred  fifty  thousand  acres,  promised  by  Virginia  to 
George  Rogers  Clark  and  the  soldiers  of  his  regiment,  should  be  laid  ofif  in  one 
tract,  to  be  afterwards  divided  among  the  said  officers  and  men  in  due  propor- 
tion "according  to  the  laws  of  \'irginia.  All  other  lands,  which  were  more  than 
one  hundred  and  sixtv-six  million  acres,  should  be  considered  as  a  common  fund 
for  the  use  and  benefit  for  the  United  States,  including  the  state  of  Mrginia. 

The  provisions  of  this  act  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  were  carried  out  on 
March  i,  1784.  by  a  deed  of  cession  signed  by  Thomas  Jefiferson,  Samuel  Hardy, 
Arthur  Lee,  and  James  Monroe,  who  were  then  delegates  for  the  commonwealth 
of  \'irginia  in  the  confederate  congress.  Two  of  the  signers  of  this  deed  by 
\'irginia  to  the  congress  afterwards  became  presidents  of  the  United  States. 

This  document  was  signed,  sealed  and  delivered  in  a  little  less  than  seven 
weeks  after  the  definitive  freaty  of  peace  with  Great  Britain  was  ratified  by  con- 
gress, and  from  that  time  forth  Illinois  ceased  to  be  a  part  of  the  State  of  Vir- 
ginia or  in  any  way  under  its  control  and  became  territory  of  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY 

By  the  deed  of  cession  of  ^larch  i,  1784.  not  only  all  property  interest  but 
the  right  of  sovereignty  passed  from  X'irginia  to  tiie  continental  congress  and 
Virginia  no  longer  attempted  to  exercise  any  control  over  the  territory.  Con- 
gress, as  soon  as  a  proper  bill  could  be  prepared,  on  April  23,  1784,  passed  an 
ordinance  to  establish  a  form  of  government  from  the  entire  region  from  the 
gulf  to  the  lakes,  although  possession  had  not  at  that  time  been  entirely  acquired. 
This  law  was  never  put  in  force  and  was  repealed  by  the  ordinance  of  1787.  The 
territory  continued  to  exist  vuider  the  laws  in  force  at  the  date  of  that  deed  as 
they  were  administered  by  the  otiticers  then  in  power. 

That  transfer  provided  that  the  Erench  settlers  should  Ijc  protected  in  all 
their  rights  and  that  they  should  be  allowed  to  live  under  their  old  laws,  which 
they  did  in  a  satisfactory  way,  for  they  were  not  a  quarrelsome  or  litigious 
people. 

From  the  time  of  the  cession  of  this  country  by  Virginia,  congress  was  so 
engaged  in  its  efforts  to  secure  concessions  from  other  colonies  and  to  secure 
a  re-organization  of  the  United  States  by  the  adoption  of  a  constitution  to 
"create  a  more  perfect  union''  that  little  attention  was  paid  to  the  Northwest 
territory  until  1787.  During  this  period  of  three  years,  the  power  of  Virginia 
to  control  had  ceased  and  the  government  by  congress  had  practically  not  begun 
so  that  the  people  were  without  any  superior  control  and  were  without  any  sub- 
stantial protection  from  congress. 

In  1785,  an  ordinance  for  ascertaining  the  mode  of  disposing  of  lands  in  the 
western  territory  was  passed  by  the  continental  congress  which  provided  for 
the  present  plan  of  surveying  and  platting  the  land  into  townships  six  miles 
square  and  numbered  consecutively  from  south  to  north  and  in  ranges  numbered 
east  and  west  from  a  base  line  and  section  one  mile  square,  also  numbered  con- 
secutively. Sections  numbered  sixteen  of  every  township  were  reserved  for 
school  i)urposes.  which  reservation  has  been  continued  through  all  forms  of 
government  to  the  present  time.  This  platting  of  the  land  into  townships  and 
sections  before  selling  it,  is  a  wonderful  advantage  in  locating  and  finding  the 
land,  in  describing  it,  and  in  indexing  and  abstracting  the  title.  Nothing  was  done 
under  this  law  at  this  time  in  Illinois,  which  was  then  a  neglected  wilderness 
harrassed  by  the  predatory  incursions  of  Indians,  although  none  were  of  suffi- 
cient importance  to  be  called  a  war. 

On  July  13,  1787,  the  congress  of  the  confederation  passed  the  celebrated 
ordinance  of  that  date  by  which  they  provided  that  the  whole  territory  northwest 
of  the  Ohio  river  should  be  constituted  one  district  for  the  purpose  of  temporary 
government. 

It  will  be  interesting  to  notice  the  provisions  of  this  ordinance  at  some 
length  for  two  reasons.  It  attempted  to  determine  what  the  future  laws  of  the 
Northwest  should  be,  and  in  this  manner,  to  make  it  a  sort  of  a  bill  of  rights 
for  all  time  to  come.  It  is  also  to  be  studied  as  a  most  valuable  indication  of 
the  progress  of  ideas,  for  it  is  a  fact  not  generally  understood  that  laws  are  not 
made.     They  grow  in  the  minds  of  the  people  from  time  to  time  and  are  a  con- 

51 


52  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

trolling  power  before  they  are  enacted  into  statutes,  and  sometimes  they  have 
not  much  force  after  they  are  enacted  because  they  are  not  grounded  in  the 
hearts  as  well  as  the  minds  of  the  people. 

By  a  study  of  this  ordinance  of  '87,  we  will  find  how  far  social  and  political 
ideas  had  progressed  up  to  that  time  and  be  able  to  learn  what  advancement 
we  have  made  since.  It  provided  for  the  descent  of  property  in  equal  shares, 
substantially  as  under  our  present  laws.  This  just  principle  was  not  then 
generally  recognized  in  the  states;  (it,  however,  reserved  to  the  French  and 
Canadian  inhabitants  who  had  become  citizens  of  Virginia  the  laws  and  customs 
under  which  they  had  lived,  relative  to  descent  and  conveyancing.) 

The  governor  was  to  be  elected  for  three  years  and  was  required  to  be  the 
owner  of  at  least  one  thousand  acres  of  land.  The  secretary's  term  was  four 
years  and  he  must  be  the  owner  of  five  hundred  acres.  A  court  was  provided 
for  of  three  judges,  who  must  each  be  the  owner  of  five  hundred  acres.  It  will 
be  noted  that  their  term  of  ofiice  was  during  good  behavior.  All  the  above 
officers  were  elected  bv  congress  and  were  required  to  have  been  residents  of  the 
district  for  the  three  years  last  past  or  to  have  been  for  the  same  time  citizens 
of  one  of  the  states,  and  to  take  an  oath  of  office. 

In  considering  these  laws,  we  must  remember  that  the  people  were  so  scat- 
tered that  some  provisions  that  we  would  consider  essential  to  good  government 
would  have  been  utterly  impossible  of  operation  at  that  time,  for  the  people 
could  not  assemble  in  convention  and  it  was  not  possible  for  them  to  consult 
with  each  other  as  we  can  do,  and  they  had  necessarily  very,  very  few  news- 
papers, if  any.  This  may  excuse  the  provision  that  as  a  protection  against  unwise 
experiments,  they  could  adopt  only  laws  that  were  already  in  force  in  some  one 
of  the  original  "states,  and  even  after  adoption,  congress  might  disapprove  of 
them  and  they  were  to  remain  in  force  only  until  the  organization  of  a  general 
assemblv,  which  might  alter,  repeal,  or  re-adopt  them. 

The' governor  was  constituted  commander-in-chief  of  the  militia,  with  the 
power  to  appoint  all  officers  below  the  grade  of  general,  and,  until  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  general  assembly,  the  governor  was  to  appoint  all  of  the  civil  officers 
in  each  county.  He  was  to  establish  counties  from  time  to  time  to  whose  limits, 
legal  process 'was  to  run.  When  the  territory  should  have  five  thousand  free 
male  inhabitants  of  full  age,  it  was  to  be  entitled  to  a  general  assembly,  the  time 
and  place  of  election  to  be"  fixed  by  the  governor.  Each  five  hundred  voters  were 
entitled  to  one  representative  until  the  number  reach  twenty-five,  after  which 
the  legislature  itself  was  to  regulate  the  number. 

A  member  of  the  legislature  was  to  be  elected  for  two  years  and  was  required 
to  be  a  resident  in  the  territory  for  three  years,  or  have  had  a  citizenship  in  some 
state  for  three  years  and  a  present  residence  in  the  territory  and  a  fee  simple 
right  to  two  hundred  acres  of  land  within  the  territory. 

"  The  makers  of  this  ordinance  had  confidence  in  the  immigrants  to  the  dis- 
trict who  came  from  any  one  of  the  states.  He  was  supposed  to  be  a  developed 
American.  We  have  already  seen  the  importance  of  studying  in  the  beginning 
the  development  of  the  older  colonies  for  it  was  in  them  our  first  lUinoisans 
were  made.  . 

An  elector  must  have  been  a  citizen  of  one  of  the  states  or  have  a  residence 
of  two  years  in  the  district  and  in  either  case  have  a  freehold  of  fifty  acres. 

The'assembly  consisted  of  the  governor  and  council  and  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives. The  council  was  to  consist  of  five  members,  three  to  constitute  a 
quorum,  term  of  service  five  vears  unless  the  members  were  sooner  removed 
by  congress.  Congress  w^as  to 'select  the  council  from  ten  men-residents  of  the 
territory,  each  having  a  freehold  of  five  hundred  acres— nominated  by  the  House 
of  Representatives.  Bills  to  become  laws  must  be  passed  by  both  houses  and 
be  approved  by  the  governor.  The  two  houses  by  joint  ballot  were  to  elect  a 
delegate  to  congress  who  was  allowed  to  debate  but  not  to  vote.  An  oath  of 
office  was  to  be  taken  by  each  of  these  officers. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  53 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  following  extract  from  the  ordinance  that  it  was 
intended  to  make  it  in  many  respects  practically  perpetual. 

"13.  And  for  extending  the  fundamental  principles  of  civil  and  religious  lib- 
erty, which  form  the  basis  whereupon  these  republics,  their  laws,  and  constitu- 
tion, are  erected ;  to  fix  and  establish  those  principles  as  the  basis  of  all  laws, 
constitutions  and  governments,  which  forever  hereafter  shall  be  formed  in  the 
said  territory ;  to  provide,  also,  for  the  establishment  of  states,  and  permanent 
government  therein,  and  for  their  admission  to  a  share  in  the  federal  councils  on 
an  e<|ual  footing  with  the  original  states,  at  as  early  periods  as  may  be  consistent 
with  the  general  interest : 

"14.  It  is  hereby  ordained  and  declared,  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  the 
following  articles  shall  be  considered  as  articles  of  compact  between  the  original 
states  and  the  people  and  states  in  the  said  territory,  and  forever  remain  unalter- 
able, imless  by  common  consent." 

Among  the  unalteraljle  provisions  were  these :  That  any  one  demeaning 
himself  in  an  ortlerly  manner  shall  never  be  molested  on  account  of  his  mode  of 
worship  or  religious  sentiments.  That  the  inhabitant  shall  always  be  entitled 
to  the  benefits  of  the  habeas  corpus  and  of  the  trial  l)y  jury;  of  a  proportionate 
representation  in  the  legislature  and  of  judicial  proceedings  according  to  the 
common  law.  All  persons  shall  be  bailable,  unless  for  capital  ofifenses,  where  the 
proof  shall  be  evident  and  the  presumption  great.  All  fines  shall  be  moderate, 
and  no  cruel  or  unusual  punishment  shall  be  inflicted.  No  one  shall  be  deprived 
of  his  libertv  or  property,  but  by  the  judgment  of  his  peers,  and  the  law  of  the 
land.  Private  property  shall  not  be  taken  for  public  use  nor  shall  particular 
services  of  anyone  be  required  without  full  compensation  made  for  the  same, 
and  no  law  ought  to  be  made  or  have  force  in  said  territory  that  shall  in  any 
manner  whatever  interfere  with  or  afi^ect  private  contracts  or  engagements 
bona   fide  and   without   fraud,   previously  formed. 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  in  many  respects  is  wonderfully  like  the  old  Magna 
Charta  of  King  John. 

"Religion,  morality  and  knowledge  being  necessary  to  good  government  and 
the  happiness  of  mankind,  schools  and  the  means  of  education  shall  forever  be 
encouraged." 

The  utmost  good  faith  was  required  toward  the  Indians.  Their  land  and 
propertv  should  never  be  taken  from  them  without  consent  and  their  property 
rights  and  liberty  should  never  be  invaded  or  disturbed  unless  by  just  and  lawful 
wars  authorized  by  congress ;  but  laws  founded  in  justice  and  humanity  shall 
from  time  to  time  be  made  for  preventing  wrongs  being  done  to  them  and  for 
preserving  peace  and  friendship  with  them. 

States  formed  from  the  territory  were  to  remain  forever  a  part  of  the  gen- 
eral government  and  to  pay  their  proportionate  part  of  the  national  debt.  The 
states  were  not  to  interfere  with  the  disposal  of  the  public  lands  by  congress 
nor  tax  those  lands,  nor  to  tax  the  land  of  non-resident  proprietors  higher  than 
they  did  that  of  residents.  The  navigable  waters  were  to  be  forever  free,  as 
well  as  the  carrying  places  between  the  same,  and  should  become  highways  to 
the  citizens  of  the  United  States.  The  territory  was  eventually  to  be  divided  in 
not  less  than  three  nor  more  than  five  independent  states. 

It  was  provided  that  there  should  be  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servi- 
tude in  said  territory  otherwise  than  in  punishment  of  crime  whereof  the  party 
to  be  punished  should  have  been  duly  convicted. 

From  the  celebrated  ordinance  of  1787,  which  was  the  charter  or  constitution 
of  the  Northwest  territory,  we  have  been  able  to  learn  something  of  the  ideas 
of  the  members  of  the  continental  congress  at  that  time  in  regard  to  what  was 
necessary  and  expedient  for  the  organization  and  construction  of  a  govern- 
ment for  the  people  in  a  country  such  as  the  Northwest. 

Major  General  Arthur  St.  Clair,  who  had  been  an  officer  in  the  English 
army  but  resigned  and  settled  in  Pennsylvania,  had  rendered  distinguished  service 


54  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

iiiuler  Wolfe  in  the  storming  of  Quebec  in  1759,  and  had  also  served  with  honor 
during  the  Revolutionary  war,  was  elected  by  congress,  governor  of  the  North- 
west territory.  The  three  judges  required  by  that  ordinance  were  also  elected 
and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  their  office  July  15,  1778,  and  they  with  the  gov- 
ernor proceeded  to  legislate  for  the  territories. 

We  must  remember  that  many  of  the  laws  we  now  have  would  have  been 
impossible  of  execution  under  the  circumstances  of  the  country  at  that  time. 
There  were  no  jails,  workhouses,  or  penitentiaries  in  which  convicts  could  be 
confined,  and  the  people  were  too  poor  and  too  widely  scattered  to  build  them ; 
conse(|Ucntly  that  mode  of  punishment  so  common  with  us  could  not  be  adopted 
by  them.  Some  of  the  offenses,  such  as  horse-stealing,  which  are  the  hardest  to 
suppress  in  new  countries,  were  punished  more  severely  than  we  would  think 
advisable.  Their  punishments  were  summary:  Death  for  murder,  treason  and 
arson  (if  loss  of  life  ensued  therefrom)  ;  whipping  with  thirty-nine  lashes  and 
fine  for  larceny,  burglary  and  robbery;  for  perjury,  whipping,  fine  or  standing 
in  the  pillory  :  for  forgery,  fine,  disf ranchizement,  and  standing  in  the  pillory ; 
drunkenness,  fine,  for  non-payment  of  which  to  stand  in  the  stocks ;  for  non- 
payment of  fines  generally,  the  sheriff  was  empowered  to  bind  out  the  convict 
for  a  term  not  exceeding  seven  years ;  obscene  conversation  and  profane  swear- 
ing were  admonished  against  and  threatened  with  the  loss  of  the  government's 
confidence;  morality  and  piety  were  enjoyed  and  the  Sabbath  pronounced  sacred. 

President  Washington  wrote  to  Governor  St.  Clair  that  one  of  the  most 
important  things  to  be  accomplished  as  soon  as  possible  was  to  quit  the  titles 
to  the  lands  of  the  settlers,  and  publication  was  made  that  all  persons  claiming 
titles  should  bring  them  in  to  the  government  to  be  examined,  approved  if  found 
correct,  and  recorded.  The  difficulties  of  those  in  charge  of  this  work  were 
very  great,  ^lany  of  the  titles  presented  were  fraudulent,  forgeries,  or  issued 
without  authority.  When  a  title  was  found  correct,  it  became  necessary  to  make 
an  accurate  survey  of  the  ground  and  stake  it  ofif  so  the  owner  not  only  would 
know  what  his  title  was  but  would  know  exactly  the  boundaries  of  his  land.  The 
law  provided  that  the  cost  of  the  surveying  and  marking  corners  must  be  paid 
by  the  owner  of  the  land.  Many  of  the  settlers  at  that  time  were  very  poor, 
indeed.  They  were  not  good  managers.  They  had  been  harassed  by  warfare 
and  by  the  uncertain  condition  of  business,  and  unfortunately  at  this  same  time 
there  had  been  unusual  overfiows  of  the  .Mississippi,  destroying  most  of  their 
crops  for  a  year  or  two  in  succession,  so  that  they  were  utterly  unable  to  pay 
the  necessary  cost  of  staking  off  their  land.  The  result  was  that  their  lands, 
many  of  them,  fell  into  the  hands  of  land  speculators  who  advanced  the  money 
to  pay  for  the  cost  of  surveying.  Many  of  the  French  inhabitants  petitioned 
congress  to  relieve  them  of  the  cost  of  surveying.  Their  pathetic  and  earnest 
petition  was  drawn  up  by  Father  Gibault,  the  same  priest  who  was  so  efficient 
in  securing  the  support  t)f  the  French  at  Kaskaskia  and  also  at  Vincennes  for 
George  Rogers  Clarke.  It  certainly  appears  to  us  at  this  time  that  congress 
should  have  paid  that  cost  of  surveying  from  the  treasury. 

The  instructions  of  congress  to  Governor  St.  Clair  were  to  promote  peace 
and  harmony  between  the  Indians  and  the  United  States,  to  defeat  all  com- 
binations or  confederacies  between  them  and  to  neglect  no  opportunity  to  ex- 
tinguish the  Indian  titles  to  lands  westward  as  far  as  the  Mississippi  and  north 
as  far  as  the  forty-first  degree  of  latitude.  Why  they  should  limit  it  in  this  man- 
ner, does  not  appear.  We"  know  that  the  forty-first  degree  was  the  northern  line 
of  the  claim  of  Virginia  under  its  charter,  but  why  stop  at  the  boundary  fixed  by 
the  charter  of  old  Virginia? 

In  1790,  there  was  only  one  lawyer  in  the  Northwestern  territory  but  he 
was  a  very  able  man  of  Welsh  descent,  an  accomplished  linguist  with  a  classical 
education  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  law,  a  hard  worker  and  a  forceful 
speaker.  Later  when  the  territory  of  Indiana  was  organized,  he  moved  to 
Vincennes  and  rendered  important  services  in  revising  the  statutes  for  the  terri- 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  55 

tory  of  Indiana.     His  name  was  jolin  Rice  Jones.     He  left  several  distinguished 
sons. 

A  curious  record  is  mentioned  by  Governor  Reynolds  of  a  trial  at  Prairie 
du  Rocher  which  indicates  the  ai)sence  of  states  attorneys  or  any  other  lawyers. 
The  jury,  wishing  to  indict  a  negro,  examined  what  books  they  had  and  con- 
cluded to  and  did  indict  him,  and  under  the  indictment  convicted  him  of  the 
"murder"  of  a  hog.  He  had  not  stolen  it,  only  shot  it  as  a  piece  of  malicious 
mischief. 

The  neighborhood  of  Peoria  was  free  from  Indian  massacres,  incursions,  or 
battles,  during  the  existence  of  the  northwest  territory  but  there  were  two  or 
three  battles  of  importance  farther  east. 

General  St.  Clair  suffered  a  disastrous  defeat  November  4tli,  1791,  on  a 
small  branch  of  the  \\'abash.  He  lost  eight  hundred  ninety  men  out  of  a  force 
of  fourteen  hundred  engaged  in  battle.  Six  hundred  skulls  were  found  three  years 
afterwards  and  buried  Ijy  men  from  General  Wayne's  army.  The  Indian  force 
consisted  of  one  thousand  forty  men  under  the  command  of  Little  Turtle,  chief 
of  the  Aliamis.     This  battlefield  was  afterwards  known  as  Fort  Recovery. 

Afterward,  the  conduct  of  the  war  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  General 
Anthony  Wayne,  whose  home  was  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Valley  Forge, 
Pennsylvania.  His  campaign  during  the  summer  of  1794,  culminated  in  a  very 
decisive  victory  on  the  20th  of  August  on  the  Maumee  river.  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  negotiations  with  (ireat  llritain  in  which  the  king  pledged  a  firm 
peace  with  the  United  States  and  agreed  to  withdraw  all  his  troops  and  garri- 
sons from  the  posts  within  the  boundary  lines  of  the  United  States  as  fixed 
by  the  treaty  of  1783.  This  took  away  from  the  Indians  the  last  hope  of 
British  aid  and  the  various  chiefs  hastened  to  the  headquarters  of  General  Wayne 
during  the  winter  and  signed  preliminary  articles  of  peace  which  resulted  in 
the  treaty  of  Greenville,  in  which  all  the  sachems  and  chiefs  of  the  confederacy 
signed  a  lasting  treaty  of  peace  on  the  3d  of  August,   1795. 

Governor  St.  Clair,  as  we  have  seen,  was  himself  a  Pennsylvanian  l)y  adop- 
tion and  it  appears  that  four-fifths  of  the  laws,  which  were  all  imported  from 
other  states,  were  from  Pennsylvania.  Among  other  things  they  adopted  the 
common  law  of  England,  and  the  statutes  of  parliament  in  aid  thereof  of  a 
general  nature  not  local  to  that  kingdom,  down  to  the  fourth  year  of  James  I, 
which  is  the  law  in  Illinois  to  this  day  except  as  varied  by  statute. 

In  1796,  the  ]iopulation  of  the  territory  had  become  so  large  as  to  entitle 
it  to  a  delegate  in  congress  and  Shadrach  Bond  was  elected.  He  was  after- 
wards the  first  governor  of  the  state  of  Illinois.  The  representatives  in  the 
legislature  of  the  territory  nominated  ten  men,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions 
of  the  ordinance  of  '87,  from  which  President  Adams  selected  five,  who  con- 
stituted the  legislative  council.  These  were  confirmed  by  the  Senate  and  on 
the  i6th  of  September,  1799,  both  houses  met  and  perfected  their  organization 
on  the  24th.  This  was  the  first  time  that  the  people  of  this  country  through 
representatives  elected  by  themselves  enacted  their  own  laws  for  their  own 
local  government.  The  legislature  confirmed  many  of  the  laws  enacted  by  the 
governor  and  judges,  and  passed  forty-eight  new  ones,  of  w-hich  the  government 
vetoed  eleven.     They  were  prorogued  December  17,  1799. 

This  territorial  government  existed  for  only  a  few  months,  for  on  May  7, 
1800,  the  territory  was  divided. 


CHAPTER  X 
PEORIA  PART  OF  INDIANA  TERRITORY— 1800-1809 

Congress,  l)y  an  act  approved  'May  7,  1800,  divided  the  immense  territory 
of  the  northwest  and  the  present  states  of  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Michigan,  and 
Indiana,  except  a  little  strip  on  the  eastern  side,  were  constituted  the  territory 
of  Indiana  and  so  remained  for  nine  years,  which  were  not  very  eventful  ones. 

The  act|uisition  of  land  titles  from  the  resident  Indian  tribes,  and  the  settle- 
ment of  land  titles,  were  the  principle  subjects  receiving  attention. 

Captain  William  PI.  Harrison,  afterwards  president,  was  appointed  governor 
and  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  and  given  full  powers  to  negotiate  treaties 
between  the  United  States  and  the  several  resident  Indian  tribes  for  the  cession 
of  their   lands. 

There  had  been  only  one  term  of  court  with  jurisdiction  of  criminal  matters 
held  within  that  territory  for  five  years. 

In  1799,  while  Harrison  was  secretary  of  the  great  territory  of  the  northwest, 
he  had  been  elected  delegate  to  congress,  and  it  was  largely  through  his  influence 
that  congress  had  created  the  territory  of  Indiana  from  the  territory  of  the 
northwest,  and  also  provided  for  the  sale  of  public  lands  in  tracts  as  small  as 
three  hundred  twenty  acres,  upon  cash  payment  of  one-fourth  the  price,  the 
balance  to  be  paid  in  one.  two,  and  three  years.  Before  that  time,  the  smallest 
tract  sold  was  four  hundred  acres  and  cash  payments  were  recjuired. 

The  first  term  of  the  general  court  under  the  law  for  Indiana  Territory  was 
held  on  the  _^d  of  March,  1801.  It  was  about  this  time  that  the  able,  accomplished, 
and  distinguished  scoundrel  and  traitor,  Aaron  Burr,  attempted  to  organize  an 
independent  nation  including  a  large  part  of  the  coimtry  between  the  AUe- 
ghanies  and  the  Mississippi  river.  After  a  long  trial  he  was  not  convicted, 
although  universally  believed  to  be  guilty. 

All  the  territory  between  the  Illinois  and  the  Mississippi  rivers  was  acquired 
from  the  Sac  and  Fox  nations,  by  the  treaty  of  St.  Louis,  November  3,  1804, 
the  Indians  surrendering  all  jurisdiction  over  it  and  giving  up  all  claim  of  title 
to  the  lands,  but  it  will  be  seen  that  the  country  was  practically  not  opened  to 
settlement  for  several  years,  for  the  lands  had  not  been  surveyed  and  there  was 
no  opportunity  to  acquire  title  to  them,  which  is  the  chief  object  of  the  pioneer. 
Land  offices  were  established  in  T%:}:-at  Kaskaskia,  in  which  district  Peoria  /%0 
county  was  situated,  and  the  settlement  of  disputed  land  claims  was  begun. 
This  proved  to  be  an  exceedingly  difficult  matter.  The  register  and  receiver 
examined  eight  hundred  ninety  land  claims,  of  which  three  hundred  seventy 
were  supported  by  perjury  and  a  considerable  number  were  forged.  It  seems 
there  was  no  less  perjury  and  graft  in  that  day  than  in  this,  and  it  is  unpleasant 
to  contemplate  that  the  names  of  many  of  the  most  prominent,  respected,  and 
influential  families  were  tarnished.  This  placed  a  terrible  responsibility  upon 
the  commissioners,  who  were  compelled  to  resist  these  claimants  who  attacked 
them  viciously  in  every  way.  The  commissioners  felt  this  grievously  and  closed 
their  report  with  the  following  words : 

"We  close  this  melancholy  picture  of  human  depravity,  by  rendering  our 
devout  acknowledgments  that,  in  the  awful  alternative  in  which  we  have  been 

57 


58  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

placed,  of  either  admitting  perjured  testimony  in  support  of  the  claims  before 
us,  or  having  it  turned  against  our  characters  and  lives,  it  has,  as  yet,  pleased 
Divine  Providence  which  rules  over  the  affairs  of  men,  to  preserve  us  both  from 
legal  murder  and  private  assassination." 

By  vote  taken  in  1S04.  September  nth,  the  people  adopted  the  second  grade 
of  territorial  government,  under  which  they  elected  a  general  assembly.  The 
members  elected  to  the  legislature  from  Illinois  were  Shadrach  Bond,  afterwards 
first  governor  of  the  state,  William  Biggs  of  St.  Clair,  and  George  Fisher  of 
Randolph.  The  legislature  elected  ten  men  from  whom  the  president  was  author- 
ized to  select  five  to  act  as  members  of  the  council.  The  president  waived  that 
right  to  nominate  them  and  delegated  that  power  to  Harrison,  only  asking  him 
that  he  reject  "land  jobbers,  dishonest  men,  and  those  who,  though  honest, 
might  suffer  themselves  to  be  warped  by  party  prejudice."  Perry  and  Menard 
were  selected  for  Illinois. 

The  legislature  met  the  29th  of  June,  1805.  This  was  the  second  time  that  the 
people  of  this  country,  through  their  representatives,  exercised  the  law  making 
power  for  their  own  local  government. 

The  governor  in  his  first  message  recommended  the  passage  of  laws  to  pre- 
vent the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  to  the  Indians  saying:  "You  have  seen  our 
towns  crowded  with  drunken  savages ;  our  streets  flowing  with  blood ;  their 
arms  and  clothing  bartered  for  the  liquor  that  destroys  them ;  and  their  miser- 
able women  and  children  enduring  all  the  extremities  of  cold  and  hunger; 
whole  villages  have  been  swept  away.  A  miserable  remnant  is  all  that  remains 
to  mark  the  situation  of  many  warlike  tribes." 

The  legislature  enacted  many  general  laws  and  provided  for  a  thorough 
collection  and  revision  of  the  same  by  a  commission.  This  was  done  by  John 
Rice  Tones  and  John  Johnson  and  the  laws  were  printed  in  a  bound  volume,  the 
paper  for  which  was  brought  on  horseback  from  Georgetown,  Kentucky.  These 
laws  were  not  very  different  from  those  already  in  force.  Gambling,  profane 
swearing,  and   Sabbath  breaking  were  each  punished  by  fine. 

During  the  continuance  of  the  territory  of  Indiana,  the  expedition  of  Lewis 
and  Clark  to  the  far  west  was  organized.  This  Clark  was  a  brother  of  George 
Rogers  Clark.  This  expedition  extended  and  preserved  our  boundaries  west- 
ward to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

Here  ends  the  work  of  Colonel  Rice  on  the  manuscript  for  this  history. 
"Man  proposes,  but  God  disposes,"  is  an  aphorism  which  has  been  fully  exem- 
plified in  the  plans  of  the  author  of  the  foregoing  pages  of  historical  events. 
His  aim  and  ambition  were  to  leave  to  Peorians  a  work  that  would  meet  their 
wishes  and  approval  and.  at  the  same  time,  redound  to  his  credit  and  come  up 
to  the  anticipations  of  his  many  friends.  He  had  given  the  matter  his  earnest, 
sincere  and  careful  attention,  laying  out  a  plan  which  would  cover  the  subject 
truthfullv  and  completelv :  but,  the'hand  of  death  unexpectedly  intervened  and. 
while  in 'the  full  flush  of  apparently  good  health,  he  was  laid  low  and  another 
was  delegated  to  continue  the  program  as  mapped  out  by  him  and  in  accordance 
with  his   wishes. 


CHAPTER  XI 
REMINISCENCES  OF  OLD  SETTLERS 

The  spirit  of  former  times,  and  the  hopes,  desires,  and  ambitions  of  the  old 
pioneers,  tlie  motives  that  caused  them  to  move  to  a  new  country,  the  spirit 
that  governed  them  in  their  social  life  and  business,  their  trials,  hardships  and 
their  pleasures,  the  difficulties  they  had  to  overcome  and  the  methods  they  took 
to  accomplish  this  and  makeshifts  they  were  compelled  to  resort  to,  their  modes 
of  entertainment  and  the  happy  spirit  they  preserved  with  it  all  are  best  shown 
by  permitting  them  to  tell  their  own  story  in  their  own  way.  Therefore,  a 
number  of  reminiscences  and  recollections  of  the  old  settlers  themselves,  ex- 
pressed in  their  own  words  as  nearly  as  practicable  are  embodied  in  this  history. 
Nothing  else  could  give  us  such  a  vivid  picture  of  those  early  days  or  could  it 
make  it  so  attractive.  In  reading  these  reminiscences,  we  know  we  are  getting 
a  description  of  the  situation  at  first  hands,  and,  if  in  some  cases,  their  views 
were  different  from  ours,  it  indicates  the  progress  of  civilization  and  develop- 
ment, for  better  or  worse,  as  the  case  may  be. 

These  early  reminiscences  will  give  the  origin  of  many  of  the  families  now 
living  in  Peoria  and  will  be  doubly  interesting  to  their  descendants  because 
given  in  the  language  of  the  actors  in  that  stirring  time. 

Considerable  effort  has  been  made  to  secure  as  many  of  these  reminiscences 
as  possible  and  make  them  as  full  as  the  lapse  of  time  will  permit. 

The  first  one  presented  will  be  that  of  Airs.  Julia  M.  Ballance  who  came  to 
Peoria  in  1835  and  became  the  wife  of  Charles  ilallance  who  wrote  one  of  the 
first  histories  of   Peoria. 

Mrs.  Ballance  at  the  time  these  recollections  were  penned  was  an  old  lady 
but  her  remembrance  of  persons  and  events  was  remarkably  full  and  clear. 
The  reminiscences  here  given  were  written  at  the  request  of  the  Herald-Trans- 
script,  and  printed  in  that  paper  in  1899,  but  one  year  before  her  death. 

REMINISCENCES    OF    JULIA    M.    BALLANCE 

My  father's  second  wife  was  a  Presbyterian,  unused  to  slave  labor  and  with 
no  faculty  for  controlling  them.  Naturally  she  disliked  the  blacks,  a  feeling 
they  were  all  too  ready  to  reciprocate,  and  when  Rev.  Isaac  Kellar,  who  was 
married  to  my  father's  sister,  moved  to  Illinois  and  wrote  back  glowing  accounts 
of  the  promise  of  the  new  country  my  step-mother  added  her  entreaty  to  his 
that  we  should  break  up  our  home  in  Alaryland  and  join  the  Kellar's  in  Peoria. 
One  line  of  argument  had  great  weight  with  my  father.  He  had  four  sons 
rapidly  approaching  manhood,  his  farm  was  not  large  enough  to  settle  them  all 
with  the  corresponding  negro  hands,  other  good  farm  land  in  the  neighborhood 
was  scarce  as  well  as  high  in  price,  and  there  seemed  no  better  way  to  provide 
for  all  these  boys  than  to  seek  a  new  country.  Accordingly  in  1835,  after  the 
crops  were  all  gathered,  he  closed  up  his  business,  sold  or  rented  his  slaves 
and  started  for  the  land  of  promise. 

JOURNEY    TO    A     NEW    COUNTRY 

The  journey  of  course  had  to  be  made  overland  and  for  that  purpose  he 
provided  a  large  covered  wagon  drawn  by  four  and  sometimes  five  horses  for 

59 


60  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

the  accommodation  of  my  brothers,  John,  David,  Washington  and  Henry,  my 
sisters,  Susan  and  Amanda  and  myself ;  another  wagon  drawn  by  two  horses 
in  which  clothing,  camp  equipage  and  food  were  carried ;  and  a  covered  carriage 
for  father,  his  wife  and  two  little  children.  Our  horses  were  large,  strong  ani- 
mals, our  wagons  provided  with  every  comfort  and  convenience,  experience  or 
ingenuity  could  suggest,  and  one  beautiful  sunny  day  in  October  we  started  on 
our  journey.  It  must  have  been  hard  for  the  older  people  to  leave  all  that  was 
dear  to  them  by  association  or  recollection,  but  the  young  looked  forward  rather 
than  l)ack  and  in  the  excitement  of  that  first  day's  travel  my  brothers  and  I 
drew  beautiful  fancy  pictures  of  the  life  that  was  before  us. 

So  far  as  I  can  recollect  our  journey  through  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania 
was  uneventful.  The  road  was  perfect,  the  weather  fine,  and  we  easily  made 
a  drive  of  twenty-five  miles  per  day.  As  a  rule  there  was  no  difficulty  in  obtain- 
ing accommodations  at  a  hotel  or  farmhouse,  but  if  these  failed  we  young 
people  thought  it  no  hardship  to  spend  the  night  in  the  wagons.  Bedding  was 
abundant,  and  we  were  exceedingly  comfortable.  F"ather  was  particular  about 
the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  and  we  always  laid  by  from  Saturday  till  Mon- 
day morning,  but  these  stops  must  have  been  at  unimportant  points,  for  I  remem- 
ber none  till  we  reached  Wheeling,  Virginia.  Here  we  remained  for  two  or 
three  days  to  readjust  the  loads  of  goods,  the  heavy  and  bulky  articles  being 
separated  from  the  others  and  shipped  by  water  down  the  Ohio  and  up  the 
Illinois  river  to  Peoria.  This  we  accomplished  through  Mr.  John  R.  Forsyth, 
a  commission  merchant  in  Wheeling,  who  took  charge  of  and  shipped  them  to 
the  care  of  Andrew  Gray,  a  commission  man  in  Peoria,  and  our  only  knowledge 
of  the  shipment  for  many  long  weeks  was  through  this  latter  gentleman,  who 
was  finally  notified  when  they  were  transferred  to  another  boat  at  St.  Louis. 
It  may  be  mentioned  in  passing  that  Mr.  Forsyth  was  the  father  of  Henry 
Forsvth,  for  a  number  of  years  clerk  of  our  county  court,  and  the  grandfather 
of  Airs.  C.  R.  \Varner.  He  removed  to  Peoria  soon  after  we  did,  and  formed 
a  partnership  with  Mr.  Gray,  whom  all  old  citizens  will  remember  and  who 
is  still  represented  in  our  midst  by  his  daughter,  Mrs.  John  McDougal  and  her 
sons.  Both  of  these  gentlemen  were  from  the  north  of  Ireland  and  were  fine 
specimens  of  that  elocjuent  and  courtly  race.  There  was  much  to  interest  us 
in  Wheeling,  but  unfortunately  we  had  all  been  made  more  or  less  ill  by  eating 
pawpaws  gathered  by  the  wayside  and  were  unable  to  avail  ourselves  of  half 
our  opportunities.  One  thing,  however,  we  felt  that  all  must  see  and  that  was 
the  steamer  Algonquin,  on  which  our  goods  were  being  stored.  The  Chesapeake 
and  Ohio  canal  was  in  operation  and  the  older  members  of  the  family  had  in- 
spected the  boats  on  the  canal  and  considered  them  a  triumph  of  luxury,  but 
not  even  my  father  had  seen  anything  so  fine  as  a  steamboat  and  to  all  of  us 
it  seemed  a  floating  palace.  The  boys  were  especially  excited  and  could  not 
sufficiently  admire  its  various  parts  from  the  wheel  in  the  pilot  house  to  the 
conveniences  for  storing  freight  in  the  hold. 

Another  curiosity  and.  delight  was  the  glass  factory  still  in  its  infancy  but 
quite  sufiiciently  developed  to  draw  crowds  of  interested  observers.  I  remained 
at  the  hotel,  too  unwell  to  undertake  such  an"  expedition,  but  grew  quite  familiar 
with  its  wonders  at  second-hand  in  the  long  days  that  followed. 

On  Monday  we  were  all  feeling  much  better  and  with  our  load  of  goods 
greatly  lightened,  took  up  our  journey  across  Ohio,  still  keeping  to  the  National 
road.  Various  schemes  for  facilitating  travel  were  being  urged  but  Illinois  knew 
of  these  things  only  by  distant  rumor.  On  the  whole  the  greatest  civilizer  of 
this  and   neighboring  states  was   the   National  Road,*   of  which   such   fre(iuent 

*  This  National  Road  at  the  time  it  was  built  was  probably  as  important  to  the  people 
as  the  Union  Pacific  was  at  the  time  it  was  built  and  it  cost  the  general  government  in 
proportion  to  its  means  as  much  as  the  Transcontinental  Railroad.  It  was  built  by  Con- 
gress under  desires  to  provide  for  the  mail  service  and  was  operated  as  a  mail  route,  very 
important  in  that  particular  and  very  important  to  bind  the  nation  together  by  union  of  inter- 


I.AKK   AT   (;IJ-;X   OAK    I'AlMv 


LOG  CABIN  AT  GLEX  OAK    I'AKK    l!t  ll.T    \:\    I'KiHMA   ((UXTY  PIONEERS 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  61 

and  grateful  mention  is  made  by  early  settlers.  Starting  from  Cumberland  it 
was  finished  as  far  as  Wheeling  in  1820  at  a  cost  of  $17,000,000,  but  was  subse- 
quently extended  across  Ohio  and  Indiana.  In  the  language  of  Professor 
Andrews,  "It  was  thirty-five  feet  wide  thoroughly  macadamized,  and  had  no 
grade  above  five  degrees."  As  it  was  kept  in  repair  for  the  sake  of  the  govern- 
ment mail  it  can  easily  be  imagined  what  a  boon  it  must  have  been  to  immigrants 
with  their  heavy  wagons  and  helpless  families.  The  first  stop  that  I  remember 
was  at  Zanesville,  which  was  considered  a  flourishing  town,  and  for  some 
reason  had  an  especial  attraction  for  us,  but  I  cannot  remember  why.  Columbus 
also  met  with  our  approval,  but  we  drove  briskly  through  it  till  we  reached  some 
shade  trees,  where  we  rested  and  ate  luncheon.  W'e  especially  commended  the 
apples  which  were  very  fine  and  abimdant. 

At  this  point  my  father  decided  to  go  by  way  of  Dayton,  so  we  left  the 

National  road  and  drove  through  mud  and  slush  for  half  a  da)'  to  reach  it.     I 

am  not  sure  whether  it  was  by  appointment  or  accident,  but  at  Dayton  we  met 

a  family  of  the  name  of  W  onderlich.  the  father  of  whom  was  an  uncle  of  my 

communications.  It  is  proliable  tliat  railroads  by  facilitating  intercourse  as  well  as  commerce 
between  different  neigbborboods  and  states  are  not  only  among  tbe  greatest  civilizers  by  en- 
abling eacb  portion  of  tbe  country  to  learn  the  best  tilings  from  otber  parts  but  it  enables  the 
people  to  become  acquainted  with  each  other. 

"East  of  Alton  was  the  town  of  Vandalia,  where  ended  tbe  unfinished  National  Pike. 
The  construction  of  that  famous  highway  was  begun  at  Cumberland,  Maryland,  in  iSii;  but 
so  slowly  did  the  work  progress  that  six  years  passed  before  tbe  first  mail-coach  rolled  over 
it  and  entered  Wheeling.  Two  years  later  Congress  decided  to  continue  the  road  from 
Wheeling  to  some  point  on  the  Mississippi  between  St.  Louis  and  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois 
River,  and  appropriated  ten  thousand  dollars  for  preliminary  surveys.  But  five  years  elapsed 
before  a  dollar  was  provided  for  building  the  road,  and  ground  was  broken  at  St.  Clairs- 
ville,  a  little  town  in  Ohio,  a  few  miles  west  of  Wheeling.  Columbus  was  reached  bv  1830, 
and  when  tbe  last  appropriation  was  made,  in  1838,  the  road  was  finished  as  far  as  Spring- 
field, and  graded,  bridged,  and  partially  completed  to  Vandalia. 

"In  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia,  the  Cumberland  Road  wound  and  twisted 
through  the  mountains,  feut  once  across  the  Ohio  the  route  was  to  be  as  straight  as  pos- 
sible from  Wheeling  to  the  Mississippi,  regardless  of  towns  along  the  way.  Against  this 
the  General  .Assembly  of  Illinois  protested,  and  asked  that  tlie  road  should  join  the  capital 
cities  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois.  When  tlierefore,  the  first  appropriation  for  construc- 
tion was  made  it  was  ordered  that  the  great  highway  should  pass  through  Columbus,  In- 
dianapolis, and  Vandalia.  then  the  capital  of  Illinois.  Straightness,  however,  was  not  de- 
parted from,  and  the  road  was  built  with  little  regard  for  topography.  Hills  were  cut 
through,  lowlands  were  crossed  on  high  embankments,  and  streams,  large  and  small,  were 
spanned  by  massive  stone  bridges,  the  like  of  which  cannot  be  found  on  any  other  road  in 
all  our  land. 

"lo  keep  such  a  highway,  eighty  feet  wide,  in  repair  was  .so  costly  a  matter  that  Congress 
ordered  gates  put  up  and  tolls  collected  at  regular  intervals.  This,  in  the  opinion  of  Monroe, 
was  going  too  far;  it  was  assuming  jurisdiction  over  the  land  on  which  tbe  road  was  built; 
and  tbe  bill  came  back  with  his  veto  and  a  long  dissertation  on  the  intent  and  meaning  of 
the  Constitution.  Thereupon  Congress  repaired  the  road  so  far  as  built  and  turned  it 
over  to  the  States  through  which  it  passed  to  be  by  them  kept  in  repair  forever.  ,\s  new 
portions  were  constructed  they,  too,  passed  to  tbe  care  of  tbe  States,  wdiich  at  once  put  up 
toll-gates. 

"No  highway  was  more  travelled,  more  crowded,  more  interesting.  Over  it  each  day 
went  thousands  of  mail-coaches,  passenger-coaches,  freighters,  .•\long  its  route  had  sprung 
up  hundreds  of  taverns,  beneath  whose  roofs  the  travellers  lodged,  and  hundreds  of  wagon 
houses,  where  entertainment  was  provided  for  the  teamsters  and  their  beasts.  Before  tbe 
doors  of  such  taverns  as  went  back  to  tbe  early  days  of  tbe  road,  might  still  be  seen  the 
old-fashioned  sign  whereon  was  rudely  painted  tbe  Green  Tree,  the  Golden  Lamb,  tbe  White 
Horse,  tbe  Golden  Swan,  or  tbe  Indian  Queen,  by  which  the  bouse  was  known.  Those  of 
a  later  date  had  verandas  and  bore  on  their  signs  tbe  names  of  their  owners.  Only  the 
newest  were  called  .'\merican  House.  United  States  Hotel.  National  House,  or  Buckeye  Hotel. 

"On  tbe  outskirts  of  tbe  towns  and  villages  and  at  short  distances  along  the  road  were 
the  wagon  houses,  plain  frame  buildings  with  great  yards,  long  watering  troughs  and  huge 
barns,  in  many  of  which  a  hundred  horses  might  rest.  None  but  teamsters  found  enter- 
tainment at  such  places,  and  at  any  of  them  after  nightfall  a  group  of  wagoners  might  be 
seen  gathered  at  tlie  bar  or  seated  around  the  huge  fireplace,  and  sleeping  on  tbe  floor  in 
winter  or  in  the  great  yard  in  summer. 

"From  each  important  town  along  tbe  route  stage  lines  ran  out  north  and  south." — 
McMastcr. 


62  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

step-mother.  Tliis  man  was  the  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Calvin  Schnebly,  of 
Rich  woods,  and  her  mother  was  a  young  girl  at  the  time  and  assisted  in  enter- 
taining us.  We  remained  two  or  three  days  with  these  kind  friends,  resting 
and  preparing  for  the  worst  part  of  the  journey. 

I  remember  little  of  Indianapolis,  except  from  there  on  the  road  was  very 
had,  and  we  seemed  a  long,  long  ways  from  home.  The  turnpike  existed  only 
in  spots  from  this  time,  and  we  would  sometime  jolt  for  hours  over  a  corduroy 
road  formed  of  trees  roughly  cut  and  dropped  carelessly  into  the  oozy  soil. 
The  prairies  were  uncultivated,  and  while  the  grass  waved  above  the  heads  of 
the  horses  the  wagon  wheel  would  suddenly  sink  to  the  hubs  in  an  unsuspected 
slough.  This  meant  long  delay.  With  a  groan  the  boys  would  clamber  from 
their  seats,  double  up  teams,  perhaps  have  to  pry  the  wheels  out  of  the  mud, 
and  then  repeat  the  process  with  the  vehicles  in  the  rear.  Sometimes  such 
experiences  would  occur  several  times  in  a  day,  and  were  fiery  trials  to  patience 
and  temper  as  well  as  weary  bodies.  Xow  and  then  we  would  overtake  movers 
with  oxen,  and  as  it  was  a  law  of  the  road  that  each  should  help  the  other 
these  were  often  of  great  assistance  to  our  lighter  loads.  The  first  question  of 
all  such  was:  "Where  are  you  going  stranger?"  and  the  almost  invariable  reply: 
"To  Logansport,  Injianny."  "Don't  they  have  ague  there?"'  we  would  ask,  and 
the  reply  was:  "Oh  yes.  sometimes."  In  fact  malaria  was  the  rule  throughout 
the  state.  In  many  houses  where  we  stopped  there  was  not  a  single  well  person 
to  wait  upon  the  sick,  and  all  the  settlers  looked  bleached  and  sallow.  Still  all 
were  cheerful  under  the  affliction  and  looked  for  better  times  in  the  spring — 
not  one  was  preparing  to  give  it  up  and  return  east. 

As  we  left  the  well  settled  portions  of  the  country  behind,  we  became  more 
dependent  upon  ourselves  in  the  matter  of  food.  We  had  brought  with  us  a 
liberal  supply  of  potatoes,  coffee,  tea  and  dried  fruit,  nuts  of  various  kinds 
abounded  in  the  woods  and  apples  might  generally  be  had  for  the  asking ;  eggs, 
milk  and  butter  were  found  at  every  farm  house,  and  fish  in  every  stream ;  but 
the  great  annoyance  was  the  diflficulty  of  obtaining  bread.  Public  bakers  were 
scarce  and  I  recall  one  town  where  but  a  single  loaf  could  be  obtained.  With 
so  large  a  family,  this  became  a  serious  matter  and  at  length  my  step-mother, 
with  the  energy  that  distinguished  her,  took  the  matter  in  hand.  Wherever  we 
might  chance  to  camp  at  night,  by  the  roadside  or  in  the  bleakest  prairies,  she 
would  set  her  bread  to  rise  and  then  in  the  dim  morning  hours  finish  her  baking 
before  the  early  drive  began.  The  only  utensil  for  this  purpose  was  a  large, 
round  iron  pot  or  pan,  with  feet  and  a  right  cover,  called  a  "Dutch  oven,"  which 
was  heated  by  heaping  coals  beneath  it  and  spreading  a  layer  on  the  lid.  In 
the  light  of  our  present  conveniences  this  appears  a  slow  and  troublesome  proc- 
ess, but  after  all  these  years  it  still  seems  to  me  that  no  cakes  or  bread  or  biscuit 
were  ever  so  sweet  or  so  well  baked  as  those  turned  out  of  that  old  "Dutch  oven." 

The  ride  through  Indiana  was  dreary  in  the  extreme ;  we  had  seen  no  one 
we  knew  anything  about  for  days  and  when  we  reached  Terre  Haute  and  were 
invited  to  dine  with  a  J\Ir.  StoU  whom  father  had  know-n  as  a  boy  the  invitation 
was  eagerlv  accepted.  This  gentleman  was  soon  after  appointed  territorial 
governor  of  Iowa  and  of  course  left  the  country,  but  I  still  think  of  Terre 
Haute  tenderlv  for  the  sake  of  the  dinner  he  gave  us. 

Richmond  is  also  pleasantly  remembered;  the  people  were  kind  and  hospitable 
and  we  laid  in  a  bountiful  supply  of  provisions  to  last  us  through  the  wilderness 
which   stretched  before  us. 

At  another  town  in  Indiana  we  had  to  lie  by  on  account  of  the  sickness  of 
a  favorite  mare  named  Dolly.  I  had  never  seen  an  animal  doctored  by  filling 
a  bottle  with  medicine  and  forcibly  pouring  the  dose  down  its  throat  and  it 
seemed  very  cruel,  but  in  this  case,  at  least,  it  was  efficacious  and  the  next  day 
DoUv   was  able   to   travel. 

When  we  reached  the  Wabash  the  difficulties  of  the  journey  were  greatly 
increased.     Hitherto  we  had  crossed  all  streams  by  means  of  bridges,  but  here 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUXTY  63 

there  was  only  a  rope  ferry  boat  and  when  we  drove  on  board  all  felt  as  if  we 
were  taking  our  lives  in  our  hands.  For  a  long  distance  beyond  this  ferry  we 
drove  through  dark  and  forbidding  woods  and  when  at  length  we  were  called 
upon  to  camp  in  their  shadows  we  were  all  much  depressed.  To  make  the 
situation  more  unpleasant  we  entirely  lost  our  beloved  National  road  from  this 
time.  It  had  been  surve^etl  and  partly  graded  in  Illinois,  but  not  a  foot  macad- 
amized beyond  the  state  line.  For  some  reason  our  route  lay  midway  between 
Decatur  and  Springfield,  and  we  passed  no  town  in  the  state  of  sufficient  im- 
portance to  vary  the  monotony. 

Paris,  our  first  stopping  place,  was  not  calculated  to  rouse  our  courage.  The 
ague  was  widespread  and  there  was  not  an  able  bodied  person  in  the  town.  As 
a  conse(|uence  provisions  were  scarce  and  wc  went  on  our  way  with  many 
forebodings. 

The  next  day  to  our  great  surprise  we  met  three  cousins  of  father's  who 
had  been  through  Iowa  and  Illinois  buying  land  and  were  returning  to  Maryland. 
Two  of  these  gentlemen  had  made  the  entire  journey  on  horseback,  while  the 
third,  who  was  lame,  had  driven  in  a  buggy.  We  were  much  delighted  to  see 
them,  though  our  greetings  were  exchanged  in  the  middle  of  a  big  prairie  and 
the  visit  lasted  less  than  an  hour.  Their  account  of  what  they  had  seen  did  much 
to  encourage  our  party  and  we  went  on  in  far  better  spirits. 

Pieyond  Waynesville  we  had  in  a  small  way  a  really  serious  trouble,  though 
it  seems  insignificant  enough  in  the  retrospect — we  lost  our  mush  pot!  Every 
old  housckeejjer  will  remember  the  value  attached  in  the  days  before  porcelain- 
lined  and  galvanized  \\are  were  invented,  to  any  iron  vessel  that  was  perfectly 
smooth  and  warranted  not  to  discolor  the  most  delicate  food.  Such  a  one  was 
our  mush  pot  and  valuable  as  it  was  under  any  circumstances,  it  was  doubly 
so  in  the  present  crisis.  It  had  been  tied  throughout  the  journey  to  the  wagon 
pole  and  came  loosened  and  rolled  away.  My  step-mother  felt  ruined  so  far 
as  good  cooking  was  concerned  and  would  have  driven  back  in  search  of  her 
treasure  if  mv  father  had  not  discouraged  the  attempt. 

Coming  through  Indiana  we  became  acquainted  with  a  family  by  the  name 
of  Boone,  and  as  they  were  traveling  to  the  same  section  of  the  country  we 
were  often  thrown  together.  The  party  consisted  of  the  old  gentleman,  his 
wife,  who  weighed  over  two  hundred  pounds,  and  six  grown  daughters,  and  a 
married  son  with  his  wife  and  two  children.  Each  family  had  what  was  called 
a  "Jersey"  wagon  and  a  pair  of  little  horses  to  take  them  from  their  distant 
home  in  the  eastern  part  of  Pennsylvania  to  central  Illinois.  Although  pleasant 
acquaintances  they  became  a  great  drawback  to  traveling.  Their  horses  were 
quite  unequal  to  the  load  they  had  to  draw  and  several  times  a  day  our  teams 
would  be  unhitched  to  drag  them  out  of  the  mud.  Finally  one  of  the  young 
ladies  was  taken  sick,  and  as  the  family  was  unable  to  travel  in  consequence, 
our  boys  hastened  on,  much  pleased  to  think  we  were  rid  of  them.  But  their 
joy  was  short  lived,  for  by  means  of  early  rising  our  friends  soon  overtook 
us  and  we  continued  to  help  them  out  of  the  mud  till  we  reached  Mackinaw. 
Here  they  remained  for  a  couple  of  weeks,  but  eventually  came  to  Peoria  to 
spend  the  winter.  Miss  Susan  Boone  afterwards  married  Dr.  Maus,  of  Mack- 
inaw, and  they  moved  to  Pekin.  Hopkins  Boone,  the  son.  and  his  family  went 
to  loliet,  where  they  had  relatives,  and  I  lost  sight  of  them. 

Another  family  we  met  in  traveling  was  that  of  Major  Walker.  They  left 
us  to  go  to  Springfield,  but  eventually  settled  in  Lewistown. 

A  disease  as  much  dreaded  by  immigrants  as  ague  was  the  "milk  sickness," 
which  we  heard  of  in  Illinois.  It  was  said  to  come  from  a  weed  the  cattle  ate, 
which  poisoned  the  milk,  and  was  thereby  communicated  to  human  beings.  Our 
first  knowledge  of  I'ekin  was  through  a  report  that  milk  sickness  was  especially 
prevalent  there,  though  indeed  every  new  place  was  suspected  of  the  same  con- 
tamination. 

From   Mackinaw   we   struck  across  the  country,   expecting  to   come   through 


64  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

Tremont,  hut  accidentally  took  the  wrong  road  and  passed  down  Deacon  street 
instead,  and  soon  came  to  the  bluffs  overlooking  Peoria.  It  was  a  beautiful 
afternoon,  and  as  the  sunlight  gilded  the  tops  of  the  trees  and  played  hide-and- 
seek  among  the  shadows,  the  panorama  that  stretched  before  us  was  most  at- 
tractive. The  hardships  of  the  long  weary  way  over  which  we  had  passed 
were  forgotten  as  we  looked  at  the  glistening  river  and  the  village  so  pictur- 
es(|uely  hidden  by  the  surrounding  bluffs.  Even  the  horses  seemed  to  feel  that 
rest  was  near  and  cantered  briskly  down  the  long  slope  that  led  to  the  ferry, 
which  plied  at  the  foot  of  Bridge  street,  and  over  which  we  must  pass  before 
reaching  our  destination.  By  the  time  we  got  to  Main  and  Water  streets  dark- 
ness had  set  in,  and  strangers  as  we  were  it  was  impossible  to  find  accommoda- 
tions for  so  large  a  party.  At  length  an  old  man  by  the  name  of  Hardesty,  who 
lived  in  a  little  house  where  the  Colburn  &  Birks'  building  now  stands,  oft'ered 
to  shelter  my  father  and  mother.  He  had  but  one  room  to  offer,  and  even  that 
had  no  bedstead,  but  we  sent  over  our  own  bedding  and  made  a  bed  upon  the 
floor.  This  would  not  have  been  considered  a  privation  by  persons  who  had 
lived  as  we  had  through  the  last  six  weeks  of  our  journey,  but  unfortunately 
a  terrific  storm  of  rain  and  wind  came  up  in  the  night,  the  rain  drifted  under 
the  outer  door  and  ran  in  streams  to  the  bed,  which  was  thoroughly  soaked, 
and  the  occupants  driven  to  chairs  and  tables  for  protection.  Those  of  us  who 
had  slept  in  the  wagons  were  dry  and  warm  but  much  frightened,  and  altogether 
our  first  night  in  Peoria  was  not  a  happy  one.  Nor  can  it  be  wondered  at; 
but  it  is  rather  a  surprise  that  any  of  us  lived  through  the  hardships  of  the 
first  season,  to  tell  the  truth.  The  girls  especially  had  been  delicately  reared, 
and  had  never  done  a  stroke  of  work  unless  for  their  own  pleasure.  Servants 
had  always  been  plentiful  to  attend  to  their  slightest  wish,  and  the  transition 
from  a  life  of  ease  to  the  labor  and  deprivations  of  pioneer  life  was  enough  to 
appal  the  stoutest  heart. 

The  Rev.  Isaac  Kellar,  who  was  married  to  my  father's  sister  and  had  lived 
near  us  in  Maryland,  moved  to  Peoria  in  the  s]iring  of  1835  and  it  was  at  his 
solicitation  that  we  determined  to  make  our  new  home  in  the  same  place.  After 
a  few  months'  residence  in  town  Uncle  Kellar  had  purchased  a  farm  about  five 
miles  in  the  country  which  included  what  is  now  Kellar  Station  on  the  Rock 
Island  &  Peoria  Railroad.  Here  he  hastily  put  up  a  house  and  moved  his  family 
into  it,  but  so  difficult  was  it  to  get  workmen  that  when  w^e  arrived,  November 
10,  it  was  a  shelter  and  no  more.  The  walls  and  roof  were  up  but  the  winter 
wind  whistled  between  the  unchinked  logs  and  the  only  partitions  upstairs  were 
formed  of  strips  of  carpets  or  blankets.  As  there  was  not  a  house  to  be  had 
and  it  was  too  late  in  the  season  to  think  of  building  we  thankfully  accepted 
the  offer  of  a  share  in  this  unfinished  house  and  seven  Kellars  and  eleven 
Schneblvs  clustered  together  as  best  they  could  under  one  roof.  All  hands 
immediately  set  to  work  to  make  the  place  more  comfortable.  Such  apology 
for  carpenters  as  could  be  obtained  were  put  to  laying  floors  and  making  and 
hanging  inside  doors,  and  in  the  meanwhile  big  fires  were  kept  burning  day 
and  night.  As  the  new^er  family,  we  were  able  to  add  many  comforts  to  the 
general  store.  There  were  too  many  of  us  to  be  lonely  or  low-spirited,  and  in 
spite  of  hardships,  we  were  not  unhappy.  Air.  John  Kellar  had  bought  the 
farm  adjoining  his  brother's,  and  gradually  we  came  to  know  other  neighbors, 
all  of  whom  were  most  kind. 

Nevertheless  it  was  a  dreadful  winter.  The  intense  cold  set  in  on  the  15th 
of  November,  1835,  a  full  month  sooner  than  was  anticipated,  and  found  no 
one  prepared  for  it.  Provisions  were  scarce  not  only  with  us  but  in  the  stores, 
and  the  Illinois  river,  the  only  highway  to  the  base  of  supplies,  was  frozen  over. 
Snow  soon  fell  to  a  greater  depth  than  had  ever  been  known  before  and  ren- 
dered the  country  roads  well  nigh  impassable  while  it  was  fresh  and  entirely 
so  when  it  turned  to  mud  and  slush.  At  the  new  house  it  sifted  through  every 
crevice  and  it  was  no  raritv  to  shake   several  inches  of  snow  off'  our  beds  in 


■7 

*"^  ■ 

7^  ' 

KF.Y  TO  THE  PICTURE  OF  PEORIA  IX  1846. 
The  folliiiK'iii;/  iiaiucd  [^hiccs  arc  represented  as  folltrn's: 

a.  The  foot  of   l-'erry  Street  aii<l  llie  ferry,  since  called   ISridge  Street  and  the 

bridge. 

b.  Orin  Hamlin's  tlour  mill. 

c.  The  fir.st  court  hotise. 

d.  The  first  home  of  Charles  Pallance. 

e.  .\.  S.  Cole's  warehouse.     PjCtween  Cole's  warehouse  and  llallance's  first  home. 

in  \\'ater  Street  and  in  Liberty  Street,   full\-  lilling  l)0th  of  them,   was 
Fort  Clark  at  a  former  day. 

f.  Curtenius  &  Ciriswold's  general  store. 

g.  Slough's,  or  L'nion  Hotel. 

li.  h'irst  two  brick  buildings  erected  in  Peoria. 

i.  Clinton  House. 

j.  Asahel  Hale's  home. 

k.  Delweiller's  1  lotel. 

1.  \'oris  Bros.'  general  store. 

m.  A,  S.  Cole's  store  in    1S43. 

n.  I'^armers'  Hotel. 

o.  The  notorious  W  hig  flagstaff  in   1S44. 

p.  The  old  court  house. 

q.  Old  Hamilton  Street  Baptist  Church,  now  the  site  of  the  county  jail. 

r.  The  old  Peoria  House. 

s.  John  Rankin's  flour  mill. 

t.  The  residence  of  Isaac  L'nderhill,  for  whom  the  |)icturc  was  painted,  now  the 

site  of  St.   h'rancis  Hospital, 
u. 

V.  Orr  &;  Schnel)le\'s  saw  mill. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  65 

the  morning  which  had  settled  upon  us  in  the  night.  The  situation  was  not 
helped  by  the  knowledge  that  there  was  no  lack  of  money  to  make  us  com- 
fortable but  that  this  was  a  time  when  money  was  of  little  use.  There  were 
few  mechanics  of  any  kind  in  the  state  and  if  there  had  been  many,  there  was 
a  dearth  of  materials  with  which  to  work.  Every  foot  of  lumber  for  building 
purposeswas  obtained  by  cutting  logs  on  the  farm,  hauling  them  to  a  saw  mill 
on  the  Kickapoo  where  they  were  sawed  on  the  shares,  and  then  hauling  them 
back.  Teaming  was  a  business  for  which  there  was  good  demand,  and  as  we 
had  the  best  horses  in  the  neighborhood  our  boys  were  often  importuned  to  do 
something  of  the  kind.  On  one  occasion  brother  John  and  an  assistant  was  em- 
ployed to  take  the  boiler  of  a  sunken  steamboat  to  Chicago;  for  this  job  he 
received  $ioo,  which  does  not  seem  a  munificent  sum  for  the  time  and  labor 
expended,  but  he  was  probably  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  see  the  country  and 
satisfied  to  pay  expenses.  On  his  return  he  brought  a  load  of  lumber,  which 
was  considered  an  exceedingly  bright  thing  to  do. 

As  the  winter  progressed  provisions  of  all  sorts  became  scarce  and  ex- 
pensive. Flour,  I  remember,  was  $12  per  barrel.  New  Orleans  molasses  $1.25 
per  gallon,  and  butter  unknown.  The  only  thing  our  family  had  in  plenty  was 
coffee  which  we  had  brought  with  us  and  which  seemed  to  be  providentially 
inultiplied  till  the  spring.  Flour  gave  out  altogether  and  many  of  us  were  made 
sick  by  the  constant  use  of  corn-meal.  At  length  we  obtained  a  little  wheat 
from  a  neighbor  but  to  be  ground  it  had  to  be  taken  across  the  river  to 
Crocker's  Mill  at  the  Narrows,  the  only  flour  mill  in  that  section  of  the  country, 
and  so  great  was  the  pressure  of  business  that  our  messenger  had  to  wait  three 
days  for  his  turn.  \Mien  he  returned  with  the  beautiful  white  flour  we  wel- 
comed him  with  open  arms.  He  also  brought  some  middlings  which  we  made 
into  battercakes.  and  though  we  had  no  proper  griddle  and  had  to  bake  the 
cakes  on  the  stove  lid,  after  our  long  course  of  corn  they  seemed  a  great  luxury. 

The  necessity  for  provisions  finally  became  so  great  that  teams  were  sent 
to  Beardstown  where  a  steamer  from  St.  Louis  had  been  frozen  in  the  ice,  to 
bring  up  her  supply  of  groceries  by  the  wagon  road.  I'^rom  this  time  we  were 
not  so  badly  oft",  though  even  when  the  river  opened,  boats  were  timid  about 
coming  so  far.  Citizens  were  much  in  the  habit  of  betting  as  to  the  time  when 
the  river  would  open  and  this  year  heavy  odds  were  offered  that  it  would  not 
be  before  January  3.  Fortunately  the  thaw  came  on  the  third  to  the  delight 
of  people  generally,  though  it  made  those  who  had  lost  wagers  unhappy. 

Among  Uncle  Kellar's  earliest  acquaintances  in  Peoria  was  Mr.  Charles 
Ballance  who  had  come  out  from  Kentucky  in  183 1,  and,  when  the  Kellars  came 
in  1835,  was  already  well  known  as  a  prosperous  young  lawyer,  land  agent  and 
surveyor.  He  had  i)urchased  a  house  on  the  corner  of  Water  and  Libertv  streets,! 
the  site  of  old  Fort  Clark,  and  here  his  sister  kept  house  for  him.  As  any  sort . 
of  shelter  was  hard  to  find,  wdien  the  Kellar  family  arrived,  he  invited  them 
to  stop  with  him  till  they  could  get  a  house  of  their  own.  This  hospitality  they 
accepted  for  two  or  three  weeks  and  then  rented  a  house  belonging  to  Mr. 
Dakley  on  the  corner  of  Hamilton  and  Adams  streets,  where  they  remained 
till  they  moved  into  the  country  as  already  described.  When,  therefore,  father 
began  to  look  for  a  farm.  Uncle  Kellar  took  him  to  see  Mr.  Ballance  as  one 
likely  to  know  where  such  a  one  as  he  wanted  could  be  found.  It  happened 
that  Mr.   Ballance  was  in  X'andalia  at  the  time,  but  as  soon  as  he  returned  he 

t  The  picture  "Peoria  in  1831"  shows  this  house  of  Mr.  Ballance  and  also  shows  some 
of  the  old  stubs  of  the  burnt  pahsades.  John  F.  Kinff.  a  contractor  of  Peoria,  in  putting  a 
sewer  down  on  Liberty  street  cut  throujjli  the  foundations  of  the  bastion  of  this  old  fort. 
It  stood  so  as  to  nearly  obstruct  Water  street  and  Liberty  street  if  it  had  been  still  standing. 
The  main  part  of  the  fort  connected  with  the  bastion  extended  down  Liberty  street  and 
down  Water  street  and  included  probably  nearly  all  of  the  ground  on  which  the  power  plant 
of  the  Electric  Light  Company  now  stands.  The  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution 
have  put  up  a  brass  tablet  on  the  corner  of  the  power  plant  of  the  Electric  Light  Company 
to  show  the  former  location  of  Fort  Clark. 
Vol.  1—5 


66  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

rode  out  to  the  Kellar  farm,  partly  on  business,  partly  to  make  a  social  call. 
Unfortunately  in  selecting  land  father  was  hampered  by  the  idea  that  ground 
which  did  not  produce  big  trees  would  not  produce  big  corn,*  and  as  the  rich 
alluvial  prairies  which  appear  ready-made  for  the  plow  had  no  charms  for  him 
and  the  wooded  lands  near  the  streams  were  generally  taken  up,  this  caused 
some  delay.  At  length,  however,  a  place  was  found  that  seemed  to  fill  the 
requirements,  and  it  happily  belonged  to  a  man  who  wished  to  sell.  To  us 
its  surroundings  seemed  primitive,  but  the  owner,  "Sammy"  Elson,  was  one 
of  those  restless  nj^en  who  always  flee  at  the  approach  of  civilization  and  the 
bargain  was  soon  made.  The  purchase  included  a  small  house,  which  after- 
wards became  a  part  of  the  Schnebly  homestead,  and  into  it  my  brothers  moved, 
taking  sister  Susan  with  them  as  housekeeper.     C '     -  -> 

As  early  as  possible  after  coming  to  Peoria, ^Uncle  Kellar  had  begun  to 
preach  in  a  frame  building  on  Jackson  between  Adams  and  Washington  streets. 
Here  he  would  no  doubt  have  done  well,  but  unfortunately  the  discussion  which 
resulted  in  new  and  old  school  Presbyterians  was  rife  even  in  this  distant  place 
and  had  resulted  in  the  formation  of  two  Presbyterian  churches  where  there 
was  hardly  room  for  one.  On  the  21st  of  December,  1834,  Joshua  Aiken,  Aloses 
Pettengill  and  Enoch  Cross  with  the  assistance  of  Rev.  Flavel  Bascom  and  Rev. 
Romulus  Darnes  had  organized  a  church  of  eleven  members  with  new  school 
proclivities,  and  on  the  next  day  Samuel  Lowry,  a  zealous  Presbyterian  from 
the  north  of  Ireland,  and  Rev.  John  Birch  had  organized  a  second  church  with 
old  school  preferences.  This  latter  organization  included  Samuel  Lowry,  Mrs. 
Andrew  Gray,  Mrs.  Matthew  Taggart,  John  Sutherland,  Nelson  Buck  and  others. 
All  this  occurred  before  I  came  to  Peoria  and  had  created  not  a  little  feeling, 
but  in  my  first  knowledge  of  the  place  both  churches  were  leading  a  precarious 
existence,  and  Uncle  Kellar  was  preaching  for  the  so-called  old  school  body. 
When  my  father  came  with  his  large  family  and  a  little  later  Mrs.  Lindsay  with 
hers  and  identified  themselves  with  this  latter  church,  it  seemed  established  on 
a  firm  basis.  And  so  it  might  have  been  but  for  enemies  within  the  fold,  who 
were  far  more  destructive  than  those  without.  The  real  cause  of  the  trouble 
which  resulted  in  dismemberment  does  not  appear  on  the  records  but  in  the 
language  of  a  contemporary  arose  from  "a  strong  disposition  on  the  part  of  Mr. 
Lowry  to  rule  whatever  he  was  concerned  with  and  an  equally  strong  disposition 
on  the  part  of  Mr.  Kellar  not  to  be  ruled."  Be  that  as  it  may,  it  was  said  at 
the  time  that  Mr.  Lowry  had  taken  the  deed  to  the  church  lot  in  his  own  name, 
and  that  he  subsequently  sold  the  lot,  took  the  money  and  went  away  never  to 
return.  To  straighten  the  matter  out  the  synod  sent  a  commission  to  investigate 
the  matter  and  this  commission  dissolved  the  church  which  Mr.  Lowry  claimed 
to  have  organized  and  established  another  in  its  ruins,  of  which  Mr.  Kellar  was 
elected  pastor,  and  such  he  continued  to  be  for  several  years. 

Miss  Kate  Kellar  and  I,  being  the  young  ladies  of  the  family,  usually  ac- 
companied him  to  church.  As  soon  as  possible  father  purchased  a  carriage  for 
the  use  of  the  family,  but  during  the  first  winter  our  only  mode  of  traveling 
was  on  horseback.  I  remember  that  Cousin  Kate  and  I  had  cloaks  alike,  made 
very  full,  wadded  and  lined  and  pleated  into  a  yoke.     As  we  rode  along  these 

*  Mr.  Schnebly  seems  to  have  preferred  timber  land  to  tlie  prairie  because  he  tliought 
it  was  more  fertile.  Mr.  George  Poage  Rice,  the  father  of  tlie  editor,  came  to  Illinois  first 
in  18,^4  and  was  in  Peoria.  He  went  west  and  settled  in  Monmouth.  His  idea  was  that  the 
prairie  land  was  the  best  farm  land  but  that  farms  could  not  get  along  without  timber  to 
build  houses,  make  fences  and  for  fuel.  He  took  up  his  farm  land  in  the  edge  of  the  prairie 
adjoining  the  timber  and  spent  all  the  money  he  could  spare  in  buying  timber  land  amongst 
the  breaks  thinking  that  he  was  getting  the  key  of  the  situation.  Some  money  he  had  to  in- 
vest for  his  sister,  he  put  all  in  timber  land  and  also  when  his  nephew  wished  to  come  and 
open  a  farm  he  sold  forty  acres  of  the  timber  and  took  up  as  good  farm  land  as  there  is 
in  Illinois  with  the  money.  One  could  sell  forty  acres  of  that  farm  land  a  day  without  im- 
provements for  enough  to  buy  a  section  of  timber  land,  even  with  the  timber  standing  on  it 
as  good  as  it  was  in  those  days. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  67 

cloaks  would  fill  with  wind  like  a  balloon  and  must  have  presented  a  funny 
appearance  if  there  had  been  any  spectators  on  that  lonely  road.  Both  Mrs. 
Gray  and  Mrs.  Lowry  were  very  kind  to  us  and  often  asked  us  to  spend  a  day 
or  two  at  a  time  with  them.  On  one  of  these  occasions  we  were  invited  to  a 
dance  given  somewhere  on  Main  street,  but  as  neither  of  us  knew  how  to  dance 
and  would  have  been  thought  dreadfully  wicked  if  we  had,  the  party  was  not 
a  success  as  far  as  we  were  concerned. 

As  we  had  come  from  a  country  where  snow  was  plenty,  sleighing  was  one 
of  our  ciiief  amusements.  We  had  only  a  home-made  jumper,  it  is  true,  and  in 
going  up  and  down  the  hills  had  to  cling  to  each  other  to  prevent  falling  off, 
but  youth  and  high  spirits  atoned  for  all  shortcomings  and  we  enjoyed  it.  On 
one  occasion  we  took  the  "jumper"  and  went  by  invitation  to  spend  the  evening 
at  John  Clifton's.  There  was  but  a  single  room  when  we  arrived,  and  the  only 
light  came  from  a  huge  log  fire  about  which  the  family  was  gathered.  After 
a  while  with  some  difficulty  they  rigged  up  a  witch's  lamp — a  piece  of  rag  drawn 
through  a  potato  and  set  in  a  saucer  of  oil — and  that  furnished  the  balance  of 
the  illumination.  We  were  made  most  welcome,  however,  and  before  our  de- 
parture the  lady  of  the  house  jjassed  around  a  dish  of  raw  turnips — the  only 
refreshments  she  had.  It  was  most  kindly  meant,  but  we  were  too  recently 
from  the  land  of  apples  not  to  be  struck  with  the  fun  of  it,  though  our  own 
entertainments  were  little  less  primitive,  being  confined  to  hickory  nuts  or 
parched  corn,  to  which  the  children  sometimes  added  potatoes  roasted  in  the  hot 
ashes.     It  was  years  before  we  had  any  fruit  of  our  own  raising. 

For  many  reasons  the  family  reading  took  a  narrow  range  that  season.  Two 
weekly  papers,  the  I'liiladelphia  Presbyterian  for  religious  items,  and  the  Hag- 
,  erstown  Torchlight  for  news  of  our  old  neighbors,  bad  been  ordered  to  our  new 
home,  and  were  carefully  read.  In  addition  we  had  our  choice  of  the  Bible,  a 
voluminous  Concordance,  Josephus,  a  treatise  on  the  Whole  Duty  of  Woman, 
Grimshaw's  History  of  the  United  States.  Lives  of  Washington,  Calvin,  Frank- 
lin, Marion,  Patrick  Henry,  and  for  light  reading  Scottish  Chiefs,  Charlotte 
Temple  and  the  Children  of  the  Abbey.  How  these  latter  managed  to  creep 
into  such  dignified  company  I  cannot  remember,  but  I,  at  least,  read  them  with 
avidity, 'and  was  thereby  beguiled  of  many  weary  hours.  A  little  later,  through 
the  kindness  of  a  friend.  I  had  access  to  all  of  Cooper's  novels,  then  just  coming 
into  vogue,  and  had  a  new  world  opened  up  to  me  even  though  the  noble  red  men, 
as  there  portrayed,  had  no  resemblance  to  the  specimens  with  which  vve  oc- 
casionally came  in  contact. 

The  winter  of  1835-6  dragged  its  slow  length  along,  as  has  been  said. 
In  February  my  stepmother  presented  us  with  a  tiny  addition  to  the  family, 
and  notwithstanding  many  discomforts  inseparable  with  our  crowded  quarters, 
as  well  as  the  newness  of  the  country,  mother  and  baby  both  throve  well.  A 
few  weeks  later  Mr.  Ballance  and  I  were  married,  Uncle  Kellar  being  the 
officiating  clergyman.  My  gown  was  of  white  jaconet,  the  material  for  which 
I  had  providentially  brought  from  ^Maryland,  and  my  one  bridesmaid  was  Miss 
Amelia  Boone,  one  of  the  family  who  traveled  with  us  in  our  journey  through 
Indiana.  There  were  but  two  carriages  in  the  town,  and  one  of  these  Mr. 
Ballance  hired  for  the  wedding,  but  owing  to  the  darkness  of  the  night  and 
the  miseral)le  condition  of  the  roads  it  was  thought  best  to  defer  the  drive  into 
town  till  morning.  Our  homecoming  was  naturally  an  event  of  some  importance 
in  the  little  town,  and  Miss  Prudence  liallance  had  issued  invitations  for  a  ])arty 
in  our  honor.  It  proved  to  be  a  large  gathering  and  an  elegant  one  for  the 
times,  but  after  all  these  years  I  can  recall  no  one  who  was  there  but  the 
Grays,  Lowrys,  Taggarts,  Vorises,  PickettS  and  Boones.*  The  house  where 
I  began  my  married  life  and  where  my  three  older  children  were  born  was  on 

*  This  Miss  .Amelia  Boone  was  a  cousin  of  the  author's  mother  and  was  a  relative  of 
the  pioneer  hunter,  Daniel  Boone  of  Kentucky.  Their  family  settled  at  an  early  day  in 
Pennsylvania,  fifty  or  sixty  miles  north  of  Philadelphia. 


68  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

the  lower  side  of  Water  street  at  the  foot  of  Liberty  street,  and  was  considered 
a  superior  one  for  the  times.  It  was  near  the  site  of  old  Fort  Clark,  w-hich 
was  built  in  1813,  and  which  burned  in  1819.  The  fort  had  been  made  of  logs, 
standing  on  end  and  the  charred  remains  of  these  were  sometimes  found  about 
our  garden  as  long  as  we  remained  there.  One  was  in  such  a  state  of  preserva- 
tion that  we  used  it  years  as  a  hitching  post  until  its  -age  and  history  made  it 
too  valuable  for  that  purpose  and  when  we  moved  away  a  man  by  the  name 
of  Drown  sawed  it  into  walking  sticks  which  he  readily  sold  for  50  cents  apiece. 
The  corner  on  the  south  of  us  had  been  a  powder  magazine,  but  nothing  re- 
mained of  it  but  a  few  stones  and  the  hole  where  the  powder  had  been  stored. 
Below  this  and  a  little  nearer  the  river — there  was  not  a  street  laid  out  south 
of  this  till  you  reach  the  ferry,  now  Bridge  street — was  the  old  Court  House.* 

In  the  rear,  the  house  was  generally  sixty  or  seventy  feet  from  the  river, 
but  in  the  spring  it  often  happened  that  the  water  came  up  to  our  back  steps, 
and  it  was  not  unusual  at  such  times  to  attach  a  fishing  rod  to  the  back  door  to 
catch  a  fish  for  the  next  meal.  The  front  yard  was  quite  barren  when  I  came 
to  the  house,  but  the  next  year  we  had  it  fenced  in  and  wandering  pigs  fenced 
out,  so  that  I  soon  had  a  garden,  gay  with  all  colors  of  old-fashioned  tiowers. 

After  we  left  this  house  for  a  larger  one  on  South  Adams  street  it  was 
rented  to  various  tenants,  but  rapidly  went  to  decay  and  the  site  is  now  so 
changed  by  business  houses  and  railroad  tracks  that  even  I  find  it  difficult  to 
identify. 

'Most  of  those  who  had  been  invited  to  my  wedding  reception  were  strangers 
to  me,  but  ^Irs.  Andrew  Gray  seemed  like  an  old  friend.  She  and  her  husband 
were  warm  hearted  Irish  people,  and  had  been  kind  to  me  from  my  first  arrival. 
Indeed,  to  the  extent  of  their  means,  they  kept  open  house  to  all  comers. 
Among  their  frequent  guests  were  William,  generally  called  "Billy"  Mitchell, 
and  two  young  ladies,  Margaret  and  Louisa  Heaton,  who  lived  near  where 
(ubilee  now  stands.  Mr.  Mitchell  was  a  young  Englishman  and  at  that  time 
and  for  years  afterwards  was  clerk  of  the  county  court.  Whether  Mrs.  Gray 
had  any  hand  in  making  the  match  I  do  not  know,  but  these  young  people  met 
often  at  her  house  and  the  day  before  we  were  married  Uncle  Kellar  was  called 
upon  to  perform  the  same  services  for  Mr.  Mitchell  and  Louisa  Heaton.  After 
his  marriage,  Mr.  Mitchell  took  his  bride  to  live  in  the  house  on  the  bluff  now 
occupied  by  Mrs.  Thomas  Hurd  and  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Hotchkiss,  and  soon 
after  he  was  joined  by  his  mother  and  a  sister  who  eventually  became  Mrs. 
James  Crawley. 

Of  the  Lowrys  I  have  spoken  before.  They  were  staunch  Presbyterians 
and  according  to  their  ideas  of  things  good  people,  but  Air.  Lowry  was  a  man 
of  determined  will  and  strong  prejudices,  and  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  see 
any  good  in  a  scheme  which  ran  counter  to  his  preconceived  ideas.  Mr.  Bal- 
lance  was  fond  of  quoting  Hudibras  with  reference  to  him  where  he  described 
the   English    Presbyterians: 

"Who  never  kneel  but  to  their  God  to  pray, 
Nor  even  then,  unless  in  their  own  way." 

He  was  a  prominent  citizen  for  a  few  years,  but  became  involved  in  the 
church  quarrel  before  alluded  to  and  left  the  place. 

Mr.  Taggart  was  another  Irishman ;  his  wife  was  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Lowry, 
and  a  most  excellent  kindly  woman.  They  had  two  daughters.  Jane  and  Mary, 
the  latter  of  whom  was  not  fully  grown  at  this  time,  but  some  years  after  mar- 
ried Mr.  Dalmain,  an  artist.  In  the  first  Peoria  directory  issued  in  1844  Mr. 
Taggart  would  seem  to  have  no  business,  but  the  word  "gentleman"  is  opposite 
his  name.     On  the  same  page  appears  the  business  card  of  Jane  Amanda  Tag- 

*TIiis  old  courthouse  is  shown  on  the  picture  "Peoria  in  1831." 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUXTY  69 

gart's  Select  School,  wherein  is  taught  "i'hilosophy.  History,  Arithmetic,  Geog- 
raphy, Grammar,   Reading  and   Spelling.     Terms,   $2.50  per  quarter." 

Mr.  Ballance  came  from  Kentucky  to  Peoria  in  183 1  and  soon  afterward 
induced  his  friends,  the  Vorises  to  join  him  here.  The  family  consisted  of  Air. 
and  Mrs.  Francis  Voris,  two  younger  brothers,  Abram  and  Sam,  a  sister, 
Hortensia,  and  Miss  Sarah  Congleton.  The  brothers  kept  a  general  store, 
which  de%'eloped  into  a  forwarding  and  commission  business.  They  also  went 
into  the  packing  of  ])ork  in  winter,  which  they  would  pack  in  flat  boats  and  when 
the  river  opened  in  the  spring  send  it  down  the  river  where  there  was  always  a 
ready  market  for  provisions.  Their  store  was  located  on  Water  street  for 
years  and  their  various  interests  furnished  employment  for  a  number  of  young 
men.  Miss  Hortensia  \'oris  married  Dr.  Hogan,  a  practicing  physician,  but  in 
a  year  or  two  they  moved  to  Texas  and  I  lost  sight  of  them.  Mr.  Abram  Voris 
went  down  the  river  as  supercargo  of  a  line  of  flat-boats,  and  while  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Natchez  took  the  cholera  and  died.  A  year  or  two  later  Mr. 
Samuel  \oris  married  .Miss  Congleton  and  for  more  than  a  c|uarter  of  a  century 
the  two  brothers,  Francis  and  Samuel,  with  their  families,  lived  together  in 
the  homestead  in  perfect  accord.  As  children  grew  to  maturity  and  were  mar- 
ried, additions  would  be  made  to  the  original  house,  but  so  long  as  the  first 
couples  remained  there  was  no  thought  of  separation.  As  time  went  on  they 
prospered  and  for  years  were  considered  among  the  wealthiest  as  well  as  the 
most  hospitable  peojjle  in  the  county.  The  house  or  rather  the  collection  of 
houses  that  sheltered  so  many  was  near  the  corner  of  .Adams  and  Oak  street, 
but  has  so  fallen  into  decay  that  it  is  no  longer  habitable.  The  beautiful  lawn 
is  entirely  destro\cd.  The  garden  that  was  the  pet  and  pride  of  the  neighbor- 
hood had  not  left  even  a  trace,  and  the  fine  old  trees  are  all  dead  and  gone. 
It  is  a  melancholy  spectacle  and  one  that  I  would  gladly  forget. 

As  I  came  from  a  southern  state  and  belonged  to  a  family  of  slave  owners, 
mv  sympathies  were  naturally  opposed  to  everything  savoring  of  abolitionism. 
In  these  days  when  the  Christian  world  is  unanimously  convinced  of  the  iniquity 
of  slavery,  "it  is  difficult  to  realize  the  intensity  of  feeling  fifty  years  ago  (A.D. 
1846)  for  and  against  the  institution.  As  years  went  by  sympathy  on  either 
side  developed  into  hatred,  families  were  divided  and  the  solid  south  was 
arrayed  against  the  solid  north,  but  in  New  England  was  to  hold  him  up  to 
approbrium  and  he  must  be  singularly  brave  and  conscientious  who  would  avow 
his-ielief  in  the  hated  doctrines. 

U'hatever  elements  might  have  entered  in  to  divide  that  most  conservative 
of  l)odies,  the  Presbyterian  church,  it  is  certain  that  the  crowning  trouble  was 
the  dift'erence  of  opinion  on  the  subject  of  slavery.  The  north  saw  but  one 
side,  and  believing  that  it  was  wrong  felt  that  it  must  be  pulled  up,  root  and 
branch ;  that  it  must  be  done  at  once  regardless  of  consequences,  and  the  results 
be  left  to  God.  Many  in  the  south  on  the  contrary  believed  it  to  be  a  divine 
institution,  sanctioned  by  Scripture  and  the  usages  of  antiquity;  others  of  Africa 
in  touch  with  the  civilizing  influences  of  the  whites,  and  all  felt  that  right  or 
wrong,  the  blacks  were  here  and  to  set  them  free  was  to,  involve  the  country  in 
far  greater  troubles  than  could  possibly  arise  from  continuing  them  in  slavery. 

It  would  seem  that  whatever  the  moral  aspect  of  the  question  it  need  not 
have  afl:'ected  anv  relations  in  the  center  of  a  free  state  like  Illinois,  but  beliefs 
are  not  bound  by  geogra]ihical  lines  and  the  old  school  Presbyterian  church  with 
its  supersensitiveness  on  the  slave  question  and  the  new  school,  the  offspring  of 
Puritan  parents,  were  the  results. 

I  do  not  undertake  to  give  a  history  of  this  new  school  of  Main  street 
church,  as  it  was  called,  but  I  remember  many  of  the  people  connected  with  it. 
The  leaders  were  Joshua  .Aiken,  Moses  Pettengill  and  Dr.  Cross,  but  William 
A.  Nurse,  Robert  E.  Little.  Dr.  Castle,  the  Piurlingame  brothers,  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Tarleton  and  Mrs.  Jeffries  did  much  to  make  it  a  success. 

One  of  the  first  j^astors  was  Rev.  William  T.  .Alien,  who  was  noted  for  his 


70  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUXTY 

anti-slavery  i)roclivities,  and  wrote  after  his  signature,  "Preacher  of  righteous- 
ness," as  descriptive  of  his  calhng.  Joshua  Aiken,  who  is  now  remembered 
principally  as  a  relative  of  the  late  Mark  Aiken,  lived  at  Cottonwood,  the  farm 
afterwards  bought  and  improved  by  the  late  S.  S.  Clark.  He  owned  a  small 
flouring  mill  on  the  Kickapoo  about  three  miles  south  of  town,  which  was  cap- 
able of  turning  out  fifty  barrels  of  flour  per  day.  He  afterwards  added  a  saw 
mill  to  it  and  ran  both  together  till  on  one  of  its  periodical  floods  the  creek 
carried  the  whole  plant  away  so  successfully  that  not  a  suggestion  of  it  can  now 
be  found.  It  must  have  been  a  serious  disappointment  to  those  concerned,  as 
the  vicinity  had  been  staked  ofl:  into  lots  and  a  considerable  amount  of  business 
done  in  the  way  of  selling  building  spots  in  the  town  which  was  called  Peoria 
Mills. 

Moses  Pettengill  was  one  of  the  earliest  merchants  of  the  place  and  as  he 
was  a  careful  business  man  whatever  he  undertook  was  a  success.  Although 
stern,  he  was  very  pious  and  exceedingly  conscientious.  He  was  an  avowed 
abolitionist  and  it  was  said  that  he  was  connected  with  the  so-called  underground 
railroad  and  gave  protection  to  slaves  who  fled  across  the  border.  It  was  even 
told  with  honor  that  Mrs.  Pettengill  had  entertained  colored  women  in  her 
parlor  and  the  tale  produced  a  large  sized  scandal.  I  am  not  sure  that  the 
story  is  true,  but  feel  that  if  either  of  these  good  people  had  felt  it  their 
duty  to  entertain  the  lowest  of  the  black  race  they  would  not  have  hesitated 
a  moment  to  do  it. 

Another  prominent  member  of  the  new  school  church  was  Amos  Stevens. 
He  was  an  educated  man  and  opened  a  school  when  he  first  came  to  Peoria, 
but  left  it  in  a  year  or  two  and  went  to  Baton  Rouge.  Here  he  made  the  ac- 
^quaintance  of  a  family  by  the  name  of  Silliman,  who,  perhaps,  through  his 
influence,  spent  several  summers  in  Peoria  and  built  the  houses  occupied  by 
Singer  &  \\'heeler  on  Water  street.  After  being  away  two  or  three  years  Mr. 
Stevens  returned  and  soon  after  married  a  Miss  Morrow,  who  was  a  teacher 
and  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Rufus  Burlingame. 

Enos  Cross  belonged  to  the  same  organization.  He  was  a  practicing  physician 
of  some  ability  and  a  brother-in-law  of  Mrs.  Pettengill. 

All  of  these  had  the  reputation  of  being  very  serious  men  and  as  far  removed 
as  possible  from  any  hilarity.  On  one  occasion  the  congregation  undertook  to 
give  a  church  social  and  Jim  Alexander,  who  was  considered  the  wit  of  the 
town,  was  invited  to  attend.  He  remained  but  a  short  time  and  gave  as  a  reason 
that  there  was  no  one  there  but  Moses  and  Aaron  and  Enoch,  and  it  was  too 
near  the  flood  for  him. 

]\Ir.  Nurse  was  the  first  man  to  introduce  fanning  mills  into  central  Illinois, 
and  furnished  the  nucleus  that  finally  developed  into  the  Proctor  business.  In 
his  advertisements  he  proudly  announced  that  for  wheat  fans  he  made  cross 
wove  riddles. 

A  valuable  member  of  this  church  was  Mrs.  Jeffries,  grandmother  of  Mrs. 
Edward  Gale.  She  was  a  widow  with  a  large  family  of  daughters,  and  a 
devoted  church  worker.  The  young  ladies  were  noted  as  capable,  industrious 
women,  and  as  they  came  to  maturity  were  married,  three  of  them  as  I  remember 
becoming  the  wives  of  Theodore  Adams,  John  Bolton  and  Alexander  Allison. 

Like  all  new  settlements  Peoria  had  its  share  of  eccentric  people.  One  of 
them  was  |ohn  G.  Bryson.  When  he  first  came  to  the  country  he  taught  school 
in  Richwoods  township  and  was  very  acceptable  in  that  capacity  till  Jack  Hines 
started  the  story  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  correcting  his  pupils  by  hitting 
them  over  the  head  with  stove  wood.  After  that  he  clerked  first  for  Aquilla 
Wren  and  then  for  the  \'oris  Brothers,  and  finally  had  a  dry  goods  store  of 
his  own  on  Main  street.  This  he  ran  in  a  slow  old-fashioned  way  till  more 
progressive  men  monopolized  the  business.  Those  who  knew  him  in  later  years 
as  an  eccentric,  taciturn  recluse,  will  be  surprised  to  hear  that  he  was  once 
engaged  to  be  married,  at  which  time  Mr.  \'oris  said  he  walked  so  much  around 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  71 

a  certain  tree,  meditating  on  his  beloved  that  the  grass  refused  ever  after  to 
grow  on  the  spot.  He  was  a  great  man  to  argue  and  whatever  the  (luestion, 
he  might  safely  be  counted  on  the  contrary  side. 

Early  settlers  will  have  no  difficulty  in  recalling  an  old  Pole  named  Klopiski, 
who  kept  a  sort  of  restaurant  for  many  years  on  Main  street.  The  boys  dubbed 
him  "Old  Pork  and  Beans"  and  on  ordinary  occasions  he  was  rather  addicted 
to  soiled  linen  and  old  slippers  run  down  at  the  heels,  but  when  dressed  he 
was  a  noble  looking  man  and  every  inch  a  cultivated  gentleman.  He  came  to 
America  during  the  troublous  times  of  Poland  and  professed  to  have  been  a 
nol)leman  and  a  military  leader.  He  was  very  fond  of  chess  and  Mr.  Ballance 
used  sometimes  to  invite  him  to  the  house  that  they  might  have  a  game  together. 
Very  often  the  game  would  be  forgotten  and  the  old  gentleman  would  talk  for 
hours  of  outrages  practiced  upon  his  native  country.  As  I  look  back  I  think 
we  did  not  appreciate  him  as  we  should,  and  if  he  was  still  alive  believe  the 
present  generation  would  be  disposed  to  make  a  hero  of  him. 

One  of  the  most  conspicuous  if  not  as  he  thought  the  greatest  man  of  the 
day  was  H.  W.  Cleveland.  Where  he  came  from  or  what  his  previous  history 
might  have  been  I  do  not  know,  but  he  suddenly  ap])eared  among  us  in  several 
unexpected  roles.  Somebody  had  taken  it  upon  himself  to  raise  a  company 
of  militia,  though  in  a  spirit  of  bragadocio  they  paid  it  the  compliment  of  call- 
ing it  a  regiment.  Cleveland  was  a  candidate  for  colonel,  and.  owing  to  the 
unpopularity  of  the  other  aspirants,  was  elected,  as  much  to  his  own  surprise 
as  that  of  others.  •  He  immediately  appointed  a  complete  line  of  staff  officers 
as  though  it  was  a  full  regiment,  among  whom  I  recollect  Dr.  Rouse  as  medical 
officer  and  Mr.  Ballance  as  quartermaster.  About  the  same  time  the  colonel 
got  a  charter  for  a  new  ferry  across  the  river  which  was  to  be  propelled  by 
horse  power  and  the  lucky  thought  struck  him  to  have  a  parade  of  his  new 
regiment  and  a  jubilee  over  the  launching  of  his  new  boat  at  the  same  time.  At 
length  the  auspicious  day  arrived.  Horses  were  scarce  but  every  officer  that 
could  get  one  was  mounted  for  the  parade.  The  colonel  resided  in  a  frame 
house  on  the  corner  of  Madison  and  Jackson  streets  and  in  front  of  his  door 
he  had  a  table  set  with  wines  and  all  sorts  of  liquors  and  every  time  the  parade 
went  around  the  town  the  head  of  the  column  stopped  at  his  door  for  refresh- 
ments. The  more  they  refreshed  the  more  foolish  they  became,  and  one  by 
one  the  more  dignified  dropped  out  of  the  parade.  There  was  a  character 
named  "Tig  Tom"  who  being  a  little  in  doubt  as  to  his  military  duties  hunted 
up  Dr.  Rouse  for  advice.  The  doctor  was  a  good  deal  disgusted  by  this  titpe 
and  growled  out,  "if  this  stuff  makes  the  colonel  sick  it's  my  duty  to  physic  him 
and  yours  to  wait  on  him !" 

After  much  fuss  and  feathers  the  parade  finally  reached  the  new  boat  and 
Colonel  Cleveland  proceeded  to  make  a  speech,  the  opening  words  of  which 
were  remembered  and  repeated  by  Peorians  for  many  a  day.     He  said  :  : 

"Fellow  citizens  and  countrymen :  Let  us  now  proceed  to  cominemorate 
the  memory  of  the  immortal  Washington  who  has  long  since  been  laid  in  the 
tomb." 

The  whole  thing  became  so  ridiculous  that  the  regiment  was  never  again 
heard  of  and  even  the  boat  seemed  to  partake  of  the  general  fooling  and  was 
soon  after  sold  to  a  circus  company  and  taken  down  to   St.  Louis. 

A    GLANCn:    BACKW.\RD 
BY    E.    II.    FERGUSON,    PONTIAC,    ILLINOIS 

Times  were  very  bad  when  we  arrived  in  Illinois.  There  was  no  money 
in  the  state ;  no  sale  for  grain  except  to  travelers  or  emigrants ;  groceries,  boots 
and  shoes  had  to  be  paid  for  with  cash ;  pork  was  all  the  farmers  had  that 
would  sell  for  money.  Fisher  &  Chapin  l)Ought  hogs  at  Lacon,  and  always 
paid    for   them    with    Traders    Bank    of    Boston   bills.      The   money    was    new, 


72  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

stamped  F.  &  C— I'isher  &  Chapin.  It  paid  taxes  in  Peoria,  Marshall  and 
Woodford  counties.  It  was  currently  reported  that  Fisher  paid  sixty  cents  on 
the  dollar  in  gold  for  money  and  had  to  redeem  every  dollar  of  it  in  gold  that 
came  back  to  the  bank  in  Boston.  That  was  good  financiering  for  both  parties, 
and  a  fair  sample  of  early  day  business.  Fisher  always  had  a  New  Orleans 
boat  come  up  every  spring  during  the  high  water  to  take  his  pork  to  New 
Orleans.  One  spring,  about  1843,  or  possibly  a  year  or  two  later,  David  Heats, 
a  merchant  of  Chillicothe,  sent  one  hundred  sacks  of  corn  to  St.  Louis  and  sold 
it  for  money,  getting  about  fifteen  cents  per  bushel.  Immediately  on  getting 
returns  from  the  shipments  he  sent  word  all  around  that  he  would  take  grain 
in  payment  for  boots,  shoes,  groceries  and  debts.  That  was  the  first  shipment 
of  grain  that  I  ever  heard  of.  A  little  later  that  same  year  Isaac  Underbill,  of 
Peoria,  had  Captain  Moss,  of  Peoria,  come  up  and  take  a  load  of  his  "rent" 
corn  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  received  cash  for  it.  After  harvest  he  sent  word 
to  the  farmers  of  La  Salle  Prairie  that  on  a  certain  date  he  would  have  a  boat 
at  Rome  if  they  wished  to  sell  their  corn.  They  all  availed  themselves  of  the 
opportunity,  as  that  was  the  first  chance  they  had  had  to  sell  grain  for  cash. 
There  were  two  boats  loaded  with  corn  at  Rome  that  fall.  After  that  there  was 
a  market  for  grain  at  some  price  for  cash. 

My  father  made  three  trips  to  Chicago  with  wheat.  On  one  of  these  trips 
the  load  brought  forty  cents  per  bushel.  He  brought  back  shoes,  tea  and  a 
dollar's  worth  of  cofifee  and  sugar,  which  mother  made  to  last  until  the  middle 
of  the  next  summer.  I  think  this  was  in  1841.  During  thedry  year — the  year 
of  the  big  prairie  fire — the  mill  race  at  Senachwine  dried  up  and  no  flour  could 
be  obtained.  My  mother  grated  corn  on  a  tin  pan  punched  full  of  holes  and 
made  corn  bread  and  cakes  for  about  two  weeks  until  we  could  get  a  grist 
ground  at  Crown  Creek  mill,  east  of  Chillicothe,  about  where  the  Santa  Fe 
railroad   is  now   located. 

Two  of  my  mother's  brothers,  Elijah  and  Norman  Hyde,  came  to  Peoria 
about  1823  or  1824.  Norman  was  county  surveyor,  postmaster  and  county 
judge  when  Chicago  was  in  Peoria  county.  I  have  in  my  possession  his  text- 
book and  surveying  instruments.  I  have  a  chest  of  drawers  and  some  dishes 
that  belonged  to  my  grandmother  at  the  time  of  her  marriage  in  1790.  In  the 
line  of  ancient  documents  I  have  a  history  of  Greece,  printed  in  1699,  and  a 
copy  of  a  political  discussion,  published  in  1671. 

A   HOUSE    WITH    MAXY    HISTORIES 
nv    M.    P.   .SIMS.   LAWN    RIDGE,    HXINOIS 

The  house  now  (  1904)  being  torn  down  on  the  southeast  corner  of  this 
place  is  one  with  many  thrilling  historical  events.  It  was  built  in  the  '40s,  the 
first  house  in  Lawn  Ridge,  by  Deacon,  or  Nathaniel  Smith.  The  frame  was 
of  large  square-hewn  timbers,  some  pieces  eight  by  ten,  mortised  and  braced 
and  cross  braced  so  it  might  be  sure  and  stand  the  howling  winds  from  the 
northwest.  The  other  lumber  was  hauled  from  Chicago  with  ox  teams,  taking 
up  a  load  of  wheat  and  bringing  back  lumber,  the  round  trip  taking  about  a  week. 

This  house  in  the  early  '50s  was  one  of  the  many  depots  on  the  underground 
railroad.  The  next  one  on  the  south  was  Deacon  Purge's  of  Farmington,  and 
the  next  on  the  north  was  Owen  Lovejoy's  of  Princeton.  Many  a  time  when 
the  slaveholder,  with  sherifif  and  posse,  backed  up  by  the  Tegeft  slave  law  which 
allowed  him  to  call  on  any  one  to  assist  him  to  run  down  his  slaves,  and  if  they 
refused,  be  liable  to  a  fine,  would  be  only  a  few  hours  behind  his  slaves  as  they 
passed  the  place.  The  old  house  standing  there  looked  so  solemn  and  innocent, 
that  they  never  suspected  that  down  in  the  cellar  were  three  or  four  badly 
frightened  men  and  women  trying  to  escape  to  free  Canada,  and  waiting  for 
the  excitement  to  go  by  and  night  to  come  so  they  could  be  transported  on  to 
Princeton. 


MIRROR  LAlvE,  BRADLEY   PA  UK 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  73 

After  occupj-ing  this  house  a  few  years.  Deacon  Smith  bought  and  built  over 
on  the  west  side  of  the  road  a  similar  one,  where  he  lived  a  number  of  years. 
He  was  still  depot  master  and  fed  the  runaway  slaves  the  same  as  before.  He 
was  a  great  character.  He  was  not  only  a  farmer,  but  a  blacksmith,  and  a 
good  one,  too.  He  was  an  all  around  man.  He  could  make  a  good  speech  and 
make  it  interesting  on  any  subject.  He  took  the  lead  in  all  advance  movements, 
church  and  politics,  established  and  maintained  Sunday  schools  in  all  the  country 
around.  Later  in  life,  he  drifted  to  the  west  and  linally  returned  to  his  old 
home  in  New  York  state,  where  he  died.  No  doulit  Deacon  Smith  had  his 
faulfs  but  on  the  whole  I  believe  him  to  have  been  a  great  and  good  man  and 
one  that  helped  to  make  this  county  what  it  is. 

Deacon  Smith  sold  this  place  in  an  early  day  to  a  man  by  the  name  of  Job 
Brown,  or  "Joby"  Brown,  as  he  was  called.  He  was  more  of  an  inventor  than 
a  farmer.  There  is  no  doubt  but  what  Job  Brown  was  the  real  inventor  of 
the  corn  planter.  It  was  in  this  house  that  he  studied  and  thought  out  the 
great  problem  of  planting  corn  by  machinery.  It  was  here  by  the  door  he  first 
pulled  his  machine  by  hand,  and  then  with  one  horse,  and  finally  made  a  planter 
something  similar  to  planters  now  in  use.  only  dropping  three  rows,  and  instead 
of  wheels  had  sled  runners.  The  dropping  part  was  the  real  invention.  It  is 
said  the  inventor  seldom  gets  the  profits ;  it  was  so  in  this  case.  It  was  in  this 
house  he  signed  away  all  his  rights  in  the  planter  for  the  price  of  a  horse,  and 
another  person  became  rich  from  the  manufacture  of  the  corn  planter. 

Brown  was  also  the  inventor  of  a  seed  sower,  and  a  scalding  tub,  that  could 
be  moved  from  one  farm  to  another,  in  which  hogs  could  be  cleaned  much 
faster  than  in  the  old  way.  This  was  in  the  days  when  farmers  dressed  their 
hogs  at  home  for  market  and  this  machine  could  easily  run  out  seventy  or 
eighty  a  day.  He  was  a  very  odd  and  eccentric  man  but  known  in  his  day  all 
over  the  land  as  an  honest,  good  man. 

After  a  time  Brown,  too,  sold  out  and  moved  away.  Some  twenty  years 
ago  there  came  a  man  by  the  name  of  Scoon  who  lived  in  the  house.  He  had 
only  one  arm.  He  made  and  sold  what  he  called  Peoria  bitters,  made  of  several 
kinds  of  drugs,  a  little  whiskey  and  lots  of  water ;  but  it  would  make  you  drunk, 
and  that  was  enough.  He  did  a  thriving  business  for  a  while,  sold  it  in  pint 
bottles,  one  dollar  a  bottle.  The  business  increased,  so  he  rented  a  small  build- 
ing on  the  east  road,  within  a  few  rods  of  the  Cornell  house.  He  fixed  it  up 
with  shelves  and  counter  and  a  big  lamp  in  the  center  of  the  room  and  on  the 
opening  night  set  the  bitters  up  to  the  boys,  went  home  late  and  to  bed,  and,  I 
suppose,  fell  into  a  sound  sleep.  It  was  one  of  those  calm,  still  nights  and  not 
a  breath  of  afr  stirring,  when  at  midnight,  or  a  little  later,  there  was  a  terrible 
explosion  which  was  heard  for  miles.  The  next  morning  when  Scoon  came 
down  after  breakfast,  he  found  his  sho])  and  bitters  blown  to  flinders;  so  that 
ended  Scoon  and  his  bitters.  But  who  put  the  jug  of  powder  and  laid  the  fuse 
under  the  house  will  never  be  known.  Many  detectives  came  and  lay  around 
from  I^eoria  but  went  back  without  solving  the  mystery. 

A  LEGEND  OF  H.\LLOCK 
BY    E.    C.    SILLIM.^N 

About  1820  Lewis  Hallock  came  to  Peoria  county.  He  had  been  a  trapper 
and  fur  trader  among  the  Indians  of  Wisconsin  and  the  northwest.  Soon 
after  coming  to  the  county  he  located  on  the  land  at  the  mouth  of  Hallock  hollow 
in  Hallock  township.  He  was  a  Quaker  and  was  ojiposed  to  war  and  i^loodshed. 
his  life  among  the  Indians  and  his  kindness  and  truthfulness  to  them  winning 
for  him  great  influence  with  them. 

In  1825,  Namac|ua,  an  Indian  of  the  Pottawatomie  tribe,  killed  a  Frenchman 
in  a  drunken  brawl.  He  was  arrested,  and  there  being  no  place  of  confinement 
nearer   than    the    .Springfield    jail,    Hallock    furnished   bail.      No    one    ever    sup- 


74  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

posed  that  the  Indian  would  appear,  but  Hallock  knew  he  would  and  on  the 
first  day  of  the  term  of  court  Namac|na  was  on  hand.  He  was  tried  and  sen- 
tenced to  death  at  the  November  term  of  court  that  year,  but  through  the  in- 
fluence of  Hallock  and  others,  who  believed  the  sentence  was  unjust,  his  case 
was  taken  to  the  supreme  court,  where  it  was  reversed  and  remanded  for  a 
new  trial.  The  trial  was  put  off  from  time  to  time,  Hallock  always  appearing 
with  his  prisoner.     He  remained  a  lifelong  friend  of  Hallock. 

In  1S31  the  winter  was  very  severe,  a  big  snow  falling  early,  some  three 
feet  deep  and  drifting  l)adly,  and  later  was  covered  with  a  thick  crust.  A  party 
of  Indians  on  a  hunting  trip  were  caught  in  what  was  later  called  Gimblet 
hollow,  west  of  Sparland.  Hallock,  knowing  of  their  peril,  went  to  their  as- 
sistance, piloting  them  down  the  hollow  to  the  river,  then  on  the  ice  to  Sen- 
achwine  creek  and  up  the  creek  to  Northampton,  along  the  liluff  to  his  place, 
where  he  had  a  pen  of  corn  and  his  cabin,  which  he  shared  with  them.  He 
and  the  braves  took  turns  at  breaking  the  road  through  the  snow,  the  women 
and  ponies  following.  It  took  three  days  to  make  the  trip.  The  deer  could  not 
escape  and  Hallock  had  the  Indians  secure  enough  venison  to  last  until  spring. 
When  the  Black  Hawk  war  was  first  inaugurated,  Hallock  knew  the  peril 
of  the  whites,  and  having  made  many  trips  to  the  lead  mines  near  Galena,  he 
had  many  acquaintances  between  that  place  and  Dixon,  whom  he  determined  to 
warn,  faking  his  rifle  he  started  and  as  the  dusk  of  the  evening  approached, 
he  arrived  on  a  hill  overlooking  the  Pottawatomie  camp  near  "Indiantown" 
now  called  Tiskilwa. 

The  young  braves  were  holding  a  war  dance  and  working  themselves  up  to 
a  fighting  mood.  Hallock  knew  all  the  war  whoops  of  the  difi^erent  tribes. 
The  Iroquois  being  their  worst  and  most  feared  enemy,  he  gave  their  war  cry 
and  rushed  down  the  hill  through  the  brush,  landing  at  the  chief's  tent,  who  not 
being  fooled,  sat  quietly  smoking,  while  all  the  "braves"  ran  for  cover.  Upon 
seeing  a  lone  white  man  they  came  out,  brandishing  their  tomahawks  and 
making  warlike  demonstrations.  Hallock  stood  his  rifle  against  a  tree,  lit  his 
pipe  and  advised  the  old  chief  "to  spank  them  papooses  and  send  them  to  bed." 
A  wave  of  the  old  chief's  hand  and  all  slunk  away.  Hallock  then  handed  his  pipe 
to  the  chief,  who  refused  it.  He  then  stepped  back  and  said:  "What!  refuse  to 
smoke  the  pipe  of  peace  with  the  white  man  that  never  sheds  blood,  that  pro- 
tects the  red  man  from  the  anger  of  the  pale  face  and  from  starving  when  hungry? 
Who  fed  your  tribe  when  the  snow  was  deep?  Hallock !"  Slowly  the  chief  arose, 
took  the  pipe,  gave  it  the  customary  whifif  and  returned  it,  then  he  produced  his 
sack  of  salt,  took  a  pinch,  and  handed  it  to  Hallock,  who  did  the  same.  And  all 
the  tribe  knew  Hallock  was  a  friend  and  not  an  enemy.  After  supper  with  the 
chief,  he  demanded  safe  conduct  to  the  camp  of  Black  Hawk.  On  the  morrow 
two  Indians  accompanied  him  on  ponies.  Near  Dixon  on  the  edge  of  some  heavy 
timber,  thev  came  in  sight  of  a  band  of  some  five  hundred  Indians,  who,  on  dis- 
covering a  white  man  in  charge  of  two  Indians,  sent  a  troop  of  about  fifty  Indians 
out  to  meet  them.  They  came  galloping  down  upon  them  in  full  war  paint, 
demanding  the  pale  face  for  sacrifice.  A  wave  of  the  hand  and  announcement 
of  safe  conduct  to  Black  Hawk  from  their  chief,  caused  them  to  fall  in  behind 
in  silence.  Of  Black  Hawk  he  demanded  a  safe  conduct  to  Galena,  which  was 
granted.  Two  Indians  escorted  him  to  a  point  where  they  told  him  he  was  beyond 
danger,  and  as  he  went  along  he  gave  the  alarm  and  all  white  settlers,  about  thirty 
families,  fled  to  the  block  houses  for  safety. 

For  some  years  the  lead  mines  of  Galena  were  the  only  place  where  settlers 
could  get  cash  for  their  cattle  or  produce.  Hallock  often  went  there  with  cattle 
and  sometimes  came  back  on  horseback  by  way  of  Dixon,  but  more  frequently 
he  came  down  the  river  to  Rock  Island,  or  a  near  point  west.  Sometimes  he 
floated  down  in  a  canoe,  and  at  other  times  came  with  a  flat  boat,  loaded  for 
St.  Louis.  From  this  point  he  would  walk  across  the  hundred  miles  home,  always 
carrying  his  rifle  and  camping  wherever  night  overtook  him. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  75 

After  the  war  in  1832,  Black  Hawk  and  his  hand  located  in  Iowa  near  Des 
Moines,  and  they,  too,  often  went  to  Galena  to  trade. 

And  now  comes  the  tradition  of  Hallock.  Many  people  called  it  "Hallock's 
dream."  Some  say  it  was  a  squaw  after  the  death  of  Namaqua  who  showed 
the  vision  to  him,  but  from  my  boyhood  recollection,  having  heard  the  tale  from 
many  and  from  some  to  whom  he  had  told  it  himself,  I  think  Hallock's  version 
was  this:  Some  years  after  the  Indians  left.  Hallock  made  one  of  his  trips  to 
Galena  and  there  met  Namat|ua,  the  Indian  he  had  stood  by  in  trouble  and  who 
had  never  ceased  to  hold  Hallock  as  his  saviour.  White  men  sometimes  forget  a 
favor,  an  Indian  never!  He  told  Hallock  he  was  going  down  the  river  and  across 
the  country  to  his  band  and  wanted  him  to  accompany  him  in  his  canoe,  which 
Hallock  consented  to  do.  They  floated  down  the  Mississippi  and  at  sunset  they 
landed,  made  their  cam])  fire,  ate  their  supper  and  smoked  the  pipe  of  friend- 
ship. Namaqua  said,  "Would  you  like  to  see  where  the  'wliite  bullets'  come 
from?"    Hallock  said  he  would. 

In  early  days  the  Indians  had  many  silver  bullets  which,  until  they  learned 
their  value  to  the  pale  face,  they  traded  pound  for  pound,  as  they  were  hard 
and  the  Indians  preferred  the  lead  bullets.  Namaqua  said,  "If  my  tribe  knew  I 
had  shown  a  white  man  this  they  would  kill  me.  Promise  you  will  never  tell 
of  this  until  I  am  dead."  Hallock  promised  and  never  revealed  the  story  until 
after  Namaqua's  death  several  years  afterward.  He  blindfolded  Hallock,  they 
got  into  the  river,  where  he  whirled  the  canoe  around  until  it  was  impossible  for 
Hallock  to  tell  the  direction.  He  then  rowed  about  an  hour  and  landed.  They 
walked  a  short  distance,  waded  what  seemed  to  be  a  creek,  went  up  an  incline 
for  some  distance  and  then  stopped.  Fie  could  hear  him  remove  some  stones. 
He  then  told  Hallock  to  crawl  after  him,  which  he  did  for  a  couple  of  rods. 
The  Indian  then  removed  the  blindfold  and  lit  a  torch.  They  were  standing  in 
a  passageway,  which  they  followed  a  little  distance  and  came  into  a  cave,  possibly 
200  feet  across  and  20  to  50  feet  high.  On  examining  the  walls  he  saw  where 
a  large  amount  of  silver  had  been  dug  out  of  crevices,  some  pure  silver,  other 
places  streaked  with  lead.  Hallock  was  allowed  to  examine  it  and  satisfy  him- 
self that  it  was  silver  and  lead,  but  he  was  not  allowed  to  carry  any  away,  nor 
did  the  Indian  take  any.  There  seemed  to  have  been  large  quantities  removed 
and  there  was  any  amount  of  it  in  sight.  Namaqua  said  none  had  been  taken 
away  for  a  long  time.  They  returned  as  they  came  and  before  landing  at  their 
camp,  the  canoe  was  whirled  until  direction  was  lost.  Hallock  said  they  might 
have  rowed  several  miles,  or  as  many  rods.  They  may  have  crossed  a  creek 
before  going  up  to  the  cave,  or  they  might  have  waded  in  the  edge  of  the  river 
a  few  feet.  Indian  strategy  and  shrewdness  threw  all  chance  of  tracing  the  route 
to  the  winds. 

Years  afterward  Hallock  scanned  and  searched  again  and  again  for  the  silver 
cave,  but  in  vain.     His  belief  was  that  it  was  on  the  Iowa  side  of  the  river. 

Many  persons  said  it  was  a  dream  of  Hallock's ;  others  thought  it  was  truth, 
as  Hallock  was  always  truthful.  Inasmuch  as  the  Indians  did  have  silver  bullets 
in  early  times  and  as  but  few  places  have  been  found  where  they  could  have 
procured  them  and  those  places  far  to  the  north,  and  as  quite  an  amount  of 
silver  has  been  found  in  the  lead  mines  of  Galena,  there  is  no  good  reason  that 
the  "silver  cave"  does  not  exist.  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  gratitude 
of  Namaqua  in  showing  Hallock  the  cave  was  covered  by  the  fact  that  his  treach- 
ery to  his  own  tribe  was  death  and  he  made  the  find  so  secure  that  years  miist 
elapse  after  his  death  before  even  a  vigorous  and  systematic  search  could  dis- 
cover his  treachery  to  his  tribe. 

Hallock  believed  it.  And  the  reader  can  follow  the  legend  in  the  same  mys- 
tery as  have  others  in  the  years  gone  by.  Do  not  lose  sight  of  one  fact,  in  your 
judgment.  The  red  man  never  forgot  a  friend  or  a  friendly  act,  even  in  time 
of  war,  w  hen  all  the  bloody  passions  of  his  race  were  called  into  play.  I  have 
penned  this  for  the  eye  of  many  who  have  heard  the  tradition  as  it  was  handed 


76  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

clown  through  tlie  years,  often  mutilated,  and  its  truth  destroyed.     Such  is  one 
of  the  legends  of  Hallock  townshi])  of  eighty  years  ago. 

HISTORIC   OLD   SCHOOLHOUSE 
IIV  CALVIN  STOWELL,  SAVANNAH,  GEORGIA 

Lest  the  historic  old  brick  schoolhouse,  located  upon  Blue  Ridge,  in  Hallock 
township,  and  the  many  things,  mostly  educationally  and  socially,  wdiich  clustered 
around  it  in  the  pioneer  days  should  be  forgotten,  we  have  been  tempted,  partly 
by  our  own  feelings  and  partly  by  the  solicitations  of  others,  to  attempt  to  write  a 
little  sketch  of  the  early  days  of  the  community  who  built  it.  We  have  often  felt 
that  there  were  many  things  worthy  of  note  that  would  be  of  abiding  interest 
to  the  present  and  future  generations  connected  with  the  history  of  this  com- 
munitv,  that  so  far  as  we  can  ascertain  have  never  been  made  a  matter  of  record, 
which,  with  the  lapse  of  time,  must  pass  into  oblivion.  While  at  this  late  day 
any  record  that  we  can  write  must  be  more  or  less  defective  for  want  of  details, 
still  we  feel  that  we  have  been  very  fortunate  in  finding  two  living  witnesses 
whose  lives  are  practically  contemporary  with  the  first  settlers  of  the  little  com- 
munity of  Blue  Ridge,  and  they  are  the  only  ones  living,  so  far  as  we  can  ascer- 
tain, who  were  old  enough  to  furnish  items  from  personal  recollections  as  far 
back  as  1837.  We  refer  to  James  Will,  now  (1910)  past  eighty-five  years  of  age, 
and  his  brother  George,  two  years  his  junior,  who  were  for  many  years  oiar 
friends  and  neighbors  in  Illinois.  It  is  through  the  courtesy  of  Mrs.  Lura  Will 
Johnson  and  George  Will  and  daughter  Hulda,  who  have  furnished  us  with  much 
of  the  memoranda  in  substance  from  which  we  write. 

The  earliest  settlers  on  Blue  Ridge  were  Leonard  Ranstead,  Zenus  G.  Bliss, 
E.  C.  Root,  Lucas  Root  and  Egbert  Palmer.  The  exact  time  of  their  settling 
there  is  not  known  to  us,  but  we  think  we  are  safe  in  saying  not  later  than  1836. 
William  B.  Will.  Elihu  Stowell,  Roswell  Nurse  and  son  Isich,  and  Ebenger  Stowell 
came  in  1836,  the  latter  three  making  the  trip  from  Chenango  county,  New  York, 
on  foot,  .\fter  looking  over  the  country  and  locating  land  they  made  the  trip  to 
the  nearest  land  office  at  Quincy  and  made  their  entry;  returning,  they  built  a 
cabin.  Leaving  Isich  in  possession,  the  other  two,  Roswell  Nurse  and  father, 
returned  to  New  York  state  late  in  the  fall  by  way  of  the  lakes.  Roswell  Nurse 
with  his  familv  moved  to  Illinois  the  following  spring.  Our  father  did  not  move 
with  his  family  until  1843.  In  1837  Robert  Wilson  with  his  family  moved  to 
this  little  community  from  Wilkesbarre,  Pennsylvania. 

In  1840  the  little  brick  schoolhouse  was  built,  the  necessary  funds  being 
raised  by  subscription,  which  certainly  meant  almost  a  sacrifice  offering  in  those 
early  days  of  scarce  and  hard-earned  dollars.  Robert  Wilson,  a  stone  and  brick 
mason  bv  trade,  assisted  by  his  son  George,  did  the  mason  work,  while  Zenus 
Bliss  and  Egbert  Palmer  looked  after  the  wood  work.  While  the  house  would 
hardly  stand  as  a  model  for  these  more  modern  days,  we  doubt  if  a  house  was 
ever  built  which  was  more  highly  appreciated  by  the  public  or  served  a  better 
purpose  of  general  utility  for  all  sorts  of  public  gatherings.  The  first  school 
taught  in  this  house  was  by  William  Atwood,  who  received  twelve  dollars  per 
month  for  his  services.  The  school  was  thoroughly  patronized  for  many  miles 
around,  starting  with  fiftv  scholars,  which  was  soon  increased  to  the  fullest  pos- 
sible capacity  of  the  house  to  accommodate.  Everybody  took  in  boarders,  going 
upon  the  old  time  pioneer  plan,  as  we  suppose,  of  "come  in,  if  you  can  get  in." 

It  was  while  Robert  W'M  was  working  upon  the  old  Jubilee  college  building 
at  Tubilee  that  he  met  the  old  pioneer  preacher  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
Father  Cummins,  whom  he  invited  to  come  to  Blue  Ridge  to  preach.  It  was  he 
who  organized  the  Methodist  church  at  the  settlement  in  1840,  with  John  Furge- 
son  and  wife,  Jacob  Booth  and  wife  and  two  daughters,  and  Maverick  Pratt 
and  wife  as  charter  members — an  organization  that  stands  to  this  day.  The  fol- 
lowing spring  a  revival  was  held,  which  increased  the  membership  to  forty.     It 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  77 

is  said  that  some  young  men  of  a  rowdyish  turn  of  mind  went  out  from  Chilli- 
cothe  with  the  avowed  object  of  lireaking  up  the  meeting  but  with  such  men 
as  John  h'urgeson,  Jacob  Ilooth  and  Maverick  Pratt  in  the  front  rank,  men  with 
the  courage  of  their  convictions  and  the  physical  abihty  to  defend  them,  the 
rowdy  crowd  reconsidered  the  matter  and  concluded  that  under  these  circum- 
stances "discretion  was  the  better  part  of  valor,"  and  as  they  rode  away  one  of 
them  called  out  '"I  name  this  place  Blue  Ridge,"  and  P>lue  Ridge  it  has  been  called 
from  that  dav  to  this. 


PART   TWO 


CHAPTER  XII 

GEOLOGIC    FORMATION    AND   GEOGRAPHY    OF  THIS    SECTION    OF   THE    COUNTY MANY 

VALUABLE  COAL  VEINS STONE  OF  COMMERCIAL  IMPORTANCE GRAVEL SAND — 

TIMRER SOIL    AND    ITS    PRODUCT] VITV — N'F.GETATION. 

GEOLOGY  AND  GEOGRAPHY 

The  contents  of  this  article,  showing  the  physical  features  of  the  county, 
are  taken  from  the  "Geological  Survey  of  Illinois,"  and  from  articles  prepared 
by  William  Gifford,  of  Radnor  township,  to  be  found  among  the  collections  of 
the  Peoria  Scientific  Society : 

"The  cretaceous  and  tertiary  periods  are  not  represented  in  this  or  adjacent 
counties.  They  were  probably  lost  by  denudation,  together  with  some  of  the 
upper  coal  veins,  during  the  long  and  turbulent  period. 

"The  four  divisions  of  the  quaternary  are  well  defined.  They  rest  directly 
on  the  upper  carboniferous,  a  coal  measure.  The  alluvial  deposits  are  confined 
chiefly  to  the  right  bank  of  the  Illinois  river,  forming  a  terrace  of  about  twenty- 
four  square  miles,  called  La  Salle  prairie,  one  of  the  best  corn  producing  sections 
of  Illinois. 

The  great  geological  feature  of  Peoria  county  consists  in  its  coal  measures, 
which  are  coextensive  with  its  borders.  Only  two  veins  (four  and  six)  are 
worked  to  any  extent.  Coal  from  vein  four  is  brought  to  the  surface  by  hori- 
zontal tunnels  at  an  expense  of  one  cent  per  bushel,  and  half  a  cent  in  localities 
where  it  can  be  stripped.  At  no  place  in  Illinois,  or  perhaps  in  the  world,  can 
coal  be  mined  and  brought  to  market  so  cheaply  as  in  this  county.  It  is  now 
delivered  to  consumers  in  the  city  of  Peoria  for  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per 
ton.  The  thickness  of  this  vein  is  from  three  feet,  ten,  to  four  feet,  eight  inches, 
and  is  generally  covered  with  a  ferruginous  shale  and  concretions  of  bi-sulphuret 
of  iron,  richly  stored  with  marine  fossils,  which  are  eagerly  sought  for  by  scien- 
tists.    Its  horizon  is  thirty-two  feet  above  low  water  of  the  Illinois  river. 

Coal  vein  six  is  also  worked  with  little  labor,  by  horizontal  tunnels.  It  is 
sixty-two  feet  above  coal  vein  four,  and  is  a  good  blacksmith  coal,  makes  a  hard 
vitreous  coke,  and  is  exclusively  used  in  Peoria  and  contiguous  cities  for  making 
gas.  It  contains  but  little  pyrite,  and  in  most  localities  has  a  good  limestone  cov- 
ering. One  distinctive  mark  of  this  vein  is  a  clay  seam,  or  parting,  from  one  to 
two  inches  thick,  dividing  the  coal  horizontally  into  two  equal  sections.  The 
fossils  overlaying  this  vein  are  well  preserved  and  the  species  numerous.  Among 
the  most  common  are  nyalena  angulata,  i)leurotomania  carbonana,  solenomia 
radiata,  and  productus  pratteninus. 

"Coal  vein  five  has  no  reliable  outcroj}  in  this  county,  but  its  horizon  is  well 
defined  in  the  towns  of  Limestone,  Jubilee,  and  Kickapoo  by  its  characteristic 
fossils— fusalina  ventriccosa,  hempunites  crasa,  chonetas  messeloba,  etc.  The 
horizon  of  this  vein  has  furnished  a  number  of  fossil  coal  plants,  which  have  been 
figured  and  described  by  Leo  Lesquereux,  and  published  by  the  state  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 

79 


80  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

"Coal  veins  seven,  eight  and  nine  are  the  only  other  veins  represented  in  this 
county  above  the  Illinois  river,  and  they  are  too  thin  for  mining  and  not  easily 
stripped. 

"The  horizon  of  coal  vein  nine  in  this  county  has  given  to  paleontologists  the 
most  perfect  coal-measure  fossil  found  in  this  state,  if  not  in  the  world.  Coal 
vein  three  lies  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  feet  below  four,  consequently  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  below  the  Illinois  river.  It  is  about  three  feet 
thick,  and  is  considered  a  good  coal.  It  is  not  worked  in  this  county.  One  hun- 
dred and  twelve  feet  below  three,  a  coal  vein  was  reached  in  Voris'  boring — 
opposite  Peoria — three  feet  thick,  which  is  considered  coal  vein  one  of  the  Illi- 
nois field,  and  the  base  of  the  coal  measure  resting  on  the  conglomerate,  twenty 
feet  above  the  St.  Louis  limestone.  Coal  vein  two  has  not  been  explored  in  Peoria 
county,  but  crops  out  on  Spoon  river  in  the  southwest  part  of  Fulton  county. 

"Sandstone  of  good  quality  may  be  obtained  from  the  beds  overlying  coal 
Xo.  4,  which  at  some  points  on  the  Kickapoo,  is  fully  twenty  feet  in  thickness 
and  it  outcrops  at  many  points  under  very  favorable  conditions  for  quarrying. 
The  rock  is  a  brown  micaceous,  and  partly  ferruginous  sandstone,  in  massive 
beds,  some  of  which  are  two  feet  or  more  in  thickness.  It  presents  a  bold 
escarpment  at  many  points  where  it  outcrops,  indicating  a  capacity  for  with- 
standing well  the  ordinary  influences  of  the  atmosphere.  The  ferruginous  layers 
harden  very  much  on  exposure,  and  would  form  the  best  material  for  bridge 
abutments,  and  for  all  other  purposes  where  a  rock  was  required  to  withstand 
well  the  influences  of  frost  and  moisture. 

"On  Aiken's  and  Griswold's  land,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Kickapoo,  on  sec- 
tion 24  (Limestone  township)  this  sandstone  has  been  somewhat  extensively 
quarried,  and  the  bed  presents  a  perpendicular  face  of  solid  sandstone  fully 
twenty  feet  in  thickness.  It  is  rather  soft  when  freshly  quarried  and  can  be  easily 
dressed,  and  splits  freely  into  blocks  suitable  for  building  and  for  foundation 
walls.  These  quarries  are  located  just  above  the  level  of  the  railroad  grade, 
and  very  conveniently  situated  for  the  transportation  of  the  stone  by  railroad  to 
the  city  of  Peoria,  or  wherever  else  it  might  be  in  demand. 

"At  Lonsdale's  quarries,  on  section  14,  town  8  north,  range  7  east,  the  lower 
part  of  the  limestone  affords  a  durable  building  stone,  though  the  layers  are  not 
usually  more  than  from  four  to  six  inches  thick.  This  rock  is  in  common  use  in 
this  part  of  the  county  for  foundation  walls,  and  there  are  several  small  build- 
ings in  this  neighborhood  constructed  of  this  material.  That  portion  of  the  beds 
which  affords  a  building  stone  is  from  four  to  six  feet  in  thickness. 

At  Chase's  quarries,  three  miles  northeast  of  Princeville,  the  limestone  is 
nearly  twenty  feet  in  thickness,  and  though  for  the  most  part  thin-bedded,  yet 
the  greater  portion  of  it  can  be  used  for  foundation  walls,  flagging,  etc.,  and  is 
the  only  building  stone  available  in  that  portion  of  the  county.  The  thickest 
layers  are  at  the  bottom  of  the  bed  here,  as  well  as  at  Lonsdale's,  but  the  rniddle 
and  upper  portion  is  more  evenly  bedded  at  this  point,  and  may  be  quarried  in 
thin,  even  slabs  of  large  size. 

"The  limestone  coal  over  Xo.  6  may  answer  for  rough  foundation  walls  where 
it  can  be  protected  from  the  atmosphere,  but  is  generally  too  argillaceous  to 
make  good  building  stone. 

"Concretionary  bands  of  iron  ore  occur  in  the  shales  overlying  coals  No.  4 

and  7,  but  not  in  sufficient  quantity  to  be  of  any  economical  importance.     In  the 

south  part  of  the  county,  concretions  of  iron  and  clay,  the  former  mostly  in  the 

•   form  of  the  bi-sulphuret,  are  quite  abundant  in  the  roof  shales  of  No.  4  coal. 

Some  of  these  concretions  are  two  feet  or  more  in  diameter. 

"No  beds  of  fire  or  potter's  clay  were  found  in  this  county  in  connection 
with  the  coal  seams  that  appear  to  be  sufficiently  free  from  foreign  matters  to 
be  of  much  value,  but  excellent  brick  clays  are  abundant,  the  sub-soil  clays  over 
a  large  portion  of  the  uplands  throughout  the  county  being  used  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  furnishing  an  abundant  supply  of  brick  of  good  quality  at  a  moderate 


ir. 

H 

X 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  81 

cost.  The  best  beds  of  fire  and  potter's  clay  known  at  the  present  time  in  this 
state  are  associated  with  coal  Xo.  i,  of  our  general  section  of  the  Illinois  valley 
coals,  and,  should  a  shaft  be  sunk  to  that  horizon  in  this  county,  good  clays 
may  proliably  be  found  here  and  mined  successfully  in  connection  with  these  lower 
coals. 

"The  modified  drift  deposits,  forming  the  terrace  upon  which  the  city  of 
i'eoria  is  mainly  built,  will  furnish  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  sand  of  various 
qualities  adapted  to  the  varied  economical  uses  to  which  this  material  is  applicable, 
and  it  will  also  aiTord  an  excellent  moldcr's  sand,  in  quantities  sufficient  for  the 
supply  for  all  the  adjacent  region. 

"An  inexhaustible  supply  of  clean  gravel  may  be  obtained  from  the  gravel 
beds  forming  the  bluffs  at  Peoria,  and  along  the  north  side  of  the  Kickapoo  for 
a  distance  of  eight  or  ten  miles  above  the  outlet  of  that  stream.  All  the  railroads 
in  the  state  might  obtain  here  an  ample  supply  of  ballast  for  their  road  beds, 
without  greatly  diminishing  the  amount  of  this  material  to  be  found  in  this 
county. 

"There  is  an  ample  supply  of  timber  in  this  county,  the  proportion  of  timber 
and  prairie  land  being  originally  about  the  same.  The  timbered  land  is  mostly 
confined  to  the  ridges  and  valleys  of  the  streams,  though  occasionally  fine  groves 
are  met  with  on  the  level  land  adjacent  to  the  prairie.  The  growth  on  the  upland 
is  mostly  black  and  white  oak,  pignut  and  siiell-bark  hickory,  elm,  linden,  wild 
cherry,  honey  locust,  wild  ])lum  and  crabapple,  wdiile  on  the  bottom  lands  and 
the  slopes  of  the  hills,  we  find  white  and  sugar  maple,  black  and  white  walnut, 
pecan,  cottonwood,  sycamore,  ash,  red  birch,  cofifeenut,  hackberry,  mockernut, 
liickory,  post-Spanish  and  swamp-white-oak,  red-bud,  dogwood,  persimmon,  mul- 
berry, serviceberry,  buckthorn  and  three  or  four  varieties  of  willow  and  box 
elder. 

"As  an  agricultural  region  this  county  ranks  among  the  best  in  this  part  of 
the  state.  The  western  and  northern  portions  of  the  county  are  mostly  prairie, 
and  generally  level  or  gently  rolling.  The  soil  is  a  dark,  chocolate  colored  loam, 
rich  in  organic  matters,  and  producing  abundant  crops  annually  of  corn,  wheat, 
rye,  oats  and  barley,  and,  with  judicious  cultivation,  this  kind  of  soil  will  retain 
its  fertility  for  an  indefinite  period  of  years  without  the  application  of  artificial 
stimulants.  On  the  more  broken  lands  adjacent  to  the  streams,  the  soil  is  of  a 
lighter  color,  but  when  it  is  predicated  upon  the  marly  beds  of  the  loess,  it  is 
still  productive,  and  scarcely  inferior  to  the  best  prairie  soils.  Where  the  soil 
overlies  the  yellow  driftclays,  the  timber  is  mostly  white-oak  and  hickory;  the 
soil  is  thin  and  would  be  greatly  improved  by  the  annual  liberal  application  of 
manure.  These  lands,  however,  produce  fine  crops  of  wheat  and  oats,  and  are 
excellent  for  fruit  orchards  and  vineyards.  The  soil  on  the  terrace  and  bottom 
lands  is  a  sandy  loam,  and  generally  very  productive." 

VKGF.T.\TION   OF  PEGRI.V  .\ND  VICINITY 

Though  the  city  of  Peoria  is  centrally  located  in  one  of  the  prairie  states  of 
the  Upper  Mississippi  valley,  its  immediate  surroundings  present  a  diversity  of 
surface  that  would  hardly  ])e  looked  for  from  its  geographical  location.  The 
city  is  situated  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Illinois  river,  the  main  part  on  a  plateau 
beginning  at  the  river  and  gently  sloping  upwards,  until  terminating  a  mile  or 
more  back  in  a  chain  of  prominent  and  ])icturesque  bluffs,  that  completely  encircle 
it,  in  a  natural  amjshitheater. 

This  chain  terminates  above  the  city,  in  a  commanding  eminence,  rising 
almost  abruptly  from  the  river,  known  as  Prospect  Heights,  and  affording  a 
panoramic  view  of  the  beautiful  Illinois  valley  for  miles. 

The  river  at  this  point  known  as  the  "Narrows,"  spreads  out  into  a  placid 
sheet  of  water  termed  Peoria  Lake,  so  shallow  on  the  east  side,  as  to  afford  a 
most  congenial  home  to  a  rich  aquatic  flora.     The  east  bank  of  the  river  is  very 


82  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

low,  subject  to  overflow  and  still  heavily  wooded,  running  back  to  a  chain  of 
bluffs  similar  to  those  on  the  Peoria  side.  From  these  bluffs  numerous  springs 
gush  forth,  and  making  their  way  towards  the  river,  form  cold  bogs  affording 
a  home  to  a  peculiarly  characteristic  flora,  that  would  be  sought  for  farther 
north.  The  bluff's  on  both  sides  are  frequently  intersected  by  deep  rocky  defiles, 
the  sides  of  which  under  the  influence  of  moisture  and  shade,  support  a  luxuriant 
vegetation.  The  splendor  of  the  prairies,  owing  to  the  march  of  civilization, 
has  almost  disappeared,  and  the  prairie  flora,  is  now,  nearly  confined  to  the 
right  of  way  of  the  railroads,  or  the  gravelly  and  sandy  bluffs,  when  it  has  crept 
up  from  the  original  prairie,  and  secured  a  foothold  it  is  likely  to  maintain, 
as  these  bluff's  are  not  susceptible  to  cultivation.  The  flora  of  the  vicinity  of 
Peoria  is  a  rich  and  varied  one.  About  900  native  trees  and  plants  grow  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  city,  and  fully  a  hundred  introduced  plants  have  found 
a  congenial  home  of  adoption.  It  has  drawn  outlying  types  from  all  points  of 
the  compass,  who  foregather  here  in  a  harmonious  whole. 

The  cold  bogs  and  springs  in  the  river  bottom,  furnish  perfect  conditions  for 
certain  species  of  northern  origin,  which  find  their  southern  limit  here. 

Two  Iseautiful  dwarf  willows  {Sali.v  Candida  and  myrtilloidcs)  grow  in  these 
bogs  and  upon  Dr.  Brendel,  our  first  and  foremost  botanist,  sending  specimens 
to  Dr.  Bebb  a  famous  authority  on  willows,  he  commented  thus  on  the  find: 
"Widely  distributed  in  sub-arctic  regions,  extending  southward  along  the  Pacific 
coast  to  Oregon,  and  on  the  Atlantic  side  to  New  Jersey.  Its  occurrence  so  far 
south  in  the  Mississippi  valley  as  found  by  Dr.  Brendel,  taken  in  connection 
with  the  equally  unexpected  finding  of  5".  Candida,  indicate  an  exceptionally  cold 
spot  for  the  latitude."     Most  of  the  woodland  flora  of  the  east  is  at  home  here. 

Many  of  the  characteristic  plants  of  the  great  plains  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
have  pushed  their  way  eastward  to  Peoria.  Many  of  our  strictly  prairied  plants 
do  not  pass  our  state  borders  into  Indiana  and  Ohio. 

From  the  sunny  southland,  numerous  species  have  crept  up  the  Mississippi 
and  Illinois  rivers  to  this  favored  locality  of  ours.  Here  the  pecan  tree  finds 
its  northern  limit  in  the  alluvial  river  bottom,  growing  in  vigor  and  producing 
its  delicious  nuts. 

The  same  niav  be  said  of  the  persimmon  whose  astringent  fruit  becomes 
so  palatable  after  the  advent  of  frost.  Peoria  and  vicinity  must  have  been  a 
heavily  wooded  country  on  the  advent  of  the  whites,  as  after  nearly  a  hundred 
years  of  cutting  and  clearing  it  still  presents  a  varied  and  interesting  tree  growth. 

The  river  bottom  is  still  well  covered  with  forest  and  every  knoll  and  bluff 
are  clothed  more  or  less. 

In  its  tree  growth  Peoria  is  specially  favored. 

Of  course  from  its  location  we  would  not  look  for  cone  bearing  evergreen 
trees  and  have  only  one  representative,  the  common  Juniper  occurring  in-  starved 
looking  specimens  on  the  brow  of  rocky  bluffs..  But  the  deciduous  tree  growth 
is  rich  in  species.  In  the  alluvial  river  bottom  lands,  the  timber  is  mainly  Syca- 
more, Soft  Maple,  White  Elm,  Slippery  Elm,  Black  Walnut,  Butternut,  Swamp 
Hickory,  five  species  of  Ash,  Cottonwood,  Hackberry  and  scattering  specimens 
of  Swamp  White  Oak,  Pecan,  Coff'ee  Bean,  Honey  Locust,  Mulberry,  Box  Elder, 
Ohio  Buckeye,  PawPaw  and  Persimmon. 

The  first  three  sometimes  attain  a  very  large  size,  specimens  five  feet  in 
diameter  not  being  uncommon. 

On  the  bluffs  and  uplands  the  forest  growth  is  materially  different  being  rep- 
resented by  the  Basswood,  Wild  Cherry,  Sugar  Maple,  Shell  Bark  Hickory, 
Pignut,  Aspen  White,  Chestnut,  Scarlet,  Red,  Bur  and  Laurel  Oaks. 

Not  desiring  to  go  into  extreme  detail,  we  will  mention  some  of  the  most 
obvious  and  characteristic  features  of  our  flora.  Our  first  harbinger  of  spring 
is  the  beautiful  little  Trillium  nivalc.  that  in  favorable  seasons  puts  forth  its 
white  waxy  flower  the  last  week  in  March,  often  in  the  proximity  of  some 
lingering  snow  bank. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  83 

It  is  soon  followed  by  the  Liverwort,  so  common  on  wooded  slopes,  Dntch- 
mans  Breeches  and  Hlood  Root. 

A  little  later  the  woods  are  gay  with  the  exquisite  lUue  Bells  and  a  Phlox 
with  lavender  bloom  called  Sweet  \\'illiam. 

Among  the  leafless  woods  the  Service  P.erry  and  Wild  i'lum  are  conspicuous 
in  their  snowy  dress,  while  the  Red  Bud  gives  the  brooks  the  appearance  of 
purple  ribbons  in  the  landscape.  Turning  to  the  prairie  we  meet  with  the  Caro- 
lina Anemone  with  its  pretty  star  like  blue  and  white  flowers.  In  company  with 
it  are  the  yellow  flowered  Puccoons,  Pink  Sorral  and  the  almost  extinct  Troximon 
crespidatiim  with  its  showy  dandelion  like  head. 

The  open  bogs  are  golden  with  the  Marsh  ]\larigold,  and  the  ill  smelling 
Skunk  Cabbage  pushes  its  flowers  through  the  oozy  mud.  With  the  advent  of 
May,  nature  dons  her  brightest  garb.  The  trees  are  putting  forth  their  foliage 
and  the  landscape,  so  bare  but  a  few  weeks  before,  is  gay  with  a  varied  flora. 
The  Plaws,  Crab  Apple,  Sassafras,  \'iburnum  and  Bladder  Nut  are  bursting 
into  bloom.  Of  interesting  plants  we  would  mention  the  rare  Phlox  bifida.  It 
clothes  the  precipitous  sides  of  Rocky  Glen  and,  with  its  pretty  star  like  flowers 
varying  through  every  shade  of  pink,  white  and  lavender  presents  a  beautiful 
sight  when  in  full  bloom.  Growing  with  it  is  I'iola  pcdata  with  two  of  the  petals 
as  velvety  as  a  pansy  and  known  locally  as  '"Rocky  Glen  Pansy." 

On  the  prairie  grows  a  Baptisia,  with  its  ample  raceme  of  showy  pea  shaped 
cream  colored  flowers. 

As  June  approaches  our  Sedges  and  Grasses  are  a  marked  feature  of  our 
flora.  While  inconspicuous  individually,  their  abundance  and  variety  challenge 
notice. 

We  have  seventy-eight  species  of  Sedges  and  eighty-one  Grasses  native 
to  our  flora.  One  of  our  representative  prairie  plants  comes  into  bloom  as  the 
Purple  Cone  Flower. 

The  large  head  with  its  pendulous  jnirple  rays  makes  it  a  showy  plant.  On 
sandy  barrens,  we  meet  with  Chrysopsis  villosa,  bearing  a  profusion  of  golden 
yellow  heads  up  till  frost.  In  rich  shady  woods  can  be  found  the  dainty  Yellow 
Lady  Slipper  while  a  little  later  its  sister  the  rare  and  beautiful  Royal  Lady 
Slipper  appears  in  the  cold  springy  bogs  of  the  river  bottom. 

The  woodsnare  adorned  with  clinging  vines — several  species  of  grapes.  Bit- 
ter Sweet,  Yellow  Honeysuckle,  Aloonseed  and  W'oodbine.  Julv  with  its  intense 
heat  forces  a  luxuriant  vegetation.  About  the  first  w-eeks  of  the  month  our 
Climbing  Rose  {Rose  sctigcra)  puts  forth  its  flowers.  It  grows  in  large  clumps, 
its  long  flexible  branches  clambering  rather  than  climbing  over  other  shrubs  and 
when  loaded  down  with  bloom  is  a  glorious  sight  lighting  up  the  dense  shades 
of  the  river  bottom  where  it  delights  to  grow.  In  the  cold  rills  and  bogs  of  the 
river  bottom,  one  of  our  most  beautiful  plants,  Queen-of-the-Prairie  (Spiraea 
lobata)  finds  a  congenial  home. 

Its  masses  of  peach  colored  blossoms  are  so  delicately  beautiful  and  appar- 
ently so  out  of  place  in  its  uninviting  surroundings,  that  no  matter  how  often 
one  meets  with  it  in  a  ramble,  each  succeeding  plant  brings  out  a  fresh  exclama- 
tion of  delight.  On  sand  hills  Callirhoc  triamjidata  occurs  and  all  through  July 
produces  its  brilliant  blossoms  of  purple.  In  foUow^ing  uj)  the  rocky  defiles  of  the 
bluffs  our  attention  is  directed  to  Hydrangea  arborcsceus  with  its  showing  radiant 
flowers. 

Occasionally  specimens  are  seen  with  the  flowers  all  radiant  like  the  garden 
species.  High  up  the  rocky  sides,  the  Goats  Beard  {Spiraea  arincies)  is  con- 
spicuous by  its  ample  feathery  panicles  of  staminate  flowers. 

The  shallows  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  nourish  a  rich  aquatic  flora.  Acres 
upon  acres  are  covered  with  the  pads  of  our  Water  Lily   (  Casta! ia  tHbcrosa). 

The  lovely  flowers  are  very  large,  with  a  manifest  perfume,  though  usually 
described  as  odorless,  and  find  a  ready  sale  on  the  streets  of  our  city. 

In  company  with  it  but  not  so  common,  is  Nelumbrium  lutcurn,  with  its  immense 
leaves  and  cream  colored  flowers  borne  on  stalks  a  foot  or  two  above  the  water. 


84  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

differing  thus  from  the  preceiiing  which  spreads  its  flowers  on  the  surface  of  the 
water.  Intermingled  with  these  plants  are  the  Sweet  Flag,  Iris,  Arrow  Flead, 
I'ickerel  ^Vecd,  Common  Reed,  Wild  Celery  and  Wild  Rice.  The  last  two  are 
special  dainties  with  the  water  fowl.  In  August  the  great  order  Compositse 
becomes  predominant. 

The  intense  heat  forces  the  Silphiuns,  Sunflowers,  Tickseeds,  Con'e-flowers, 
llawkweeds,  etc.,  in  a  continual  procession  ending  with  the  Asters  and  Golden- 
rod  in  more  variety  than  I  know  of  in  any  other  local  flora.  By  the  latter  part 
of  the  summer  the  rich  soil  of  the  alluvial  bottom  has  produced  a  rank  and 
lu.xuriant  vegetation  that  taxes  one's  efforts  to  push  a  way  through.  Near  to 
the  river  bank  Hibiscus  mililaris  grows  in  abundance.  Its  peculiar  halberd  shaped 
leaves  and  its  showy  flowers  of  flesh  pink  with  purple  throat  render  it  a  striking 
plant. 

The  Cardinal  flower  with  its  spike  of  intensely  red  flowers  makes  a  very 
vivid  bit  of  coloring  in  the  somber  shade  of  the  bottom.  With  it  grows  its  near 
relative  the  Blue  Lobelia.  In  the  upland  woods  grows  Gerardia  grandiyora, 
bearing  a  profusion  of  showy  lemon  yellow  flowers. 

In  this  summary  of  our  flora  we  have  touched  upon,  only,  the  most  char- 
acteristic features  of  our  vegetation  but  one  who  undertakes  the  careful  study 
of  our  flora  will  find  that  this  vicinity  will  afford  him  unbounded  material  and 
a  constant  source  of  delight. 

Many  of  our  native  trees,  shrubs  and  flowers  have  been  brought  under  cultiva- 
tion for  ornament. 

As  to  trees  might  be  mentioned  the  White  Elm,  as  the  leader  of  them  all  as 
a  shade  tree.  It  is  towering  in  height,  with  a  graceful  spread  of  branch,  vigorous, 
long  lived  anil  in  our  climate  becomes  the  equal  of  the  "lordly  elms  of  New  Eng- 
lan(l."  On  account  of  its  height  and  spread,  it  should  stand  in  the  open  for  best 
results. 

The  Sugar  Alaple  while  slow  growing  is  most  desirable  on  account  of  its 
compact  crown  and  the  luxuriance  of  its  beautiful  foliage.  Alagnificent  examples 
of  this  tree  can  be  seen  across  the  river  on  the  Spring  Bay  road.  Its  near  ally, 
the  Silver  Maple,  is  frequently  planted.  Though  of  quicker  growth  than  the 
preceding  it  is  not  as  desirable  on  accovmt  of  its  softer  wood  and  brittle  branches 
which  suff'er  severely  in  heavy  windstorms. 

One  of  our  commonest  shadetrees  to-day  is  the  so-called  Carolina  Poplar. 
It  will  surprise  most  people  to  know  that  this  euphonious  name  is  simply  a  dis- 
guise of  the  well  known  Cottonwood  so  frequent  along  watercourses. 

The  male  tree  only  is  planted,  as  the  cotton  from  the  female  tree  creates  such 
a  litter  as  to  make  it  undesirable. 

The  chief  thing  in  its  favor  is  its  very  rapid  growth. 

The  Bur  Oak  (Quercus  macrocarpa)  is  a  desirable  shade  tree.  Its  low  and 
wide  spreading  branches  are  covered  with  a  foliage,  fully  as  beautiful  and  almost 
as  dense  as  the  Sugar  Maple.  Beautiful  examples  can  be  seen  near  the  work- 
house and  at  the  turn  of  High  street. 

The  Catalpa  native  from  southern  Illinois,  southward  is  often  planted.  Its 
quick  growth,  ample  heart  shaped  leaves  and  showy  flowers  make  it  a  favorite. 
It  has  only  one  drawback — it  is  the  last  tree  to  unfold  its  leaves  in  the  spring 
and  the  first  to  shed  them  in  autumn.  All  the  evergreens  do  well  in  this 
vicinity  though  not  planted  near  as  much  as  formerly. 

From  a  cultural  standpoint  all  the  grains  and  fruits  of  the  Temperate  Zone 
find  congenial  conditions  here. 

Some  complain  the  apple  does  not  seem  to  flourish  as  in  the  past,  but  this  is 
due  mare  to  the  ravages  of  insect  ]3ests,  that  go  hand  in  hand  with  civilization, 
rather  than  changes  in  climatic  conditions.  Give  our  orchards  the  same  attention 
they  would  receive  in  Oregon,  and  there  would  not  be  as  much  talk  about  the 
decadence  of  Illinois  as  an  apple  country.  \'iewing  our  vegetation  in  its  every 
phase,  only  emphasizes  the  conclusion,  that  few  localities  are  so  generously 
favored  as  ours. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

CREATION     AND    ORGANIZATION    OF    PEORIA     COUNTY DIFFICULTIES    IN    OBTAINING 

TITLE  TO  COUNTY  SEAT PRESIDENT  JOHN  OUINCY  ADAMS  LENDS  HIS  ASSIST- 
ANCE-— WILLIAM  S.  HAMILTON,  SON  OF  ALEXANDER  HAMILTON,  ATTORNEY  FOR 
THE  COUNTY CLAIMS  TO   LAND  OF  JOHN   HAMLIN   AND  OTHERS  ADJUSTED. 

The  territory  of  Indiana  was  divided  February  3,  1S09,  and  the  new  territory 
of  llhnois  organized.  The  counties  of  St.  Clair  and  Randoliih,  which  had  been 
formed  at  the  time  of  the  division  of  the  Northwestern  Territory  in  1800,  were 
continued,  their  boundaries  being  designated  and  described  as  follows :  "The 
county  of  Randolph  shall  include  all  that  part  of  Illinois  territory  lying  south  of 
the  line  dividing  the  counties  of  Randolph  and  St.  Clair  as  it  existed  under  the. 
government  of  the  territory  of  Indiana  on  the  last  day  of  February,  1809,  and 
the  county  of  St.  Clair  shall  include  all  that  part  of  the  territory  which  lies  north 
of  said  line." 

The  following  oflicers  were  appointed  for  the  county  of  St.  Clair:  John  Hays, 
sheriff;  William  Arundale,  formerly  of  Peoria,  recorder;  John  Hay,  clerk  of 
the  court  of  common  pleas,  or  county  clerk ;  Enoch  Moore,  coroner ;  John  Mes- 
singer,  surveyor.  Among  the  justices  of  the  peace  appointed  were  Antoine  Des 
Champs,  who  lived  at  Peoria,  and  Nicholas  Boilvin.  The  latter  resided  at  Prai- 
rie du  Chien.  He  was  the  father  of  Nicholas  and  William  C.  Boilvin,  who 
became  quite  prominent  in  Peoria  business  circles. 

Eventually,  St.  Clair  county  was  divided  into  other  counties.  In  1812,  Madi- 
son was  organized,  within  the  limits  of  which  was  Peoria  and  so  remained  until 
1821,  when  it  became  part  and  parcel  of  the  newly  created  county  of  Pike.  Many 
conveyances  of  land  in  Peoria  had  been  recorded  in  Madison  county,  at 
Edwardsville.  which  have  been  transcribed  and  now  are  included  in  the  records 
of  this  county. 

Pike  county  was  organized  in  1821  and  for  two  years  thereafter  Peoria 
countv  was  embraced  within  its  boundaries  and  all  records  of  conveyances  of 
land  were  kept  at  its  county  seat.  During  this  period  the  following  persons 
were  at  the  head  of  afifairs  of  Pike  county;  Abram  Buck,  probate  judge,  from 
February  12.  1821,  to  June  11,  1821,  when  he  resigned  and  was  succeeded  by 
Nicholas  Hanson,  who  also  resigned  and  was  followed  in  the  office  February  15, 
1823,  by  William  Ross;  April  2,  1821,  Leonard  Ross,  John  Shaw  and  William 
Ward  were  elected  county  commissioners,  Bigelow  C.  Fenton,  sheriff,  and  Dan- 
iel Whipple,  coroner.  At  an  election  held  August  5,  1822,  James  M.  Seeley, 
David  Dulton  and  Ossian  M.  Ross  were  elected  county  commissioners,  Leonard 
Ross,  sherifi,  and  Daniel  Whipple,  coroner.  During  this  period  Abner  Fads, 
John  Shaw,  Daniel  Whipple,  William  Ross,  Henry  Tupper,  Leonard  Ross  and 
William  Ward  were  appointed  justices  of  the  peace  for  Pike  county.  For  the 
same  office  Ebenezer  Smith  and  Stephen  Dewey  were  commissioned  on  May 
26,  1821,  Ossian  M.  Ross,  November  29,  1821  ;  John  Bolter,  .\ugu.st  29,  1821  ; 
Charles  B.  Rou.se,  January  22.  1822;  Amos  Barcroft,  May  22,  1822. 

Sangamon  county  was  organized  at  the  same  session  of  the  legislature  as 
Pike  and  on  January  28,  1823,  the  county  of  Fulton  was  formed,  the  boundaries 
of  which  were  described  as  follows:     "Beginning  at  the  point  where  the  fourth 

85 


86  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

principal  meridian  intersects  the  Illinois  river,  thence  up  the  middle  of  said 
river  to  where  the  line  between  ranges  tive  and  six  east  strikes  the  said  river, 
thence  north  with  said  line  between  ranges  five  and  six  to  the  township  line 
between  townships  9  and  10  north,  thence  west  with  said  line  to  the  fourth 
principal  meridian,  thence  south  with  said  line  to  the  place  of  beginning."  It 
will  be  observed  that  within  these  boundaries  the  townships  of  Trivoli  and 
Elmwood  were  embraced. 

On  tlie  second  Monday  of  April,  1823,  an  election  was  held  and  Joseph 
Moffatt,  David  W.  Barnes  and  Thomas  R.  Corell  were  chosen  as  county  com- 
missioners, Abner  Eads,  sheriff,  and  William  Clark,  coroner.  Later,  on  August 
2,  1824,  James  Gardner,  James  Barnes  and  David  W.  Barnes  were  elected  county 
commissioners.  Ossian  M.  Ross,  sheriff,  and  Joseph  Moffatt,  coroner,  all  of 
whom  were  in  office  until  after  the  organization  of  Peoria  county.  At  this  point 
it  is  worthy  of  note  that  in  the  list  of  officials,  both  for  Pike  and  Fulton  coun- 
ties,  Peoria   countv   was   well    represented. 

Abner  Eads,  who  was  elected  the  first  sheriff"  for' Fulton  county,  was  a 
Peorian,  and  his  chief  opponent  for  the  office  was  Ossian  Ross,  who  had  only 
been  defeated  in  his  ambition  by  one  vote.  Ross  contested  the  election  of 
Eads,  setting  up  as  his  grounds  of  complaint  that  some  of  Eads  supporters  lived 
on  the  east  side  of  the  river  and,  consequently,  were  not  residents  of  Fulton 
county  and,  further,  it  was  contended  that  Eads  was  illiterate  and  could  riot 
write,' therefore,  incompetent  to  fulfill  the  duties  of  the  office.  The  case  was  tried 
before  judge  Reynolds,  a  brother  of  Governor  John  Reynolds,  in  a  log  cabin  at 
Fort  Clark,  which  served  as  an  office  for  'Squire  John  Hamlin,  and  Eads  was 
declared  elected  and  qualified  to  the  office  of  sheriff. 

The  counties  of  Schuvler,  Adams,  Hancock,  \\'arren.  Henry,  Putnam  and 
Knox  were  formed  by  an  act  of  legislature.  January  13.  1825,  and  on  the  same  day 
and  with  the  passage  of  the  act  herein  mentioned,  Peoria  county  was  created, 
under  the  provision  of  an  act  entitled,  "An  Act  to  form  a  new  county  out  of  the 
country  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Clark,"  which  provides  as  follows : 

"Section  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  people  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  represented 
in  the  General  Assemblv,  That'  all  that  tract  of  country  within  the  following 
boundaries,  to  wit:  Beginning  where  the  line  between  towns  11  and  12  north 
intersects  the  Illinois  river ;  thence  west  with  said  line  to  the  line  between  ranges 
4  and  5  east:  thence  south  with  said  line  to  the  line  between  towns  7  and  8;  thence 
east  to  the  line  between  ranges  5  and  6;  thence  south  to  the  middle  of  the  mam 
channel  of  the  Illinois  river;  thence  up  said  middle  of  the  main  channel  to  the 
place  of  beginning,  shall  constitute  a  county  to  be  called  Peoria." 

Section  2  provided  "That  all  that  tract  of  country  north  of  town  20,  and  west 
of  the  third  principal  meridian,  formerly  part  of  Sangamon  county,  be,  and  is 
hereby  attached  to  said  county  of  Peoria,  for  county  purposes.  Provided,  how- 
ever, The  citizens  of  the  attached  part  of  said  county  are  not  to  be  taxed  for  the 
erection  of  public  buildings,  or  for  the  purchase  of  the  quarter  section  herein- 
after mentioned.  r  •  1  r 
"Section  3.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  county  seat  of  said  county  ot 
Peoria  shall  be  established  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  9.  town  8  north, 
range  8  east  and  that  the  countv  commissioners  of  said  county  are  hereby  auth- 
orized to  purchase  said  quarter  'section  of  land  of  the  United  States  as  provided 

for  by  the  law  of  congress.  ,       ^         ,  r   ht      1 

"Section  4  Be  it  further  enacted.  That  on  the  first  day  of  .March  next 
(182s)  an  election  shall  be  held  at  the  house  of  William  Eads,  at  which  time 
there'  shall  be  elected  one  sheriff,  one  coroner  and  three  county  commissioners 
for  said  county,  which  election  shall,  in  all  respects,  be  conducted  agreeably  to  the 
provisions  of  the  law  now  in  force  regulating  elections.  Provided,  That  the 
qualified  voters  present  may  select  from  among  their  number  three  competent 
electors  to  act  as  judges  of  said  election  who  shall  appoint  two  qualified  voters 
to  act  as  clerks. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  8% 

"Section  5.  Re  it  further  enacted,  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  clerk 
of  Sangamon  county  to  give  public  notice  in  said  Peoria  county  and  the  at- 
tached part,  at  least  ten  days  previous  to  the  election  to  be  held  on  the  first 
Monday  in  March  next ;  and  in  case  there  should  be  no  clerk,  then  the  sheriff 
of  said  county  shall  give  notice,  as  aforesaid,  of  the  time  and  place  of  holding 
the  election." 

Section  6  provided,  "That  the  county  of  Peoria  should  receive  two  hundretl 
dollars  out  of  the  public  treasury,  as  full  compensation  for  their  proportion 
of  non-resident  land  tax,  in  the  same  way  as  the  county  of  Pike  might  or  could 
do  under  the  act  entitled  An  Act  amending  an  act  entitled  an  act  providing  for 
the  valuation  of  lands  and  other  property,  and  laying  a  ta.x  thereon,  approved 
February  15,  1821." 

Section  7  provided,  "That  the  said  county  of  Peoria  and  the  attached  part 
of  said  county  mentioned  in  section  2  (the  portion  detached  from  Sangamon — 
Ed.)  should  vote  with  the  county  of  Sangamon  for  representative  and  senator 
to  the  general  assembly." 

Section  8  declared,  "That  all  that  tract  of  country  north  of  said  Peoria 
county,  and  of  the  Illinois  and  Kankakee  rivers,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby 
attached  to  said  county,  for  all  county  purposes.  This  did  not  include  any  of 
the  newly  formed  counties  of  Knox,  Henry,  Warren  or  Mercer." 

While  Cook  county  and  what  is  now  the  great  and  wonderful  city  of  Chi- 
cago was  embraced  within  the  territory  set  off  to  Putnam  county,  yet  for  the 
next  six  years  after  the  formation  of  Putnam,  Cook  county  was  attached  to 
Peoria  county  for  county  purposes  and  all  its  county  affairs  were  administered 
in  Peoria. 

Under  the  act  creating  the  county  of  Peoria,  provision  was  made  for  the 
election  of  officers  and  the  first  day  of  March,  1825,  was  designated  as  the  time 
for  holding  said  election.  Another  section  of  the  act,  however,  required  notice 
of  the  election  to  be  given  for  the  first  Monday  in  -March.  This  was  a  confusion 
of  dates,  and,  as  a  result,  the  election  did  not  take  place  until  the  7th  day  of 
March,  of  the  year  mentioned,  when  Samuel  Fulton  was  chosen  for  the  office  of 
sheriff;  William  Phillips,  coroner;  William  Holland,  Nathan  Dillon  and  Joseph 
Smith,  county  commissioners. 

COUNTY      COMMIS.SIONERS'    COURT 

The  officers  chosen  by  the  electors  of  the  county  duly  qualified,  so  tliat  juris- 
diction over  public  matters  pertaining  to  the  county  vested  in  them  and  they  at 
once  took  up  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices,  and  the  next  day  after  the 
election  the  commissioners'  court  was  organized.  Xorman  Hyde  had  been  chosen 
clerk,  at  about  the  same  time  of  the  passage  of  the  act  creating  the  county.  The 
following  named  persons  were  appointed  and  commissioned  justices  of  the  peace 
for  the  county  at  the  time  of  its  organization :  Thomas  Camlin,  George  Ash, 
John  Phillips^  Stephen  French,  Nathan  Dillon,  Isaac  Perkins,  Jacob  Wilson, 
Joseph  ^loffatt,  Austin  Crocker,  John  Kinzie. 

The  first  duty  devolving  upon  the  commissioners'  court  was  the  purchase  of 
land  for  a  county  seat  and  the  securing  of  title  thereto.  Congress  had  passed  an 
act  providing  that  new  counties  might  locate  their  seats  of  government  upon 
public  land  subject  to  preemption  and  purchase,  upon  the  same  terms  as  individ- 
uals, and  in  pursuance  thereof,  the  general  assembly  had  designated,  in  section 
three,  a  tract  of  government  land,  upon  which  the  county  seat  should  be  estab- 
lished. However,  when  the  commissioners  endeavored  to  follow  out  the  require- 
ments of  the  law  they  met  with  unanticipated  objections  at  the  land  office. 

The  contentions  of  the  land  office  were  that  the  quarter  section  chosen  by  the 
legislature  was  a  fractional  one  and  for  that  reason  was  not  subject  to  entry. 
Another  objection  upon  which  much  stress  was  laid  was  the  existence  of  certain 
French  claims.    The  third  contention  was  that  one  James  Latham,  who  set  up  an 


88  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

e(|uity  in  the  land  1)V  reason  of  a  private  entry,  liad  interposed  a  counter-claim  to 
the  land.  And  it  was  not  until  nine  years  later  that  the  county  came  into  its 
own. 

A  concise  history  of  the  struggle  of  Peoria  county  for  a  seat  of  government 
is  well  worth  relating  and  to  further  that  end  no  better  means  can  be  adopted  than 
to  present  here  the  minutes  of  the  commissioners'  court  and  other  documents 
relating  to  a  subject,  which  is  still  one  of  interest  to  many  now  living. 

The  county  commissioners  held  a  special  term  of  their  court  on  April  i6, 
182s.  at  which  time  Nathan  Dillon,  one  of  the  members,  was  authorized  to  make 
application  at  the  land  office,  in  Springfield,  for  the  right  of  preemption  of  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  9,  town  8  north,  range  8  east,  which  was  designated 
in  the  act  creating  the  county  as  the  site  for  the  county  seat,  for  the  purpose  of 
establishing  thereon  the  county  seat  of  Peoria  county,  under  the  provision  made 
and  enacted  by  congress.  Pursuant  to  instructions,  Commissioner  Dillon  made 
application  to  the  register  of  the  land  office  for  leave  to  enter  the  said  quarter 
section  of  land  and  was  refused,  the  reason  being  advanced  that  the  tract  was  not 
subject  to  entry.  Thereupon,  a  memorial  was  addressed  to  the  president  of  the 
United  States  in  relation  thereto,  by  the  board  of  commissioners.  This  the  presi- 
dent referred  to  the  land  oiSce,  and  on  November  23,  1825,  the  register  at 
Springfield  was  instructed  by  the  commissioner  as  follows : 

'"Gentlemen:  A  memorial  from  the  Comrs.  for  the  county  of  Peoria  and 
other  citizens  thereof  stating  'that  application  had  been  made  to  your  office  to 
enter  the  N.  E.  quarter  of  Sect.  9,  8  N.,  8  E.,  for  the  Seat  of  Justice  for  said 
County,  and  that  entry  had  been  refused  because  said  quarter  section  was  a  frac- 
tional one,'  was  addressed  to  the  President  &  lately  referred  to  this  office  by  him, 
with  instructions  to  admit  the  entry  if  the  objection  stated  is  the  only  one  to  its 
admission.  If  there  are  others  you  will  report  the  facts  in  relation  to  the  case 
to  this  office.  "I  am,  etc., 

"George  Gr.\h.\m." 

It  would  appear  by  the  foregoing  that  Peoria  county  had  a  friend  at  court 
and  it  was  surmised  at  the  time  by  those  most  interested  that  Hon.  Daniel  P. 
Cook,  the  only  representative  from  Illinois  then  in  congress,  had  used  his  good 
offices  in  her  behalf.  At  any  rate,  the  people  were  highly  gratified  by  the  prompt 
consideration  of  President  Adams.  This  feeling  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  on 
the  6th  dav  of  Alarch,  1826,  the  clerk  of  the  county  commissioners,  acting  under 
authority  of  that  body,  transmitted  to  John  Quincy  Adams,  president  of  the 
United  States,  the  thanks  of  the  court  for  his  prompt  compliance  with  the  prayer 
of  their  petition  for  leave  to  enter  the  fractional  quarter  section  of  land,  on 
which  to  locate  their  county  seat ;  the  president  by  the  same  token,  was  informed 
that  his  intervention  in  behalf  of  Peoria  county  had  not  produced  the  desired 
result.  On  the  8th  day  of  March,  1826,  the  following  was  made  a  matter  of 
record ; 

"Ordered  that  lohn  Di.xon  be  and  he  is  hereby  authorized  in  behalf  of  this 
court  to  make  application  officially  to  the  Register  and  Receiver  of  the  Land 
Ofifice  at  Springfield  for  a  written  statement  of  the  obstacles  and  objections  (if 
any  exist)  which  prevent  the  entry  by  the  Commissioners  of  said  County  of 
the  North  East  fractional  quarter  of  Sec.  9,  Township  8  North,  Range  8  East  of 
the  fourth  principal  meridian,  on  which  the  Seat  of  Justice  for  Peoria  County 
is  located,  pursuant  to  an  act  of  Congress  by  Statute  of  this  State.  And  as  it  is 
anticipated  that  some  objections  may  arise  on  account  of  the  exact  quantity  of 
land  in  said  fractional  c|uarter  not  being  accurately  known,  he,_the  said  John 
Dixon,  is  further  authorized  after  procuring  from  the  Land  Officers  aforesaid 
a  statement  of  all  the  said  objections,  etc.,  to  proceed  to  St.  Louis  and  apply  to 
the  Surveyor  General  for  a  plat  of  the  survey  of  the  above  mentioned  quarter 
Section,  and  if  no  plat  can  be  furnished  without  a  re-survey,  to  contract  with  the 
Surveyor  General  for  that  purpose,  at  the  expense  of  this  county,  for  a  speedy 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  89 

completion  of  said  survey,  and  request  a  plat  thereof  to  be  immediately  made 
out,  properly  authenticated  and  forwarded  to  the  said  Register  and  Receiver. 

"And  the  said  Joiin  Dixon  is  further  authorized,  if  no  objections  are  made, 
to  enter  the  said  fraction  in  behalf  of  and  for  said  county  of  Peoria." 

At  a  special  term  of  the  commissioners'  court,  held  Alay  2,  1826,  this  entry 
was  made  and  forms  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  county :  "Ordered,  that  John 
Dixon  be  and  he  is  hereby  autliorized  to  borrow  on  the  credit  of  Peoria  county 
one  hundred  and  eighty-four  dollars  62)/,  cents,  by  him  to  be  paid  to  the  Receiver 
of  the  Land  Office  at  Springfield,  in  payment  of  the  N.  E.  fractional  qr.  Sec. 
No.  9,  Town  8  North,  Range  8  East  of  the  fourth  principal  (meridian),  and 
that  he  be  authorized  to  issue  orders  on  the  Treasurer  to  such  persons  as  shall 
loan  the  county  the  above  money,  at  any  interest  not  exceeding  25  per  cent  per 
annum  until  paid."  Tradition  has  it  that  when  the  money  by  loan  was  not 
forthcoming,  a  number  of  the  loyal  citizens  made  up  the  desired  amount  out  of 
their  own  pockets  and  helped  solve  one  of  the  county  seat  problems. 

At  the  time  of  the  organization  of  the  county,  James  Latham,  who  had  set 
up  a  counter-claim  to  the  tract  of  land  set  off  by  the  legislature  as  the  site  for 
the  county  seat,  was  in  possession  of  a  house  on  the  land,  and  this,  in  a  measure, 
was  made  use  of  as  a  basis  for  his  contention.  On  the  12th  day  of  July,  1826, 
the  commissioners'  court  caused  to  be  entered  of  record  the  following: 

"Ordered  that  Isaac  Perkins,  William  Woodson  and  Henry  Thomas  be 
summoned  by  the  sheriff  to  be  and  appear  at  the  next  regular  term  of  this  court, 
on  the  first  day  of  said  term,  to  assess  the  damage,  if  any  incurred,  by  James 
Latham,  in  consee|uence  of  being  deprived  of  his  claim  to  the  land  on  which  the 
county  seat  of  Peoria  is  located,  the  improvement  of  which  was  purchased 
previous  to  the  location  of  the  said  county  seat."  .Soon  after  this  entry  Latham 
died,   leaving  to  his  heirs  the  prosecution  of   his  claim. 

At  a  regular  term  of  the  commissioners'  court,  held  December  5,  1826,  a 
change  in  the  personnel  of  the  court  appears.  The  sitting  members  at  this  time 
were  Nathan  Dillon,  William  Holland  and  John  Hamlin.  Under  their  direc- 
tion, at  this  term,  an  entry  in  the  records  was  made  as  follows : 

"That  William  .S.  Hamilton  be  authorized  to  act  as  counsel  on  behalf  of 
this  court  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  title  to  the  land  on  which  the  county 
seat  of  Peoria  county  is  located,  with  full  power  for  said  purpose,  except  that 
of  commencing  suit  at  law.  Also  that  the  clerk  of  this  court  inform  said  Hamil- 
ton that  compensation  will  be  allowed  only  in  event  of  their  obtaining  said  title." 
It  is  rather  remarkable,  but  true,  that  the  William  S.  Hamilton  referred  to,  was 
a  son  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  who  figured  so  largely  in  the  colonial  and  early 
history  of  the  United  States.  William  S.  Hamilton  was  a  brilliant  lawyer  and 
his  name  appears  more  than  once  in  these  pages. 

On  January  26.  1827,  Commissioner  Graham  of  the  land  office  at  Wash- 
ington addressed  the  following  letter  to  Colonel  William  McKee,  surveyor  gen- 
eral at  St.  Louis: 

"Sir: — The  act  of  congress  passed  on  the  3d  of  March,  1823,  confirming 
certain  claims  to  lots  in  the  village  of  Peoria,  in  the  State  of  Illinois  (the 
French  claims — Ed.),  declares  that  it  shall  be  'the  duty  of  the  Surveyor  of 
Public  Lands  of  the  U.  S.  for  that  District  to  cause  a  survey  to  be  made  of  the 
several  lots,  and  to  designate  on  a  plat  thereof,  the  lot  confirmed  and  set  apart 
to  each  claimant,  and  forward  the  same  to  the  Secy,  of  the  Treasury.'  As  the 
plat  above  required  to  be  made  has  not  been  received,  and  a  Mr.  James  Latham, 
having  entered  the  N.  E.  fr.  J4  9.  8  N.  8  E.  of  the  4th  P.  M.  under  a  'Vincennes 
pre-emption,'  I  will  thank  you  to  inform  me  if  the  survey  of  the  village  has  been 
made,  and  if  it  has.  to  furnish  me  with  a  copy  of  the  survey,  exhibiting  the  con- 
nection between  it  &  the  adjacent  pulilic  surveys.     I  am,  etc., 

"Geo.  Graham. 

"P.  S. — It  is  presumed  that  the  Regr.  at  Edwardsville  who  acted  as  commr.  for 


90  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

the  settlement  of  these  claims  furnished  Gen.  Rector  with  a  copy  of  his  report 
on  the  subject;  if  he  did  you  can  obtain  a  copy  from  the  Regr.  Office  at  that 
place." 

An  election  was  held  August  4,  1828,  when  a  new  commissioners'  court  was 
made  up  bv  the  selection  of  George  Sharp,  Isaac  Egman.  and  Francis  Thomas 
who,  in  their  official  capacity,  addressed  a  memorial  to  Elias  Kent  Kane  and  John 
McLean,  senators  from  Illinois,  and  Joseph  Duncan,  the  successor  of  Daniel  P. 
Cook  in  congress,  in  which  was  set  forth  in  detail  the  problem  of  the  county  seat 
title,  and  a  request  that  they  use  their  influence  with  the  president,  to  induce  him 
to  permit  the  entry  of  the  land  to  be  made  in  the  name  of  the  county,  and  if  that 
was  not  feasible,  to  put  forth  every  eft'ort  to  have  passed  by  congress  a  special 
act  to  afford  the  relief  desired. 

On  the  28th  of  January,  1830,  Senator  Kane  received  the  following  letter 
from  Commissioner  Graham  of  the  land  office  at  Washington: 

"Sir: — I  return  the  letter  of  Messrs.  Hyde  &  Stillman  enclosed  in  your  let- 
ter of  the  26th  inst. 

"Upon  examination  it  appears  that  in  1825  the  commissioners  for  the  county 
of  Peoria  made  application  to  the  Land  Officers  at  Springfield  to  enter  the  N.  E. 
frac.  >4  of  S.  9  T.  8  R.  8  E.  under  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  the  26th  of  May, 
1824,  granting  pre-emption  to  certain  counties  for  their  Seats  of  Justice  (Land 
Laws,  page  86g)  which,  being  refused  by  these  officers  on  the  ground  of  the 
tract  being  a  fractional  quarter  section,  they  memorialized  the  President  on  the 
subject,  and,  under  his  instructions  at  that  time,  had  they  entered  and  paid  for 
the  land,  there  would  have  been  no  difficulty  in  the  case,  but  they  having  failed 
to  make  such  a  payment,  that  tract  was  entered  in  November,  1826,  by  James 
Latham  under  a  pre-emption  certificate,  granted  by  the  Register  at  Vincennes 
under  the  2d  section  of  the  act  of  the  nth  of  May,  1820  (Land  Laws  p.  778), 
and  payment  in  full  made  to  the  Receiver  and  regularly  entered  in  the  returns 
of  those  officers  to  this  office.  The  letter  of  the  Register  to  this  office  that  cov- 
ered this  entry  by  Latham  also  enclosed  a  protest  against  it  by  William  S.  Hamil- 
ton as  attorney  of  the  County  Commissioners. 

"In  consequence  of  the  belief  entertained  at  this  office  that  that  fractional 
Section  included  the  lots  which  had  been  confirmed  to  certain  individuals  at 
Peoria  by  the  act  of  the  3d  of  March,  1823  (the  French  claims — Ed.),  and  that 
therefore  it  could  not  be  legally  granted  to  either  the  County  Commissioners 
or  Mr.  Latham,  the  Register  was  informed  in  January,  1827,  that  this  office, 
not  being  in  possession  of  a  survey  of  those  confirmed  lots,  could  not  decide  upon 
the  rights  of  the  respective  parties  until  it  was  ascertained  that  there  was  no 
interference  between  those  lots  and  that  quarter  section.  A  survey  has  not  yet 
been  forwarded  to  this  office  of  the  confirmed  Peoria  Claims,  and  until  one  is 
received  the  Case  will  have  to  be  suspended." 

On  the  next  day  Senator  Kane  addressed  to  Stephen  Stillman,  of  Peoria,  the 
following  letter : 

"Dear  Sir: — I  have  delayed  to  (answer?)  you  until  I  could  hear  in  answer 
to  the  application  of  your  County  Commissioners  something  satisfactory.  I 
have  waited,  however,  only  to  be  informed  of  the  embarrassments  which  surround 
the  subject.  I  send  all  the  papers  received  from  the  Comr.  of  Gen.  Land  Office, 
which  gives  as  full  a  view  of  the  matter  as  can  be  obtained.  Present  me  respect- 
fully to  the  Commissioners  with  the  assurance  that  it  will  at  all  times  give  me 
pleasure  to  attend  to  their  requests  whether  made  in  an  official  or  individual 
character. 

"With  great  respect,  your  obt.  st., 

"E.  K.  Kane. 
"S.  Stillman,  Esq." 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  91 

On  the  3d  of  March,  1830.  the  county  commissioners'  court  made  the  fol- 
lowing order: 

"Ordered  that  Stephen  Stillman  be  and  he  is  hereby  appointed  a  Special 
Agent  on  the  part  of  the  county  of  Peoria  for  the  purpose  of  ol)taining  for  the 
use  of  the  county  the  right  of  soil  to  the  North  East  fractional  quarter  of  Section 
No.  9,  in  Town  Eight  North  and  Range  Eight  East — with  full  power  to  act  for 
the  county  in  the  Name  &  in  behalf  of  County  Commissioners,  and  that  he  be 
particularly  instructed  &  re(|uired  to  use  his  utmost  exertions  and  all  necessary 
means  to  procure  if  possible  the  title  to  said  quarter  Section,  as  it  is  considered 
of  the  utmost  importance  that  it  should  be  obtained  immediately. 

"The  Commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  county  do  hereby  agree  to  accept 
any  part  of  said  quarter  Section  (be  the  same  more  or  less)  that  may  remain 
after  deducting  that  which  is  appropriated  by  the  law  of  Congress  for  Peoria 
Claims  in  lieu  of  a  full  c|uarter  allowed  by  law  to  each  new  county. 

"The  County  Commissioners  recommend  that  a  special  act  of  Congress  be 
passed,  granting  to  the  county  of  Peoria  the  remaining  part  of  the  fractional 
quarter  section  after  deducting  the  Peoria  Claims,  as  aforesaid,  let  there  be 
more  or  less." 

On  the  5th  day  of  February,  1831,  Elijah  Hayward,  Commissioner  of  the 
Land  Office,  addressed  the  following  letter  to  Senator  Kane: 

"Sir : — In  replv  to  your  inquiry  respecting  the  entry  of  the  village  of  Peoria, 
I  beg  leave  to  refer  you  to  the  letters  to  you  from  this  office  of  the  28th  of  Janu- 
ary &  5th  of  May,  1830,  and  to  state  that  as  the  Commissioners  of  the  county  of 
Peoria  did  not  enter  the  fractional  quarter,  at  the  time  they  might  have  done 
so,  under  the  instructions  to  the  Land  Officers,  and  as  there  now  exist  conflicting 
claims  under  different  laws,  to  the  same  land,  no  entry  of  it  by  the  County  Com- 
missioners will  be  authorized  without  special  legislative  provisions  on  the  sub- 
ject.    With  great  respect.  Sir." 

On  the  /th  day  of  March,  following,  the  county  commissioners'  court,  which 
then  consisted  of  John  Hamlin,  George  Sharp  and  Stephen  French,  made  the  fol- 
lowing order: 

"Ordered  that  Abner  Fads  be  and  he  is  hereby  authorized  to  make  a  tender 
of  money  to  the  Register  &  Receiver  of  the  Land  Office  at  Springfield,  sufficient 
to  purchase,  at  the  rate  of  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  acre,  the  frac- 
tional quarter  section  on  which  the  County  Seat  is  now  located,  being  the  N.  E. 
of  S.  9,  T.  8  N.  R.  8  E.  in  behalf  and  in  the  name  of  the  County  Commissioners 
of  Peoria  county,  for  the  use  of  said  county,  and  obtain  from  said  Land  Office  a 
certificate  of  entry  that  a  patent  may  be  speedily  obtained  if  possible.  Said 
Eads  is  authorized  to  assure  the  Register  &  Receiver  of  the  Land  Office,  that 
the  Com.  of  Peoria  county  for  said  county  are  willing  to  accept  that  part  of  the 
fractional  quarter  section  before  named  which  may  remain  after  deducting  what- 
ever portion  may  be  set  apart  by  the  act  of  Congress  granting  Peoria  Claims 
to  the  Old  French  settlers  as  surveyed  by  W'm.  L.  Hamilton  in  1823.  And  said 
Eads  is  hereby  authorized  to  call  on  the  Treasurer  for  all  specie  or  U.  S.  paper 
said  Treasurer  may  have  on  hand  and  borrow  the  balance  or  a  sufficient  sum  to 
purchase  said  fractional  qr.  Section." 

And  the  years  were  still  going  into  history  with  the  matter  unsettled.  But 
no  link  in  the  chain  has  been  left  unrecorded,  save  that,  on  the  14th  day  of  March, 
1831,  a  letter  was  addressed  to  the  register  of  the  land  office  at  Springfield,  the 
author  of  which  is  in  doubt.  From  the  fact,  however,  that  it  sets  forth  the  case 
of  the  county  in  detail,  it  is  presumed  that  William  S.  1  lamilton,  who  had  been 
retained  by  the  commissioners  to  take  charge  of  the  matter,  prepared  it. 

On  July  3.  1832  the  record  shows  the  following  entry: 
"Ordered  that    John    Coyle  and  Atiuilla   Wren,  two   of  the  members   of   the 
court,  receive  two"  hundred' dollars  from  the  county  treasurer  for  the  purpose  of 


92  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

making  a  tender  of  the  same  in  the  land  oiifice  in  payment  for  the  fraction  of 
land  vipon  which  the  town  of  Peoria  is  located. 

"Ordered  that  the  treasurer  furnish  the  said  Coyle  &  Wren  with  twenty- 
five  dollars  to  bear  their  expenses  on  the  foregoing  order." 

When  the  September  (1832)  term  of  the  commissioners'  court  sat,  its  mem- 
bers were  composed  of  John  Coyle,  Aquilla  Wren  and  Edwin  S.  Jones,  and  it 
was  ordered  that  the  treasurer  pay  Aquilla  Wren  nine  dollars  and  John  Coyle 
four  dollars  and  fifty  cents,  to  reimburse  them  for  money  expended  in  visiting 
the  land  office  at  Quincy,  where  they  tendered  the  money  for  the  county  seat 
land.  It  might  here  be  mentioned  that  the  land  office  at  Quincy  had  been  estab- 
lished after  the  last  memorial  of  the  commissioners  had  been  sent  to  congress. 

On  the  second  day  of  the  term  the  following  entry  was  made: 

"Ordered  that  Jolm  Coyle,  one  of  the  members  of  this  Court,  receive  of  the 
County  Treasurer  two  hundred  and  twenty  dollars  and  repair  with  the  same  to 
the  Land  Office  at  Quincy,  to  make  payment  for  the  fraction  of  land  upon  which 
the  County  Seat  is  located.  If  the  necessary  papers  or  returns  have  not  been 
furnished  by  the  Surveyor  General  in  the  case  the  said  Coyle  is  directed  to  go 
to  the  Surveyor  General's  Office  in  order  to  procure  the  papers  that  may  be 
wanted ;  he  is  also  directed  to  keep  a  bill  of  his  expenses." 

At  last  congress,  presumably  through  the  efforts  of  the  Illinois  senators  and 
congressmen,  took  a  hand  in  the  matter,  and,  on  the  second  day  of  March,  1833, 
passed  an  act  permitting  the  county  of  Peoria  to  enter  the  land  assigned  it  by 
the  Illinois  legislature  for  county  seat  purposes.  But  this  did  not  end  the  trouble, 
although  it  was  the  beginning  of  the  end  thereof.  In  so  far  as  Peoria  county 
and  the  national  government  were  concerned  the  incident  was  closed  and  a 
patent  for  the  land  was  issued. 

John  j\I.  Aloore,  acting  connnissioner  of  the  land  office,  on  the  24th  day  of 
June.  1833,  addressed  the  following  letter  to  Isaac  Waters,  clerk  of  the  county 
commissioners'  court : 

"Sir: — Your  letter  of  the  sth  ulto.,  has  been  received  and  I  enclose  herewith 
for  your  information  a  copy  of  a  letter  of  this  date  to  the  Land  Officers  at  Spring- 
field, 111.,  in  relation  to  the  entry  of  the  fractional  quarter  Section  in  which  Peoria 
is  situated,  under  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  Congress  of  the  2d  of  March  last." 

And  on  the  same  day  the  same  officer  addressed  the  following  letter  to  the 
register  and  receiver  of  the  land  office  at  Springfield : 

"Gentlemen : — Under  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  Congress  of  the  2d  of  Alarch 
last  "to  authorize  the  County  Comrs.  of  the  County  of  Peoria  in  the  State  of 
Illinois  to  enter  a  fractional  quarter  section  of  land  for  a  Seat  of  Justice  and  for 
other  purposes,'  you  will  permit  those  Commissioners  to  enter  &  pay  for  the 
fractional  quarter  Section  mentioned  in  said  act. 

"The  receipts,  monthly  returns  and  the  certificate  of  purchase  must  all 
designate  the  entry  as  being  made  under  this  act,  and  the  Certf.  of  Purchase 
must  conform  to  the  proviso  to  the  ist  Section  of  the  act  by  declaring  that  "the 
said  purchase  shall  not  be  so  construed  as  to  interfere  with  the  claim  or  claims 
of  any  other  person  or  persons  to  the  said  fractional  quarter  section,'  and  at 
the  same  time  of  making  the  entry  the  Commissioners  should  deposit  with  you 
for  transmission  a  duly  executed  instrument  of  writing  stating  that  in  making 
such  entry  they  expressly  exclude  therefrom  any  lands  or  lot,  within  the  limits 
of  the  fractional  quarter  Section,  belonging  to  or  lawfully  claimed  by  another 
person  or  persons." 

The  last  chapter  in  the  long  struggle  of  the  county  to  secure  a  perfect  title 
to  the  land  for  its  county  seat  ended  when  a  compromise  was  effected  with  the 
heirs  of  James  Latham,  in  settlement  of  their  claim  against  the  property.  The 
first  step  in  this  direction  led  to  the  adjustment  of  the  matter  when,  on  the  28th 
day  of  May,  1834,  an  action  of  ejectment  was  commended  in  the  circuit  court, 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  93 

a  "friendly"  action  nominally  to  recover  two  lots  in  the  town  of  Peoria,  but 
actually  to  settle  the  title  to  the  whole  tract  of  land.  The  case  was  decided  by 
the  court  on  an  agreed  (by  the  attorneys)  state  of  facts  and  taken  to  the  supreme 
court.  However,  the  case  was  finally  settled  out  of  court  as  the  following  will 
show : 

"lientlemen : — 1  have  this  day  been  able  to  etTect  a  compromise  with  the 
Lathams  in  the  suit  to  recover  our  town.  They  have  withdrawn  their  entry  at 
the  Land  Otifice,  given  up  their  certificate  of  entry,  and  taken  their  money ;  and 
also  withdrawn  the  suit  now  pending.  I  have  given  them  my  notes  for  seven 
lunidred  dollars  as  you  will  perceive  by  the  receipts  herewith  enclosed.  $500  is 
to  be  paid  to  them  in  six  mos.  and  the  other  two  hundred  in  twelve.  You  will 
perceive  the  arrangement  is  much  less  than  what  I  was  limited  at. 

"As  I  have  made  myself  responsible  for  the  payment  of  the  money,  I  wish 
the  Court  to  pass  orders  in  my  favor  for  that  amount  and  payable  at  the  time 
these  notes  are  due  to  enable  me  to  meet  the  payment  of  the  same.  Say  one 
order  for  $500  to  be  paid  on  the  17th  of  May,  1835,  and  one  of  $200  to  be  paid 
on  the  17th  of  November,  1835;  I  was  not  able  to  get  them  to  relinquish  up  the 
bond  they  held  for  the  two  lots.  Richard  &  Philip  Latham,  who  I  saw  would 
not  take  any  responsibility  on  their  part  on  account  of  the  other  heirs ;  if  it 
should  be  thought  expedient  to  give  them  anything  for  their  claim  to  those  two 
lots  it  can  be  done  yet,  but  the  grand  obstacle  in  the  way  of  improvement  is  now 
settled  and  people  can  now  make  investments  with  perfect  safety;  I  saw  all  the 
papers  at  the  Land  (Jffice  canceled  and  given  up.  If  Mr.  Waters  has  not  yet 
made  out  a  transcript  of  the  docket  he  need  not  do  it." 

This  letter  was  accompanied  by  the  following  document  signed  by  Stephen 
T.  Logan,  attorney  for  the  Latham  heirs: 

"John  Hamlin  has  this  day  executed  to  Richard  Latham  for  the  use  of  the 
heirs  of  James  Latham  his  note  for  five  hundred  dollars  payable  in  six  months, 
also  for  one  hundred  dollars  payable  in  twelve  months,  also  at  the  request  of 
said  Lathams  his  note  to  S.  T.  Logan  for  one  hundred  dollars  payable  in  twelve 
months,  in  all  amounting  to  seven  hundred  dollars,  on  a  compromise  of  a  suit 
l)rought  by  said  Latham  Heirs  against  said  Hamlin  &-  as  a  compromise  by  which 
Lathams  are  to  withdraw  in  the  Land  Office  at  Springfield  their  entry  on  the 
fractional  c|uarter  Section  on  which  the  Town  of  Peoria  Stands." 

On  the  5th  day  of  December,  1834,  the  county  commissioners'  court  of  Peoria 
county  entered  the  following  orders : 

"Ordered  that  the  Treasurer  pay  John  Llamlin  five  hundred  dollars  on  the 
17th  day  of  JMay,  1835,  ^s  compensation  for  a  note  for  the  said  amount  due  at  the 
said  17th  Alay  to  the  heirs  of  judge  Latham  as  a  compromise  of  a  law  suit,  etc." 

"Ordered  that  the  Treasurer  pay  John  Hamlin  two  hundred  dollars  on  the 
17th  day  of  November,  A.  D.,  1835,  as  comi)ensation  a  note  given  him  to  the 
heirs  of  Judge  Latham  comi)leting  the  payment  of  the  compromise  on  the  law 
suit,  etc." 

"The  $700  of  the  two  last  orders  is  the  price  of  the  compromise  with  the 
said  heirs  of  Judge  Latham  relinquishing  their  claim  and  withdrawing  their 
entrv  at  the  Land  Office  for  Peoria  Town  fraction." 


CHAPTER  XIV 

PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  COUNTY  COMMISSIONERS'  COURT — THE  COUNTY  SEAT  IS  NAMED 

PEORIA GRAND  AND  PETIT  JURY  SELECTED — FINANCIAL  CONDITION   REPORTED — 

ELECTION  PRECINCTS  ESTABLISHED COOK  COUNTY  A  PART  OF  PEORIA   COUNTY 

FIRST     ELECTION     HELD     IN     CHICAGO COUNTY     COURT     SUPERSEDES     BOARD     OF 

COUNTY  COMMISSIONERS TOWNSHIP  SYSTEM    IS  ADOPTED THE  PROBATE  COURT. 

Owing  to  the  importance  of  the  county  seat  controversy,  much  space  has  been 
given  that  subject  and  the  general  proceedings  of  the  commissioners'  court 
ignored.  iSut  while  that  matter  was  taking  its  course  and  reaching  a  final  adjust- 
ment the  business  affairs  of  the  newly  created  bailiwick  were  in  good  hands  and 
looked  after  in  a  business-like  manner.  The  election  for  county  officials  had 
been  held  March  7,  1825.  and  on  the  next  day  the  commissioners,  Nathan  Dillon, 
of  Mackinaw  Point,  \\'illiam  Holland,  of  Peoria,  and  Joseph  Smith,  of  Farm 
Creek,  met  at  the  house  of  Joseph  Ogee,  below  the  ferry  landing,  where  the  court 
was  organized  by  its  members  taking  the  prescribed  oath  of  office,  and  they  at 
once  proceeded  to  perform  the  duties  for  which  they  were  elected.  Their  first 
act  was  to  appoint,  or  rather  accjuiesce  in  the  a])pointment  of  Norman  Hyde 
as  clerk.  Then  Aaron  Hawley  was  selected  by  the  court  as  county  treasurer 
and  the  county  seat  was  named  Peoria.  Another  measure  of  imjiortance  tran- 
sacted was  the  levying  of  a  county  ta.x  of  one-half  of  one  per  cent  upon  the 
taxable  property  of  the  county. 

The  next  session  called  for  the  performance  of  an  important  function  of  the 
commissioners,  that  of  selecting  a  grand  and  petit  jury,  as  the  first  term  of  the 
circuit  court  would  sit  in  the  following  June.  The  sheriff  was  ordered  and 
performed  his  duty  in  summoning  the  following  named  j^ersons  to  serve  as  grand 
jurors:  William  Kads.  Abner  h:ads,  Alva  Moft'att,  Elijah  Hyde,  Noah  Beacham, 
Sr.,  William  Wright.  John  Ridgeman,  Robert  I'.errisford,  Josiah  Fulton,  Thomas 
Gamblin,  John  l'liillii)s,  George  Ish.  David  Matthews,  Jacob  Wilson.  Elisha  Fish, 
Isaac  Perkins,  Nathaniel  Cromwell,  Walter  Dillon,  William  Davis.  Alexander 
McNaughton,  George  Sharp,  Austin  Crocker,  Augustus  Langworthy,  Allen 
Dougherty.  The  following  were  selected  as  petit  jurors:  Stephen  French, 
Joseph  Ogee,  Abner  Cooper,  George  Love,  Joseph  O'Brien,  Elias  P.  Avery, 
Thomas  Dillon,  Jesse  Dillon,  Seth  Wilson,  John  Klein.  George  Klein.  Stephen 
Carle,  James  Walker.  At  the  June  session  these  names  were  added :  Horace 
Crocker,  Noah  Beacham,  Jr.,  Aquilla  Moffatt.  Henry  Neely,  William  Smith, 
Charles  Love,  John  Sharp,  William  ISarker,  John  Cooper,  David  Hukey.  Philip 
Latham.  It  was  at  this  term  of  the  commissioners'  court  that  Norman  Hyde, 
who  had  been  elected  probate  judge,  as  stated  heretofore,  resigned  his  office  as 
clerk,  to  take  up  the  duties  for  which  he  first  had  been  chosen.  For  services  ren- 
dered as  clerk  and  stationery  furnished  by  him  the  treasurer  was  ordered  to  pay 
him  $12.50  and  the  court  appointed  John  Dixon  as  his  successor.  At  this  same 
June  session  Rivers  Cormack  was  appointed  by  the  court  to  take  the  census  of 
the  county,  but  declined  to  (|ualify  and  at  a  subsequent  term  of  the  court  John  L. 
Bogardus  was  selected  for  the  work  desired.  Being  empowered  to  a]:)point 
justices  of  the  peace,  under  confirmation  of  the  governor,  Stephen  French,  Nathan 
Dillon,  John  Phillips  and  Jacob  Wilson  were  so  selected  immediately  after  the 

95 


96  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

organization  of  the  county  and  during  the  same  year  John  Kinzie,  of  Chicago, 
an<i  John  Dixon  and  John  L.  Bogardus,  of  Peoria,  were  appointed.  During  the 
July  session  of  the  court  other  recommendations  were  made  to  the  governor 
for  the  appointment  of  justices,  and  Fredericl<  A.  Countryman,  Elijah  Hyde 
and  Hiram  M.  Curry  were  appointed  constables.  For  the  same  office  Archibald 
Clyborne,  of  Chicago,  was  appointed.  But,  in  1827,  the  legislature  passed  an 
act  making  the  offices  of  justice  of  the  peace  and  constable  elective,  so  that  no 
further  appointments  to  them  were  made  by  the  commissioners'  court. 

At  the  December  term  the  sherift  made  his  report,  which  is  here  given,  as  it 
is  an  index  to  the  financial  condition  of  the  county  for  the  first  fractional  year 
of  its  existence,  and  the  attention  of  the  reader  is  called  to  the  fact  that  the 
"state  paper"  which  is  an  important  item  mentioned  was,  at  that  time,  worth 
about  tifty  cents  on  the  dollar : 

"Dr.     To  amount  of  taxes  as   returned  by  Assessor,  including 

twenty  dollars  received  from  Clerk  for  tavern  license.  .  .  .  $339-i5 

Cr.     By  amount  of  bad  debts $  29.90 

By  County  orders  and  percentage  on  same 105.04 

By  State  paper   46.50 

By  State  paper,  including  interest  thereon 21.60 

^y  $3345  i'l  specie,  being  equal  in  State  paper 66.90 

By  State  paper    . 19.21     $289.15 

At  this  term  the  county  was  divided  into  three  election  precincts.  "The  Chicago 
Precinct"'  to  contain  all  that  part  of  the  county  east  of  the  mouth  of  the  La  Page 
river  where  it  empties  its  waters  into  the  Aux  Plain ;  the  elections  to  be  held  at  the 
Agency  House  or  "Cobwel)  Hall."  and  Abner  (Alexander?)  W'olcott,  John  Kinzie 
and  J.  B.  Beaubien  to  be  judges  at  all  general  and  special  elections. 

"Peoria  Precinct"  to  contain  all  that  tract  of  country  north  and  west  of  the 
Illinois  river  and  (east  of  the  river — Ed.)  north  of  township  twenty-four  and 
west  of  the  third  principal  meridian,  the  elections  to  be  held  at  the  clerk's  office 
and  Stephen  French.  Abner  Eads  and  John  Phillips  to  be  judges. 

"Mackinaw  Precinct"  to  contain  the  residue  of  the  county,  the  elections  to  be 
held  at  the  house  of  Jesse  Dillon,  and  Isaac  Perkins,  William  Eads  and  Thomas 
Dillon  to  be  judges.  The  Mackinaw  precinct  was  the  smallest,  territorially,  of  the 
three,  doubtless  for  the  reason  it  had  a  greater  population. 

Another  election  precinct  was  added  to  the  others,  at  the  March,  1826,  session 
and  designated  as  the  "Fox  River  Precinct."  It  contained  all  that  district  of 
country  north  of  Senachwine  creek  and  the  Dupage  river,  and  it  was  ordered 
that  the  ]3lace  for  holding  elections  therein  should  be  at  the  house  of  Jesse  Walker, 
near  the  junction  of  the  Illinois  and  Fox  rivers,  and  that  Aaron  Hawley,  Henry 
Allen  and  James  Walker  be  the  judges.  Still  another  precinct  was  added,  at  the 
June  session,  known  as  the  "Fever  River  Precinct,"  which  comprised  the  counties 
"of  Warren  and  Mercer.  The  house  of  Dr.  Garland  was  chosen  as  the  place  for 
holding  elections.  At  this  term  Stephen  French  and  Isaac  Perkins  were  appointed 
overseers  of  the  poor  and  John  Hamlin  and  Archibald  Allen  "fence  viewers." 
whatever  that  may  have  been. 

FIRST  ELECTION   HELD  IN   CHIC.\GO 

.\t  the  September  term  of  the  commissioners'  court,  the  following  persons  were 
ordered  paid  certain  allow-ances  : 

To  John  Kinzie,  John  B.  Beaubien,  and  B.  Caldwell,  judges,  and  Archibald 
Clvborne,  clerk,  each  one  dollar ;  and  to  John  K.  Clark,  sixteen  dollars,  for  return- 
ing polls  of  the  election  held  at  Chicago  in  the  preceding  month  of  August  (1826), 
and  to  John  Kinzie  $1.50  for  a  ballot  box  used  at  said  election.  This  was  the 
first  election  ever  held  in  Chicago  and  a  much  more  peaceful  one  than  some  others 
of  later  vears. 


PEORIA'S   FIRST   FISH    .MAUKKT 


PEORIA'S  FIRST  PUBLIC  BATH  HOUSE— IDEA  OF  HOX.  THt)MAS  X.  COKMAX 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  97 

In  the  election  of  1826,  which  took  place  in  August,  the  candidates  for  county 
commissioners  were  Nathan  Dillon,  William  Holland,  John  Hamlin,  Stephen 
French,  Hiram  M.  Curry,  Rivers  Cormack  and  Gideon  Hawley.  The  successful 
ones  were  Nathan  Dillon,  William  Holland  and  John  Hamlin.  This  court  held 
a  term  in  December,  at  which  time  the  sheriff  made  his  second  report  as  follows: 

''To  amount  returned  by  Assessor's  books $    855.93 

DEBIT 

To  amount  in  State  Paper  equal  to 641.93 

To  balance  in  treasury,  December,  1825 54-i5^ 

To  overcharge  for  collecting  the  above 10.25 

To  order  on  State  Treasurer,   1825 100.00 

To  amount  of  tines  collected 16.50 

To  amount  of  tavern  licenses 3.00 

To  amount  of  sale  of  town  lots 21.00 

To  amount  of  State  Treasurer,   1826 168.75 

To  amount  collected  from  list  of  bad  debts,  1825 6.825^ 


CREDIT 

$I,022,43>4" 

"P>y  amount  of  delinquent  tax  list  for  which  the  Sheriff  is  allowed  until 
the   March    term    to    collect,    it    being    .State    Paper,    $416,695/2 

equal    to    $312.52 

P)y  amount  lost  by  collecting  at  Chicago  at  50  per  cent 27.05 

By  county  orders  amounting  to 358.65 

By  percentage  for  collecting  the  above  $64,405^,  on  which  commission 

has   been    paid 22.08 

By  percentage  on  above  orders 7-i73^ 


$728.07>4 

$294-35M" 

A  special  meeting  of  the  commissioners  was  held  in  March,  1827,  and  a  tax 
levy  was  made  of  one-half  of  one  per  cent.  George  Sharp  was  appointed  county 
treasurer  and  his  bond  fixed  at  $2,000.  If  Sharp  served  as  treasurer  it  could 
not  have  been  for  long,  as  the  records  show  that  at  the  April  term  John  Birket 
was  appointed  to  the  office,  but  having  declined  the  honor  (if  any),  Norman  Hyde 
was  chosen  in  his  stead.  .A  session  of  the  court  was  held  in  June.  A  new  elec- 
tion precinct  was  created  and  named  "La  Salle  Precinct."  It  embraced  all  that 
territory  north  of  the  south  line  of  township  10  north,  and  south  and  west  of 
Sand  river ;  and  Peoria  precinct  to  embrace  all  of  Peoria  county  proper,  south  of 
the  north  line  of  township  9  north.  It  also  appears  by  the  record  that  further 
difficulty  had  been  encountered  in  securing  a  suitable  person  for  the  office  of  county 
treasurer,  for  the  reason  that  Simeon  Crozier  had  been  appointed  to  succeed  Nor- 
man Hyde  and  his  bond  fixed  at  $2,000. 

As  has  been  heretofore  related  a  new  commissioners'  court  had  been  elected 
in  .\ugust,  1826,  but  at  the  June  term  of  1827  only  one  of  the  members  elected, 
John  Hamlin,  was  present.  His  associates  were  George  Sharp  and  Henry  Thomas, 
but  by  what  process  they  superseded  Nathan  Dillon  and  William  Holland,  the 
records  fail  to  denote.  At  the  October  term  it  was  ordered  that  state  paper  be 
received  by  the  county  treasurer  at  seventy-five  cents  on  the  dollar,  which  would 
be  an  indication  that  the  credit  of  the  state  had  improved  in  the  course  of  two 
years  at  least  twenty-five  per  cent. 

The  members  for  the  commissioners'  court  elected  in  August,  1828,  were  Isaac 

Egman,  George  Sharp  and  Francis  Thomas.     Orin  Hamlin,  sheriff.     A  session 
Vol.  1—7 


98  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

of  the  court  was  held  in  September  and  John  llaniUn  was  appointed  treasurer 
with  bond  at  $1,000.  At  this  term  "Henderson  precinct"  was  created,  embrac- 
ing Alercer  and  Warren  counties.  Francis  Thomas  did  not  ciualify  as  commis- 
sioner until  the  December  term. 

The  office  of  county  treasurer  seems  to  have  "gone  a  beggin'."  Several  ap- 
pointees to  the  office  had  declined  or  failed  to  (jualify.  The  last  one  to  decline 
the  office  was  John  Jlamlin,  at  the  May  session  of  the  year  1829,  and  in  his  place 
Henry  li.  Stillman  was  named,  with  bond  in  the  sum  of  $1,000.  Stillman  served 
almost  a  year  and  within  that  time  furnished  the  county  with  seals ;  one  for  the 
commissioners'  court,  one  for  the  probate  court  and  one  for  the  circuit  court,  and 
at  the  September  term  he  was  allowed  live  dollars  for  each.  Judge  McCulloch, 
in  his  history  of  Peoria  county  describes  the  seal  of  the  circuit  court  as  having 
been  "a  flat  piece  of  metal  like  a  coin;  a  piece  of  paper  would  be  laid  on  the 
face  of  it  and  rubbed  with  lead  to  give  the  impression  of  the  inscription,  and  this 
would  l)e  fastened  to  the  official  document  by  means  of  a  large  wafer." 

Once  again  the  personnel  of  the  county  treasurer's  office  was  changed.  At 
the  March  term  Isaac  Waters  was  appointed  county  treasurer,  assessor  and 
census  taker,  his  bond  being  placed  at  $1,000.  John  Dillon  resigned  as  clerk 
of  the  commissioners'  court  and  Stephen  Stillman  became  his  successor. 

Fox  River  precinct  was  reorganized  at  the  June  session,  its  new  boundaries 
being  fixed  as  follows :  Commencing  at  the  northeast  boundary  of  the  Military 
Land  and  including  the  country  north  and  west  of  the  Desplaines  river  as  far 
north  as  the  north  line  of  township  34  north,  extending  west  as  far  as  the  east 
line  of  Jo  Daviess  county. 

In  August,  1830,  George  Sharp.  John  Hamlin  and  Stephen  French  were 
elected  county  commissioners  and  at  the  September  term  of  the  court  were 
sworn  into  office.  An  interesting  item  recorded  at  that  term  was  the  allowance 
of  five  dollars  to  Elisha  Fulton  for  carrying  the  abstract  of  votes  to  Fulton 
county  and  one  dollar  to  Augustus  Langworthy,  for  the  use  of  his  horse'  upon 
which  Fulton  rode  to  his  destination.  The  minutes  of  the  December  session  show 
that  the  clerk  was  ordered  to  transmit  to  the  sheriff  of  Warren  county  the  tax 
books  maintained  for  that  county,  at  the  request  in  writing  of  the  county  com- 
missioners' court,  and  that  the  said  commissioners'  court  of  Warren  county  be 
requested  to  send  the  amount  of  sixteen  dollars,  due  Peoria  county  for  assessing 
the  property,  by  mail  as  soon  as  convenient.  This  item  would  indicate  that 
Warren  county  had  taken  control  of  its  own  atifairs  and  had  been  released  from 
the  jurisdiction  of  Peoria  county. 

At  the  April  (1831)  session  of  the  court.  Resolved  Cleveland  qualified  as 
county  commissioner  and  fulfilled  the  duties  of  George  Sharp,  whose  death  had 
made  a  vacancy.     Isaac  Waters  was  appointed  county  treasurer. 

By  this  time,  the  counties  of  Cook,  \\'arren,  Tazewell,  Putnam  and  other 
counties  which  had  remained  attached  to  Peoria  county  when  the  latter  was 
created,  became  separate  organizations  and  for  that  reason  the  Chicago.  Hen- 
derson and  Fox  River  precincts  became  extinct. 

Those  remaining  in  183 1  were  Peoria,  La  Salle  and  La  Marsh,  and  the 
judges  of  elections  were  thenceforth  only  appointed  for  those  precincts. 

In  December  a  session  of  the  court  was  held  and  John  Hamlin  having  re- 
signed as  a  member,  John  Coyle  was  qualified  as  his  successor,  Coyle  previously 
having  been  elected  to  the  office.  At  the  session  held  in  '^Nlarch,  1832,  Aquilla 
Wren  became  a  member  of  the  court,  Stephen  French  having  resigned. 

The  members  of  the  court  in  the  session  of  September,  1832,  were  Edward 
J.  Tones,  John  Coyle  and  Aquilla  Wren.  At  this  term  Isaac  Waters  was  allowed 
$1.50  for  a  record  book  purchased  for  the  court,  and  seven  dollars  for  attending 
the  canvass  of  votes  for  senator  and  representative  at  Hennepin.  Jesse  W'alker 
was  allowed  sixteen  dollars  for  bringing  the  election  returns  from   Chicago  in 

1830. 

Seth  Fulton  was  allowed  one  dollar,  at  the  ]\Iarch  term  of  1833,  for  the  use 


I 


HISTORY  UF  i'EORIA  COUNTY  99 

of  a  room  in  which  the  presidential  election  had  been  held  the  previous  year. 
Orin  Hamlin,  Alva  and  Aijuilla  Moffatt  were  granted  leave  to  build  a  mill  dam 
in  Limestone  township,  on  section  13,  long  known  as  the  Monroe  mill.  For  this 
session  of  the  court  Stephen  Stillman  was  allowed  five  dollars  for  the  use  of  a 
room.  Before  the  e.xpiration  of  the  year  Asahel  Hale  was  appointed  county 
treasurer  and  reappointed  in  1834  and  1835.  F'rom  the  fact  that  his  bond  was 
fi.xed  at  $10,000  under  the  last  two  appointments,  the  reader  may  gather  that 
the  affairs  of  the  county  were  "looking  up"  and  the  responsibilities  of  the  office 
were  "assuring  proportions."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  sum  of  $5,560.37  passed 
through  the  treasurer's  hands  in  1835,  the  largest  amount  the  treasurer  had 
ever  handled  in  his  official  capacity.  This  can  be  accounted  for  by  the  generous 
sale  of  town  lots,  going  on  at  that  period  and  which  had  been  delayed  throughout 
the  previous  years,  by  reason  of  the  difficulty  the  county  experienced  in  securing 
a  patent  for  the  land  from  the  government  and  perfecting  its  title  thereto. 

At  the  April  session  of  court,  in  the  year  1835,  the  infirmities  of  years  and 
other  disabilities  of  Isaac  Waters  had  become  so  apparent  that  he  was  removed 
from  the  office  of  clerk  of  the  county  commissioners'  court  and  William  .Mitchell 
was  appointed  his  successor.  Waters  had  been  one  of  the  faithful  pioneer  ser- 
vants of  the  new  county  of  F^eoria  and  had  served  as  clerk  five  continuous  years. 
By  reason  of  his  infirmities  of  body  and  brain  it  also  became  necessary  to  ap- 
point in  his  stead  a  clerk  of  the  circuit  court.  This  was  accom]jlishecl  by  the 
selection  of  Lewis  Bigelow,  for  the  position.  Judge  Thomas  Ford,  afterwards 
governor  of  the  state,  making  the  appointment,  July  13,  1835. 

The  court  for  the  September  term,  of  the  year  1834,  was  made  up  of  Andrew 
Thorpe,  John  Coyle  and  Orin  Hamlin,  and  continued  in  office  until  August, 
1836,  when  .\quilla  Wren,  William  J.  Phelps  and  Samuel  T.  McKean  were 
elected.  These  latter  were  succeeded,  in  .August.  1838,  by  Smith  Frye,  Clark 
D.  Powell  and  Moses  Harlan.  From  this  time  on  the  tenure  of  the  office  was 
three  years,  one  member  being  elected  each  year.  Those  elected  to  the  office 
under  the  new  law  were:  Clark  D.  Powell,  August,  1839;  W'illiam  Hale,  January 
10,  1840,  to  fill  the  vacancy  made  by  the  election  of  Moses  Harlan  to  the  legis- 
lature; Nathaniel  Chapin,  August,  1840;  Smith  Frye,  August,  1841 ;  Thomas  P. 
Smith  and  Clementius  Ewalt,  August,  1842,  one  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by 
the  election  of  Smith  Frye  to  the  office  of  sherifif ;  William  Dawson,  1843; 
Clementius  Ewalt,  1844;  Thomas  P.  Smith,  1845;  Thomas  Alooney,  1846; 
James  L.  Riggs.  1847;  Joseph  Ladd,  1848.  On  the  23d  day  of  November,  1849, 
the  last  term  of  the  coimty  commissioners'  court  was  held. 

By  the  year  1837  the  population  had  been  greatly  increased,  so  much  so  that 
the  necessity  for  a  larger  number  of  precincts  was  self  evident.  Therefore,  at 
the  June  term  of  the  commissioners'  court  the  county  was  laid  off  into  thirteen 
precincts,  namely: 

No.  I  to  consist  of  fractional  township  11  north,  range  9  east  (now  Chilli- 
cothe)  known  as  Senachwine  precinct,  the  election  to  be  held  at  the  house  of 
William  Dunlap  in  Chillicothe. 

No.  2.  Northampton,  to  consist  of  township  11  north,  range  8  east  (now 
Hallock),  the  elections  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  Reuben  B.  Hamlin. 

No.  3.  Prince's  Grove,  to  consist  of  townships  1 1  north,  range  6  east,  and 
II  north,  range  7  east  (now  Princeville  and  .\kron).  the  elections  to  be  held  at 
the  schoolhouse  at   Prince's  Grove. 

No.  4.  Rochester,  to  consist  of  townshi])  11  north,  range  5  east  (now 
Millbrook),  the  elections  to  be  held  at  the  schoolhouse  in  Rochester. 

No.  5.  Charleston,  to  consist  of  township  10  north,  range  5  east  and  east 
one-half  (properly  west  one-half)  of  township  10  north,  range  6  east  (that  is 
to  say  all  of  l>rimfield  and  the  west  half  of  Jubilee),  the  election  to  be  held  at 
the  house  of  Daniel  lielcher  in  Charleston  (now  Brimfield). 

No.  6.  La  Grange,  to  consist  of  sections  No.  i  to  24  in  each  of  the  town- 
ships No.  9  north,  range  6  east,  and  9  north,  range  7  east,  the  east  half  of  town- 


100  HISTORY  OI'   PEORIA  COUNTY 

ship  lO  north,  range  6  east,  and  all  of  township  lo  north,  range  7  east  (.that  is 
to  say  the  north  two-thirds  of  townships  Rosefield  and  Kickapoo,  the  east  half 
of  Jubilee,  and  all  of  Radnor),  the  elections  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  Lewis 
Coolidge. 

No.  7.  La  Salle,  to  consist  of  townships  10  north,  range  8  east,  and  10 
north,  range  9  east  (all  of  Medina  and  Rome),  the  elections  to  be  held  at  the 
house  of  Jefferson  Taliafero. 

No.  8.  Peoria,  to  consist  of  sections  i  to  4,  9  to  12,  13  to  16,  21  to  24,  25  to 
28,  33  to  36  in  township  8  north,  range  7  east ;  sections  25  to  28  and  32  to  36  in 
township  9  north,  range  7  east,  and  all  of   fractional  township  8  north,  range 

8  east  (that  is  to  say,  the  east  two-thirds  of  Limestone  and  eight  sections  ad- 
joining the  same  in  the  southeast  corner  of  Kickapoo,  and  all  of  Peoria  and 
Richwoods),  the  elections  to  be  held  at  the  court  house. 

No.  9.  ^liddle,  to  consist  of  township  8  north,  range  6  east ;  sections  25  to 
36  in  township  9  north,  range  6  east;  sections  5  to  8,  17  to  20,  29  to  32  in  town- 
ship 8  north,  range  7  east ;  and  sections  29  to  32  in  township  9,  range  7  east 
(that  is  to  say  all  of  Logan,  the  south  one-third  of  Rosefield,  the  west  one-third 
of  Limestone  and  four  sections  in  the  southwest  corner  of  Kickapoo),  the  elec- 
tions to  be  held  at  the  house  of  Thomas  P.  Smith,  at  Smithville. 

No.  10.  Harkness,  to  consist  of  township  9  north,  range  5  east  (Elmwood), 
the  elections  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  John  Ewalt. 

No.  II.  Copperas,  to  consist  of  township  8  north,  range  5  east  (Trivoli), 
the  elections  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  Joseph  Berry. 

No.  12.  LaMarsh,  to  consist  of  township  7  north,  range  6  east,  and  6  north, 
range  6  east  (Timber),  the  elections  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  William  Duffield. 

No.  13.  Lafayette,  to  consist  of  township  7  north,  range  7  east  (Mollis), 
the  elections  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  Francis  Johnson. 

At  the  March  term,  1840,  township  10  north,  range  7  east  (Radnor)  was 
constituted  an  election  precinct  to  be  called  Benton,  the  elections  to  be  held  at 
the  house  of   Alva   Dunlap. 

At  the  same  term  township  9  north,  range  8  east  (Richwoods)  was  consti- 
tuted an  election  precinct  by  the  name  of  Jackson,  the  elections  to  be  held  at 
the  house  of  John  Clifton. 

At  the  September  term,  1841,  the  name  of  LaMarsh  precinct  was  changed  to 
Lancaster    precinct. 

At  the  March  term,   1842,  sections  31  and  ^2  in  township    11    north,  range 

9  east  all  of  fractional  10  north,  range  9  east;  sections  i,  2,  11  and  12,  13,  14, 
23,  24,  25,  26  and  33  in  township  10  north,  range  8  east  (that  is  to  say,  the  south 
tier  of  Chillicothe,  all  of  Rome  and  one-third  of  I\Iedina)  were  formed  into  a 
precinct  called  Rome,  but  at  the  June  term,  1842,  sections  31  and  32,  township 
II  north,  range  9  east,  were  taken  from  Rome  and  re-attached  to  Senaclnvine. 
At  the  June  term,  1843,  sections  25  to  36  in  township  9  north,  range  7  east  and 
sections  i  to  17,  20  to  30  and  34  to  36,  in  township  8  north,  range  7  east  (that 
is  to  say,  the  south  one-third  of  Kickapoo  and  all  of  Limestone,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  five  sections  in  the  southwest  corner)  were  constituted  a  precinct  to  be 
known  as  the  Limestone  precinct,  the  elections  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  James 
Jones. 

This  was  the  condition  of  the  county  when  S.  De  Witt  Drown  published 
his  map  of  the  same  in  1844.  Subsequently  at  the  June  term,  1847,  section  32, 
8  north,  7  east,  was  taken  from  the  middle  and  added"  to  Limestone  precinct. 

At  the  June  term,  1848,  the  Rome  and  La  Salle  precincts  were  vacated  and 
a  new  precinct  called  La  Salle  was  constituted  out  of  the  following  territory : 
Sections  i.  2,  3,  east  half  of  4,  east  half  of  9,  all  of  10  to  15,  the  east  half  of 
16,  east  half  of  21,  all  of  22  to  27,  east  half  of  28,  east  half  of  33,  all  of  34  and 
35,  in  township  10  north,  range  8  east,  and  all  of  fractional  township  10  north, 
range  9  east  (that  is  to  say,  all  of  Medina  east  of  a  line  running  through  the 
center  of  sections  4,  9,    16,  21,  28  and  33,  and  all  of  Rome),  the  elections  to 


HISTORY  UF  PEURJA  COUNTY  101 

Ije  held  at  the  house  of  Thomas  ^Mooney.  subse(|uentlv  in  obedience  to  a  vote 
of  the  people  at  the  August  election,  changed  to  the  house  of  Thomas  B.  Reed. 
In  1849  this  section  was  visited  by  the  scourge  of  cholera  and  many  were 
the  deaths  that  followed  in  its  trail.  The  stricken  became  so  numerous  and 
the  disease  was  so  deadly  that  few  of  those  left  untouched  by  its  ravaging 
hand  had  the  temerity  to  nurse  the  sick  and  dying.  Hence  it  was  that  the 
Peoria  board  of  health  was  forced  to  find  some  place  to  house  and  segregate 
cholera  patients  and,  on  July  11  of  the  year  above  mentioned,  the  county  com- 
missioners' court  was  prevailed  upon  to  grant  the  use  of  the  three  upper  rooms 
in  the  court  house  for  hospital  purposes.  In  addition,  the  county  furnished  beds 
and  necessary  medicines  and  delicacies  for  both  town  and  county  patients.  At 
a  special  term  of  the  court  held  in  September,  Alva  .Mofifatt  was  given  the 
contract  to  furnish  coal  for  the  court  house  and  jail  at  five  cents  a  bushel,  and 
William  Compher  was  authorized  to  procure  three  hundred  dollars  to  be  ex- 
pended in  Pittsburg  for  iron  used  for  the  roof  of  the  county  jail.  At  this  time 
William  Alitchell  was  clerk,  but  before  the  next  session  of  the  court,  held  in 
November  following,  he  fell  a  victim  of  cholera.  Ralph  Hamlin  was  appointed 
his  successor  and,  on  the  23d  day  of  November,  1849,  the  last  term  of  the  com- 
missioners" court  was  held,  it  ceasing  to  e.xist,  a  county  court  having  been  jjrovided 
for  by  law. 

COUNTY  COURT 

.At  the  election  held  in  the  fall  of  1849,  Thomas  P)ryant  was  elected  county 
judge,  who  superseded  the  county  commissioners'  court  in  the  transaction  of 
the  county's  business.  The  first  term  of  the  county  court  was  held  on  the  3d 
day  of  December,  1849,  but  in  the  spring  of  1850,  a  board  of  supervisors  had 
been  elected,  which  took  full  management  of  the  county's  afTairs  on  the  9th  of 
July  following.  The  (|uestion  of  adopting  the  "township  system"  of  govern- 
ment had  been  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  electors  in  the  fall  of  1849,  which 
resulted  in  a  majority  vote  of  2,128  being  cast  in  its  favor.  There  were  only 
nineteen  votes  in  the  negative.  David  Sanborn,  George  Holmes  and  Mark  Aiken 
were  appointed  commissioners  to  divide  the  county  into  townships  and  the  first 
election  of  supervisors  was  held  in  April,  1830.  The  newly  elected  body  held 
its  first  meeting  on  the  8th  day  of  April,  1850,  at  which  time  the  twelve  town- 
ships then  organized  were  represented  by  the   following  named  persons: 

Townships  Supervisors 

Hollis Stephen   Wheeler 

Rosefield John  Combs 

Orange Samuel   Dimon 

Rich  woods Josiah   Fulton 

Chillicothe Charles  S.  Struther 

Benton Jonathan    1  Jrassfield 

Akron Benjamin   Slane 

Limestone Isaac    Brown 

Princeville L.  B.  Corn  well 

Jubilee William    W.    Church 

■Millbrook Clark  W.  Stanton 

Trivoli David  R.  Gregory 

Samuel  Dimon  was  elected  by  liis  fellow  members  chairman  of  the  board, 
and  Charles  Killette  was  clerk. 

In  the  June  (1850)  meeting  of  the  board  Orange  township  was  given  the 
name  of  Kickapoo,  Benton  was  changed  to  Fremont  and  later  the  name  was 
discarded  for  that  of  Radnor,  in  honor  of  one  of  the  pioneers  of  that  region. 

The  last  session  of  the  county  commissioners'  court  was  a  special  one,  which 


102  IIIS'IORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

lasted  three  days  and  adjourned  on  Friday,  November  23,  1849.  The  first  term 
of  the  county  court  was  held  December  3,  1849,  ^nd  the  last  term  on  the  4th 
day  of  June.  1850. 

THE    PROBATE    COURT 

In  the  legislative  act  creating  the  county  of  Peoria,  provision  was  made  for 
the  election  of  a  probate  judge  for  the  county,  whose  tenure  of  office  should  be 
during  good  behavior.  The  probate  courts  were  first  established  by  law  Feb- 
ruary 10,  1821,  and  their  jurisdiction  was  similar  to  that  of  the  probate  courts 
of  the  present  day,  although  many  changes  had  been  made  as  the  years  went  by. 
They  were  courts  of  record  and  the  judge  also  acted  as  his  own  clerk.  Norman 
Hyde  was  the  first  incumbent  of  this  office  and  was  elected  within  a  day  or 
two  after  the  passage  of  the  bill  organizing  the  county.  Governor  Edward 
Coles  issued  to  him  his  commission  on  the  i8th  day  of  January,  1825,  but  he 
did  not  qualify  until  the  4th  day  of  June  following,  John  Di.xon,  clerk  of  the 
circuit  court  administering  the  oath  of  office.  In  the  meantime,  Air.  Hyde  had 
been  appointed  clerk  of  the  commissioners'  court  and  performed  the  duties 
of  that  office  until  his  induction  into  the  office  of  probate  judge.  On  the  6th 
of  June,  1825,  Judge  Hyde  opened  his  court,  but  there  being  no  matters  for 
settlement,  an  adjournment  was  taken  until  the  next  term,  and  so  on  for  the 
next  four  terms  the  court  was  without  anything  to  do  and  at  once  adjourned 
for  that  reason.  It  was  not  until  the  30th  day  of  September,  1825,  that  the 
first  estate  of  a  deceased  person  was  entered  in  the  court.  On  that  day  John 
P.arker  took  out  letters  of  administration  upon  the  estate  of  John  O'Brien,  giv- 
ing bond  in  the  sum  of  S800,  with  John  L.  I'.ogardus  and  Daniel  Like  as  securi- 
ties. The  court  then  adjourned,  that  having  been  all  the  business  before  it. 
Nothing  came  up  before  the  court  until  December  5th,  when  the  will  of  Isaac 
Remsden,  Jr.,  made  in  Muskingum  county,  Ohio,  dated  May  13,  1825,  was 
probated.  The  witnesses  to  the  will  were  Thomas  Bell  and  Gilbert  Crandall. 
Letters  of  administration  were  issued  to  Jacob  Crooks. 

No  business  was  brought  before  the  court  until  April  11,  1826,  several  ad- 
journments having  been  taken  in  the  meantime.  On  this  day  Isaac  Perkins  was 
appointed  administrator  of  the  estate  of  Elza  Bethard.  deceased.  However, 
at  the  October  term.  Handy  Bethard  proved  himself  to  be  the  next  of  kin  and 
the  letters  of  administration  granted  Perkins  were  revoked  and  Bethard  was 
appointed  in  his  stead. 

WHEREIN    CHICAGO  FIGURES 

Alexander  Wolcott  appeared  at  the  .A.pril  (1826)  term  of  court  and  made 
proof  of  the  death  of  John  Crafts  of  Chicago,  a  prominent  member  of  the 
American  Fur  Company.  Upon  filing  a  bond  of  $3,000,  Wolcott  was  issued 
letters  testamentary,  having  for  his  sureties  John  Kinzie,  of  Chicago,  and  John 
Latham.  On  the  20th  day  of  November,  1826,  Wolcott  submitted  his  appraise- 
ment and  sale  bills  of  the  estate,  which  were  recorded.  The  appraisers  were 
John  Kinzie  and  "Billy"  Caldwell,  both  of  Chicago.  On  this  day  also  came 
Jacob  Crooks,  administrator  of  the  estate  of  Isaac  Remsden  and  filed  his  ap- 
praisement of  the  estate,  made  by  Alexander  McNaughton,  John  Griffith  and 
Hugh  Montgomery,  and  sworn  to  before  'Squire  John  Dillon. 

On  the  10th  day  of  December.  John  P>arker,  as  executor  of  the  estate  of 
Joseph  O'Brien,  filed  his  appraisement  of  property  of  the  deceased,  which  had 
been  sworn  to  before  Stephen  French,  justice  of  the  peace.  On  the  next  day 
Margaret  Latham  and  Richard  Latham,  her  son,  were  appointed  administrators 
of  the  estate  of  James  Latham  (the  same  who  claimed  title  to  part  of  the  town 
site  of  Peoria)  "deceased,  Benjamin  Briggs.  Grant  Blackwell  and  John  Hamlin 
becoming  their  sureties  on  a  bond  of  $2,000. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  103 

The  first  final  settlement  of  an  estate  in  Peoria  county  was  that  of  Joseph 
O'Brien,  John  Barker,  on  the  i6th  day  of  April,  1826,  having  filed  his  final 
account,  which  showed  a  balance  for  distribution  among  the  heirs  of  $416.31^. 

The  appraisement  of  the  property  of  James  Latham  was  made  by  Peter  G. 
Cowerdin,  Charles  Finley  and  Grant  Blackwell,  and  an  additional  appraise- 
ment was  made  by  John  Hamlin,  John  Barker  and  Henry  Neely,  and  sworn 
to  before  John  L.  Bogardus,  of  Peoria.  The  papers  showed  that  after  the 
deduction  of  expenses  a  balance  of  $968.21  remained.  This  appraisement  was 
filed  b\'  Richard  Latham,  April  19,  1827.  On  the  8th  day  of  January,  1828, 
Richard  Latham  filed  the  sale  bill  of  James  Latham's  property  at  Elkhart 
Grove,  Sangamon  county,  amounting  to  $722.46,  of  which  the  widow's  award 
was  $301.75. 

Alexander  Wolcott,  administrator,  closed  up  the  afifairs  of  the  estate  of 
John  Crafts,  in  which,  among  other  items,  he  charged  himself  with  $2,500, 
received  from  the  American  Fur  Company  in  New  York,  Craft's  share  of 
profits  on  the  Chicago  assets  for  1825-6,  according  to  the  award  of  Thomas 
Addis  Emmet,  a  noted  lawyer  of  New  York  city,  arbiter  in  the  matter.  After 
crediting  himself  with  an  item  of  $784,  being  the  amount  of  an  account  of  the 
American  Fur  Company  against  the  estate,  one  of  John  Kinzie's  for  $87.88 
and  one  of  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard  for  $22,  a  Ijalance  was  shown  in  favor  of  the 
heirs  in  the  sum  of  $1,454.25.  On  the  same  day  Wolcott  made  proof  of  the 
death  of  John  Kinzie,  of  Chicago,  and  was  granted  letters  testamentary  on 
his  estate,  the  bond  being  placed  at  $3,000,  with  John  Beaubien  and  James 
Kinzie  as  sureties.  On  the  I'gth  day  of  May,  W'olcott  filed  a  schedule  of  the 
property  of  John  Kinzie,  made  at  Chicago,  on  April  22d,  by  Alexander  Doyle 
and  J.  P..  Beaubien  and  acknowledged  by  R.  A.  Kinzie,  clerk.  The  property 
amounted  to  $805.40,  plus  a  sale  bill  amounting  to  $254.87^/2. 

josiah  Fulton  applied  for  letters  of  administration  upon  the  estate  of  his 
brother,  Samuel  Fulton,  late  sheriff  of  Peoria  county,  December  4,  1829.  He 
was  appointed  administrator  and  the  bond  was  fixed  at  $1,000.  An  appraise- 
ment was  made  of  the  estate  by  H.  B.  Stillnian  and  Norman  Hyde  and  filed 
with   the  court. 

On  the  17th  day  of  December,  1830,  John  B.  Beatibien  obtained  letters  of 
administration  upon  the  estate  of  Francis  La  Frambois,  of  Chicago.  John 
Hamlin  and  David  Hunter  were  his  sureties  on  a  bond  of  $3,000.  On  the  same 
day,  David  Hunter  proved  the  death  of  Alexander  Wolcott  and  was  appointed 
administrator,  dcbonis  iioii  of  the  estate  of  John  Kinzie,  late  of  Chicago.  His 
bond  was  $3,000  and  with  him  signed  John  B.  Beaubien  and  John  Hamlin. 
By  this  time  the  reader  must  have  gathered  the  idea  that  the  two  men  just 
mentioned  were  professional  bondsmen. 

Francis  Sharp,  on  the  27th  day  of  January,  183 1,  proved  the  death  of  his 
father,  George  Sharp,  a  member  of  the  county  commissioners'  court.  Letters 
of  administration  were  granted  him  and  Elizabeth  Sharp,  the  widow  of  the 
deceased,  with  bond  of  $4,000.  The  sureties  were  John  Hamlin  and  Alexander 
Caldwell.  The  inventory  and  sale  bill  of  the  estate  was  filed  in  May,  which 
showed  a  personal  estate  amounting  to  $524.06^4-  On  the  same  day  David 
Hunter,  administrator  of  the  estate  of  John  Kinzie,  filed  a  report,  showing  he 
had  received  from  various  sources  the  sum  of  $740.25  due  the  estate.  The 
report  also  showed  that  the  sum  of  $2,190.12  was  due  the  estate  from  the 
American  Fur  Company,  with  interest  at  five  per  cent  from  May  12,  1828. 

The  David  Hunter  here  mentioned  was  a  man  of  no  ordinary  distinction. 
He  was  an  officer  in  the  regular  army  and  was  for  some  time  in  command  of 
Fort  Dearborn.  During  the  Civil  war  he  became  one  of  the  leaders  among 
the  many  brave  commanders  in  the  army  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  major-general. 

The  last  entry  made  by  Judge  Norman  Hyde  was  the  notation  on  his  record 
of  the  adjournment  of  court  February  6,  1832,  as  his  death  occurred  soon 
thereafter.     His  successor,   in   the   person   of  Andrew   M.   Hunt,   was   commis- 


104  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

sioned  as  judge  of  the  probate  court,  by  Governor  John  Reynolds,  November 
lO,  1832,  and  on  the  15th  day  of  November  took  his  seat  on  the  bench.  On  the 
2ist  day  of  November  John  Hamlin  and  Simon  Reed  filed  the  will  of  Norman 
Hyde,  in  which  John  Hamlin,  Simon  Reed  and  Andrew  M.  Hunt  were  named 
as  executors.  Only  the  first  two  could  qualify,  as  the  latter  had  become  the 
judge  of  the  court  before  whom  the  estate  must  be  settled. 

The  office  of  probate  judge  was  abolished  by  act  of  the  legislature  March 
4,  1837.  Ikit  an  additional  justice  of  the  peace,  styled  probate  justice  of  the 
peace,  was  elected  in  August  of  that  year,  whose  jurisdiction  was  the  same  as 
other  justices,  in  addition  to  which  he  was  clothed  with  authority  and  minis- 
terial powers  in  probate  matters  and  jurisdiction  when  executors  or  adminis- 
trators were  parties  to  a  suit  to  the  amount  of  $1,000;  also  the  same  judicial 
powers  of  a  probate  judge.  However,  all  his  acts  were  subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  circuit  court.  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  Judge  Andrew  M.  Hunt's 
ofiicial  career  was  a  short  one.  At  the  election  held  in  August,  1837,  George 
B.  Parker  was  elected  the  first  probate  justice  of  the  peace.  In  1839  he  was 
succeeded  by  Dr.  Edward  Dickinson,  who  served  until  1843,  when  William  H. 
Fessenden  was  elected.  Thomas  Bryant  followed  Fessenden  in  1847  ^^'^  re- 
tained the  office  until  November  29,  1849,  when  the  office  was  abolished. 


CHAPTER  X\- 

SELECTION    OF    A    SITE    EOR    AND   ERECTION    OF    A    COURT    HOUSE CIRCUIT    COURT — ■ 

JAILS THE  FIRST    COURT    HOUSE,    SO-CALLED,    A   LOG   CABIN THE   FIRST   BUILD- 
ING ERECTED  BY  THE  COUNTY   A   BRICK   STRUCTURE THE  SECOND   COURT    HOUSE 

COUNTY    INFIRMARY — HOME     FOR    THE    INSANE — COUNTY    OFFICERS. 

One  of  the  first  orders  entered  in  the  minute  book  of  the  county  commis- 
sioners' court,  at  its  tirst  term,  was  for  the  selection  of  a  site  and  the  erection 
thereon  of  a  court  house,  the  same  to  be  twenty  feet  square  and  nine  feet  from 
the  floor  to  the  joists,  with  a  good  plank  or  puncheon  floor;  also  a  clerk's  office 
fourteen  feet  square,  with  a  good  puncheon  floor,  both  to  be  of  good  materials 
and  finished  in  a  workmanlike  manner — the  clerk's  office  to  be  ready  for  occu- 
pancy by  the  20th  day  of  April,  and  the  court  house  on  the  25th  day  of  May. 
Four  (lays  later  the  order  for  these  buildings  was  rescinded. 

The  first  court  house,  or  rather,  the  first  meeting  place  of  the  county  com- 
missioners, was  at  the  house  of  Joseph  Ogee,  below  the  ferry  and  some  dis- 
tance from  the  tract  of  land  designated  by  the  legislature  for  the  county  seat, 
and  for  the  use  of  the  house  Ogee  was  allowed  one  dollar.  This  place  had 
also  been  chosen  in  which  to  hold  the  circuit  court,  and  the  records  show  that 
the  November  term  of  the  circuit  court  was  held  at  the  Ogee  home  and  the 
May  term  of  the  commissioners'  court  in  1826,  for  the  use  of  which  Ogee  was 
allowed  three  dollars.  The  next  term  of  the  circuit  court  was  held  at  the 
house  of  Louis  Beeson,  who  at  the  December  term,  was  allowed  for  the  use  of 
his  house  the  sum  of  $16.  Joseph  Ogee  was  a  half-breed,  with  a  strain  of 
French  blood.  His  wife  was  a  Pottawatomie.  He  was  in  the  employ  of  the 
American  Fur  Company,  as  was  also  Beeson.  The  Ogee  house  was  reputed 
to  have  been  the  best  in  Peoria  at  the  time  of  which  we  write,  being  con- 
structed of  hewn  logs,  and  this  probably  accounts  for  his  place  being  chosen  by 
the  courts  for  their  meetings.  It  is  surmised  that  the  Beeson  house  was  the 
same  as  that  mentioned  as  Ogee,  for  the  latter  had  moved  from  the  settle- 
ment soon  after  the  May  (1826)  term  of  the  commissioners'  court.  In  Drown's 
Historical  \"iew  of  Peoria,  published  in  1844,  a  writer,  presumably  John  Ham- 
lin, says  the  house  in  which  the  court  was  held  in  November,  1826,  was  "a  log 
building  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  in  whicli  jurors  slept  on  their  blankets  on 
the  floor." 

THE    CIRCUIT    COURT 

In  the  session  of  the  legislature  which  convened  in  December,  1824,  the 
judiciary  of  the  state  was  reorganized  and  divided  into  five  judicial  circuits 
and  in  the  same  act  five  circuit  judgeships  were  created.  Prior  to  this,  members 
of  the  supreme  court  of  the  state  held  the  circuit  courts.  The  first  circuit  was 
composed  of  the  counties  of  Sangamon,  Pike,  Fulton,  Morgan,  Greene  and 
Montgomery,  and  the  judge  for  this  district,  as  for  the  others,  was  elected  by 
the  general  assembly,  their  commissions  being  dated  on  the  19th  day  of  Janu- 
ary, 1S25.  John  Sawyer  was  elected  to  the  first  circuit,  to  which  Peoria  county 
upon  its  organization,  was  attached.     The  first  term  of  the  circuit  court  in  the 

105 


106  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

first  district  convened  on  the  14th  day  of  November,  1825,  with  John  York 
Sawyer,  judge:  John  Dixon,  clerk;  Samuel  Fulton,  sherit? ;  James  Turney, 
attorney  general.  Judge  Sawyer  was  a  large  man,  physically,  and  of  an  impos- 
ing appearance.  He  was  a  terror  to  evil-doers  and  severe  upon  criminals.  An 
incident  related  of  him  in  this  connection  is  that  of  a  man  who  had  lieen  con- 
victed of  petty  larceny,  the  penalty  for  which  was  a  whipping  on  the  Ijare  back, 
the  stripes  not  to  exceed  forty.  The  attorney  for  the  defendant  had  made  a 
motion  for  a  new  trial,  but  before  the  question  was  argued  the  attorney's  atten- 
tion was  called  temporarily  to  some  other  matter  and  in  his  absence  the  judge 
ordered  the  ofifender  to  be  punished  according  to  law  by  being  tied  to  a  tree 
near  the  court  house.  It  is  said  that  Judge  Sawyer  witnessed  the  whipping 
from  his  seat  on  the  bench,  counting  the  stripes  as  they  were  laid  on.  When  the 
job  was  finished,  and  not  until  then,  the  defendant's  attorney  appeared  and  he 
was  informed  by  the  judge  that  he  could  have  a  new  trial  if  he  wished;  but  the 
defendant  was  averse  to  anything  of  the  kind,  having  protested  that  he  had  had 
trials  enough. 

It  will  have  been  seen  that  the  county  commissioners'  court  at  its  April 
terrn  in  1825  had  ordered  the  sheriff  to  summon  grand  and  petit  jurors  selected 
at  the  first  term  of  the  court  to  appear  on  the  second  Monday  in  June,  but 
there  is  no  record  of  any  court  having  been  held  on  that  date  and  it  is  therefore 
presumed  that  the  first  term  was  convened  in  the  month  of  November.  Only 
sixteen  of  the  twenty-four  grand  jurors  selected,  appeared,  namely:  John  Ham- 
lin, Stephen  French,  Thomas  Dillon,  Henry  Thomas,  George  Harlan,  Isaac 
Waters,  Augustus  Langworthy,  George  Sharp,  Seth  Wilson,  John  Klein,  George 
Klein,  Isaac  Perkins,  John  Phillips  and  ^lajor  Donaho.  The  grand  jury  re- 
turned five  indictments,  one  of  which  was  for  murder,  two  for  assault  and  two 
for  minor  offenses. 

The  murder  case  referred  to  brought  to  Peoria  nearly  all  of  the  settlers 
of  this  locality.  The  prisoner  at  the  bar  was  an  Indian  named  Nomaque,  who 
was  charged  with  the  killing  of  a  Frenchman  by  the  name  of  Pierre  Landre. 
Jacques  Alette  and  Joseph  Ogee  were  appointed  interpreters.  William  S.  Ham- 
ilton ^vas  counsel  for  the  defendant  but  great  difficulty  was  encountered  in 
obtaining  a  jury.  The  following  named  persons,  however,  were  empaneled: 
Austin  Crocker,  Allen  S.  Daugherty,  Alexander  AIcNaughton,  Nathan  Dillon, 
Henry  Neely,  William  Woodrow,  Peter  Dumont,  Aaron  Reed,  Abram  Galentine. 
Josiah  Fulton,  Cornelius  Doty  and  David  Matthews.  This  jury  convicted 
Nomaque,  and  Hamilton  carried  the  case  to  the  supreme  court,  where  he  ob- 
tained a  reversal  of  the  judgment,  but  the  Indian  was  held  as  a  prisoner  until 
the  next  grand  Jury  should  pass  upon  the  case.  The  other  indictments  found 
at  this  term  were  against  Joseph  Ogee  and  Jacob  Frank  for  an  affray ;  Levi 
Ellis  and  Lyman  Leonard  charged  with  a  like  offense ;  Abner  Cooper  for  as- 
sault and  battery ;  and  John  Griffin,  charged  also  with  assault  and  battery. 
During  this  term  William  S.  Hamilton  was  twice  fined  by  the  court  for  con- 
tempt. At  this  term  Judge  York  issued  peremptory  writs  to  compel  the  ap- 
pearance of  Louis  Beeson,  Pierre  Chevilire,  Francis  Borbonnie,  Sr.,  Francis 
Borbonnie.  Jr.,  and  Antoine  Borbon,  who  had  failed  to  recognize  the  original 
summons  for  their  appearances  as  witnesses  in  the  Nomaque  case. 

The  duration  of  the  first  term  of  court  was  four  days  and  no  other  term 
was  held  until  in  October,  1826,  when  Judge  'S'ork  again  sat  upon  the  bench. 
The  most  important  case  to  be  tried  was  that  of  Nomaque,  the  Indian,  against 
whom  a  second  indictment  had  been  found.  Of  this  second  trial  and  its  results 
an  interesting  description  is  given  by  one  of  the  grand  jurors  in  Drown's  direc- 
tory for   1844: 

"In  the  year  1826,  I  lived  three  miles  from  Mackinaw  river,  on  the  Peoria 
and  Springfield  road,  in  what  is  now  Tazewell  county,  but  then  attached  to 
Peoria,  and  being  that  year  twenty-one  years  old,  I  was  summoned  upon  the 
grand   jury.     There  were  not  then  enough  adults   in   Peoria  county   proper   to 


i'i;(isi'i;(  I'  \.\i.i.i-.'i     i'i;iisi'i:( 'I'  iii-;i(;iirs 


HISTORY  OI"  i'EORIA  COUXTY  107 

form  the  grand  and  petit  juries,  hence  they  were  summoned  from  the  attached 
portion.  All  the  grand  jury  but  two  were  from  the  east  side  of  the  Illinois 
river,  chiefly  my  acquaintances  and  neighbors.  We  took  our  provisions  and 
bedding,  the  latter  being  a  blanket  or  quilt  for  each.  It  was  the  practice  also 
in  those  days  to  take  a  flagon  of  liquor,  and  this  was  not  omitted  on  the  occasion 
spoken  of.  In  truth,  so  faithfully  was  the  flagon  put  under  requisition,  that 
but  two  of  our  number  were  sober  when  we  appeared  in  court  and  received  our 
charge.  Judge  Sawyer  was  then  the  presiding  officer ;  James  Turney  the  prose- 
cuting attorney ;  and  Messrs.  Cavarly,  Pugh,  Bogardus  and  Turney,  the  entire 
bar. 

"There  were  about  eight  bills  of  indictment  found  by  the  grand  jury,  one 
of  which  was  against  an  Indian  nained  Nomaque  for  murder.  He  had  been 
tried  the  fall  before;  but  obtaining  a  new  trial,  he  was  indicted  again  this  term. 
There  being  no  secure  jail,  the  sheriff  (Samuel  Fulton)  kejit  him  under  guard 
in  the  house  of  Mr.  Allen.  At  night  about  a  dozen  drunken  Indians  met  to 
rescue  him.  and  attempted  to  enter  the  door  for  that  purpose.  Allen  sprang 
out  of  a  back  window,  and  seizing  a  clapboard,  rushed  to  the  front  of  the  house 
and  laid  aliout  him  with  great  fury.  He  felled  four  of  the  Indians  to  the 
ground  before  they  could  recover  from  their  consternation,  when  the  others 
retreated.  Allen  pursuing  the  hindmost,  continued  his  blows,  the  retreating 
fellow  crying  out  'Schtop,  white  man!  for  God's  sake  schtop!'  Felling  him  also, 
the  five  laid  till  morning,  when  they  were  able  to  crawl  off.  Nomaque  after- 
wards made  his  escape — joined  Black  Hawk  in  the  war  of  1832 — was  wounded 
in  Stillman's  defeat,  and  afterwards  found  nearly  dead  by  some  Peorians,  who 
humanely  shot  him  through  to  put  an  end  to  his  sufferings. 

"The  court  house  was  a  log  Iniilding  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  in  which 
the  jurors  slept  at  night  on  their  blankets  on  the  floor.  There  was  a  tavern 
kept  by  Mr.  Bogardus,  but  it  was  not  large  enough  to  furnish  sleeping  accom- 
modations for  them.  The  grand  jury  room  was  a  lumber  cabin  in  which  Bo- 
gardus kept  saddles  and  other  cattle  fixings." 

The  session  of  the  legislature  held  in  1827  reorganized  the  judiciary  by 
abolishing  the  office  of  circuit  judge  and  assigning  the  judges  of  the  supreme 
court  to  do  circuit  duty.  The  first  circuit  was  then  composed  of  the  counties 
of  Peoria,  l-'ulton,  Schuyler,  Adams,  Pike,  Calhoun.  Greene,  Morgan  and  San- 
gamon, to  which  Samuel  D.  Lockwood  was  assigned.  This  jurist  is  said  to 
have  been  a  most  scholarly  and  polished  gentleman  and  the  peer  of  any  judge 
that  had  ever  sat  on  the  supreme  bench  of  the  state.  It  was  said  of  him  by  a 
recent  historian  that  "he  stands  out  conspicuously  as  the  beau  ideal  of  a  judge. 
His  appearance  on  the  bench  was  the  very  personification  of  dignity,  learning 
and  judicial  acumen."  Judge  Lockwood  presided  over  this  court  from  the 
May  term,  1827,  to  the  October  term,  1828.  At  his  first  term  held  in  Peoria, 
the  sheriff',  Samuel  Fulton,  was  indicted  for  malfeasance  in  office.  The  charge 
was  negligence  in  allowing  the  Indian,  Nomaque,  to  escape  from  his  custody. 
The  indictment,  however,  was  twice  quashed  on  the  ground  that  no  capias  had 
been  issued,  requiring  the  sheriff'  to  take  him  into  his  custody. 

Another  change  in  the  judiciary  was  made  by  the  legislature  in  1829.  A 
circuit  was  established  consisting  of  the  territory  west  and  north  of  the  Illinois 
and  Kankakee  rivers,  embracing  that  portion  which  had  formerly  been  at- 
tached to  the  county  of  Pike.  At  this  same  session  of  the  legislature  Richard 
M.  Young  was  elected  and  commissioned  on  the  23d  dav  of  January,  1829,  as 
judge  of  this  circuit.  His  first  term  of  court  in  Peoria  was  in  June.  1829,  and 
his  last  was  the  October  term  of  1834.  Judge  Young  was  the  first  judge  elected 
to  preside  in  the  third  circuit  and  on  the  formation  of  the  fifth  circuit  just 
designated,  he  removed  to  Quincy,  where  he  resided  during  the  time  he  was 
upon  the  bench.  In  1836  he  was  elected  United  States  senator  and  served  the 
full  term  of  six  years.  In  1843  he  was  elected  to  the  supreme  court  and  held 
the  office  until    1847.  when   he   was  appointed  commissioner  of  the  land   office 


108  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COL'XTY 

at  Washington.  In  1850  he  was  appointed  clerk  of  the  national  house  of  repre- 
sentatives. His  later  years,  however,  were  quite  tragic,  as  his  intellect  became 
impaired  to  the  extent  that  it  was  necessary  to  send  him  to  an  asylum,  where 
he  died. 

John   Di.xon  resigned  as   clerk  of   the  circuit   court  and   on   the  8th   day   of 
June,   1830,   Stephen   Stillman  was  appointed  his  successor. 

Still  another  change  was  made  in  the  judiciary  in  1835.  In  that  year  the 
state  was  again  divided  into  circuits  and  five  judges  in  addition  to  the  one 
already  in  office  were  chosen.  These  new  judges  were  Stephen  T.  Logan,  Sid- 
ney Breese,  Henry  Eddy,  Thomas  Ford  and  Justin  Harlan.  Thomas  Ford  was 
assigned  to  the  sixth  district,  in  which  Peoria  was  situated.  For  some  reason, 
however,  Judge  Breese  presided  at  the  first  term  of  the  circuit  court  in  Peoria. 
At  the  September  term  Judge  Stephen  T.  Logan  presided.  He  resigned  his 
office  in  1837  and  was  again  elected  by  the  legislature  in  1839,  but  declined  to 
accept  and  never  afterwards  occupied  a  position  u])on  the  bench.  Judge  Logan 
was  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  and  jurists  of  his  time.  He  had  been  profession- 
ally associated  with  Abraham  Lincoln  for  three  years  and  also  filled  many  posi- 
tions of  public  trust,  for  which  he  was  ably  fitted.  Thomas  Ford,  who  was 
assigned  to  the  sixth  circuit  in  which  Peoria  was  situated,  afterward  became 
governor  of  the  state.  The  first  term  at  which  he  presided  was  May,  1836, 
but  in  March,  1837,  he  resigned  and  was  succeeded  by  Dan  Stone,  one  of  the 
noted  men  of  his  day.  Judge  Stone  presided  from  the  May  term,  1837,  until 
the  May  term,  1838.  One  of  the  noted  cases  decided  by  him  was  political  in 
its  character  which  touched  upon  the  right  of  aliens  to  vote  at  the  general  elec- 
tion. The  matter  was  carried  to  the  supreme  court  but  before  a  final  decision 
had  been  reached  the  eighth  and  ninth  judicial  circuits  had  been  formed  by  the 
legislature  and  Thomas  Ford,  on  the  25th  day  of  February,  1839,  had  been 
elected  and  commissioned  as  judge  of  the  ninth  district.  The  controversies 
growing  out  of  the  decision  of  Judge  Stone  in  the  case  above  referred 
to  led  the  legislature  to  again  reorganize  the  judiciary  of  the  state  and  by  an 
act,  February  10,  1841,  all  former  laws  authorizing  the  election  of  circuit  judges 
or  establishing  circuit  courts  was  repealed.  The  act  then  provided  there  should 
be  appointed  by  joint  ballot  of  both  branches  of  the  general  assembly  at  that 
session  five  additional  associate  justices  and  the  three  associate  justices  then  in 
office  should  constitute  the  supreme  court  of  the  state.  The  state  was  then 
divided  into  nine  circuits  and  the  chief  justice  and  his  eight  associates  were 
recfuired  to  hold  court  in  these  circuits.  Thomas  Ford  was  elected  one  of  the 
five  new  justices  of  the  supreme  court,  February  15,  1841,  but  he  resigned 
August  1st,  1842,  to  accept  the  office  of  governor  of  the  state,  to  which  he  was 
called  soon  after  being  elected.  While  acting  as  supreme  judge  he  again  pre- 
sided over  the  circuit  court  at  Peoria  from  1841  until  1S42,  and  Judge  Richard 
M.  Young  again  held  court  here  as  one  of  the  supreme  judges  at  the  May 
term,  1843.  Judge  John  Dean  Caton  presided  over  the  circuit  court  at  the 
October  term,"  1842,  and  the  October  term,  1843,  and  from  thence  on  to  the 
October  term,  1848.  He  was  a  member  of  the  supreme  court  for  twenty-one 
years,  having  succeeded  Governor  Ford  upon  his  resignation  in  1842.  He  was 
reappointed  by  Governor  Ford  in  1843  to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the 
death  of  Judge  John  M.  Robinson.     He  resigned  in   1864. 

After  "the  adoption  of  the  constitution  in  1848,  T.  Lyle  Dickey  presided  at 
the  May  and  October  terms  of  1849,  and  William  Kellogg,  of  the  tenth  circuit, 
to  which  Peoria  then  belonged,  from  the  March  term  of  1850,  to  November, 
1852.  fudge  Kellogg  had  been  commissioned  as  judge  of  the  tenth  circuit, 
February  12,  1830.  Resigning  in  November,  1852,  he  was  succeeded  by  Heze- 
kiah  M.  Wead,  but  before  the  latter  could  hold  a  term  of  court  the  sixteenth 
circuit,  composed  of  Peoria  and  Stark  counties,  had  been  formed,  of  which 
Onslow  Peters  had  been  elected  judge.  Judge  Wead,  however,  held  court  here 
at  the  fall  term  of  1863  to  finish  up  certain  cases  in  which  Judge  Peters  had 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  109 

been  engaged  as  counsel,     judge  Kellogg  was  elected  to  congress  in   1856  and 
again  in  1858  and  i860. 

There  is  some  uncertainty  as  to  where  the  courts  were  held  in  the  two  fol- 
lowing years.  At  the  January  term  of  the  county  commissioners'  court,  the 
sheriff  was  authorized  to  procure  a  house  for  the  holding  of  court  but  the 
records  do  not  show  where  the  place  or  places  selected  were  located.  At  the 
March  term,  1829,  a  record  was  made  of  the  purchase  from  John  Hamlin  of  a 
log  house  16x14  feet,  under  which  was  a  cellar,  which  subsecjuently  served  as 
a  jail.  This  building  John  Hamlin,  in  consideration  of  $75,  conveyed  to  the 
county,  as  the   following  instrument   indicates : 

"I  do  hereby  assign  to  the  county  commissioners  of  Peoria  county  for  the 
use  of  said  county,  all  my  right,  title  and  claim  to  a  certain  log  house  situated 
in  the  town  of  Peoria  for  and  in  consideration  of  $75 — the  said  house  known 
as  the  one  built  hy  Simon  Crozier  and  formerly  occupied  as  a  store  house  by- 
said  Crozier. 

"John  H.-\mlin. 
''Peoria,  Illinois,  .March  3,  1829. 
"Witness,  John  Di.xon." 

It  was  therefore  ordered  at  this  same  term  that  the  treasurer  pav  John 
Hamlin  $75  for  a  house  to  be  used  for  county  purposes  and  here  it  might  be 
well  to  explain  that  this  house  is  also  said  to  have  been  situated  below  the  pres- 
ent railroad  bridge.  ^Ir.  Ballance,  who  arrived  in  Peoria  soon  after  its  pur- 
chase, in  his  history  of  Peoria  says  in  a  description  of  the  building  that  it  was 
located  "at  or  near  where  the  Fort  Clark  mill  stands,"  to  which  Judge  ]\IcCul- 
loch  in  his  history  of  the  county  of  more  recent  date  adds  "which  was  on  the 
river  bank  on  the  northeasterly  side  of  Harrison  street.  The  building  remained 
standing  until  1843,  when  it  was  replaced  by  Orin  Hamlin's  steam  flouring 
mill."  A  pencil  sketch  of  Peoria  in  1831  said  to  have  been  executed  by  J.  Al. 
Roberts,  indicates  from  the  grouping  of  the  l)uildings  that  the  historians,'  Drown 
and  Ballance,  were  correct  in  their  location  of  this  building  and  that  it  was 
the  cabin  on  the  site  upon  which  the  Fort  Clark  mill  stood  and  now  covered 
by  the  warehouse  of  the  Peoria  Transfer  Company. 

.\t  the  June  term  (1829)  it  was  ordered  that  the  lower  story  of  the  court 
house,  as  the  building  was  now  termed,  be  used  as  a  jail,  and  at  the  Septemlser 
term,  1830,  John  Hamlin,  from  whom  the  building  had  been  purchased,  was 
given  the  use  of  the  cellar  until  the  month  of  April  following,  for  the  sum  of 
$3,  which  same  amount  had  been  paid  by  F.  Bournonait  the  preceding  winter 
for  storing  goods  therein. 

At  the  September  term,  1830,  the  clerk  was  authorized  to  have  certain 
repairs  made  on  the  court  house.  That  is  to  say,  "plastered  in  the  joints, 
weather  boarded,  a  window  with  glass  on  the  river  side,  and  a  plank  floor  laid 
loose  on  the  joice  above — the  work  to  be  done  on  as  good  terms  as  could  be 
had  reasonable  and  that  he  should  present  his  bills  to  the  next  commissioners' 
court  properly  authenticated."  At  the  same  time  John  Plamlin  was  given  au- 
thority to  buy  a  ten  plate  stove,  with  the  necessary  pipe,  the  cost  of  which  was 
not  to  exceed  $30.  Whether  or  not  these  repairs  were  made  the  record  does 
not  show..  However,  at  the  June  term,   1831,  the  following  entry  was  made: 

"Ordered  that  the  treasurer  pay  $16  for  repairs  to  the  court  house  as  fol- 
lows :  .\  desk,  the  boarding  and  casing  to  be  of  walnut  plank  6  feet  long,  43/^ 
feet  high,  31,2  feet  wide  from  the  wall,  sided  in  front  and  posts  cased  at  their 
end;  narrow  strip  on  front  top.  from  that  inward  slope  12  inches,  floored  with 
any  kind  of  sound  plank,  one  step  from  the  room  floor,  all  but  the  floor  to 
be  planed,  a  narrow  strip  on  the  inside  end  of  the  slope — four  benches,  two  14 
feet  long,  or  the  length  of  the  room,  two  6  feet  long,  one  and  one-half  inches 
thick,  with  an  additional  strip  or  piece  where  the  legs  are  put  in.     The  lower 


110  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

room,  tlie  three  hewed  logs  missing  to  be  put  in  place,  that  is,  replaced  with  a 
door  cheek,  a  door  to  be  made  of-  strong  inch  plank,  hinges,  pad-lock  and  staples 
to  be  furnished  by  the  workmen.     Also  two  benches  for  table." 

It  is  very  probable  these  improvements  were  all  made,  for  an  allowance 
was  made  to  Moses  Clifton  of  $16.75  ^or  repairs  to  the  court  house.  The 
building,  however,  was  not  adequate  for  the  purpose  it  was  intended  when  pur- 
chased, as  the  record  shows  several  orders  subsequently  made  for  the  use  of 
private  houses  by  the  commissioners.  However,  an  entry  indicates  that  on  July 
10,  1834,  leave  was  granted  (some  one  not  shown)  to  keep  a  school  in  the 
court  house  for  a  quarter,  except  in  term  of  court  or  when  needed  by  the  county 
commissioners  or  for  elections.  The  building  was  also  used  for  religious  meet- 
ings but  was  sold  to  Bigelow  &  Underbill  in  1835  for  $60. 

The  year  1833  finds  the  county  without  a  building  specially  constructed  for 
county  purposes,  and  however  necessary  might  have  been  a  court  house  at  that 
time,  the  necessity  for  a  jail  was  more  present.  Thieving  and  outlawry  in  the 
county  was  becoming  more  prevalent  and  many  arrests  in  cases  of  a  petty 
nature  were  being  made  at  shorter  intervals,  which  placed  the  authorities  at  a 
disadvantage,  from  the  fact  there  was  no  proper  place  in  which  to  incarcerate 
the  culprits  pending  trial  of  their  cases.  A  gang  of  thieves  had  made  their 
appearance  in  the  county  and  it  became  necessary  to  send  one  of  them  to 
Schuyler  county  for  trial  and  two  others  to  the  jail  in  Putnam  county  for  safe 
keeping.  This  the  authorities  maintained  was  putting  the  county  to  much  ex- 
pense. The  items  below  would  indicate  that  the  county  commissioners  were 
not  far  from  wrong  in  their  contention : 

To  Giles  C.  Dana  for  arresting  and  keeping  L.  Thomas  and 

Joseph    McMeehan    $     2.50 

Amos  Stevens  for  conveying  Thornton  Hollis  to   Schuyler 

county    49-50 

William  Compher  for  conveying  Webster  Evans  to  Putnam 

county    29.00 

William    Compher    for    conveying    Joseph    McAIeehan    to 

Putnam  county 29.00 

William  Compher  for  pursuing  Thornton  Hollis 9.37 

William    Compher    for   bringing  two   prisoners    from    Put- 
nam jail 3100 

Obadiah  JMolley,  sherilt  Putnam  county,  for  keeping  Evans 

from  November  21  to  April  22 68.50 

Obadiah  ]\Iotley   for  keeping  McMeehan  November  28,  to 

April  22 65.37 

Total   for   three  prisoners $284.25 

THE  FIRST  .T.\IL  BUILDING 

It  was  therefore  ordered  that  lot  3  in  block  37  be  set  apart  for  the  site  of 
a  jail.  The  contract  for  the  building  was  let  to  George  De  Pree,  who  was  awarded 
on  his  contract  at  the  April  term,  1835,  the  sum  of  $381,  which  was  probably  but 
a  portion  of  the  contract  price.  The  description  of  this  building  in  Ballance's 
history  is  as  follows:  "About  the  year  1834  a  jail  was  built  of  square  logs,  on 
the  alley  between  Main  and  Hamilton  and  between  Monroe  and  Perry  streets. 
It  was  sixteen  feet  square  and  fourteen  feet  high.  The  lower  story  was  con- 
structed of  three  thicknesses  of  logs,  two  lying  horizontally  and  the  one  between 
them  standing  perpendicularly,  so  that  should  any  attempt  be  made  to  bore  the 
logs,  the  perpendicular  ones  would  come  down  and  stop  the  hole.  The  upper 
story  was  only  one  thickness  of  logs.  To  give  strength,  these  logs  were  dove- 
tailed at  the  corners.     Above  the  strong  room  there  was  a  strong  floor  and  trap 


•lAii.  AM)  (orirriKii  sK  ix  is4.-, 


I'EoKlA's  FIKST  ( ( H  irii  i(  ush:.  iirii/r  i\   is:;(i 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  111 

door.  Through  this  trap  door  prisoners  were  passed  and  then  the  ladder  drawn 
up.  The  rtoor  of  the  lower  part  was  made  of  timbers  fitted  close  together  and 
the  whole  covered  with  oaken  planks  sjjiked  down."  Xo  mention  is  made  of 
any  windows  in  the  lower  story  and  when  the  building  was  first  constructed 
there  probably  were  none,  for  at  the  March  term.  1839.  Henry  Hahn  was  ordered 
to  put  one  in.  This  was  the  only  jail  building  in  the  county  until  1849.  when  a 
new  one  was  erected.  When  it  was  replaced  the  lot  was  sold  to  Halsey  O.  .Merri- 
man,  June  g.  1847,  for  $150.  Soon  after  the  erection  of  the  jail  a  log  cabin 
was  built  on  the  same  lot  for  the  use  of  the  janitor.  Daniel  Bristol  was  the 
contractor  and  was  paid  $2.70  at  the  June  term  for  his  work. 

THE    SECOND    J.ML 

The  second  jail  was  erected  in  1849  on  the  corner  of  Washington  and  North 
Fayette  (now  Eaton)  streets.  On  June  7,  1844,  the  commissioners'  court  had 
ordered  notices  to  be  published  in  the  Press  and  Register,  newspapers  then  pub- 
lished in  Peoria,  inviting  the  submission  of  plans  at  the  coming  September  term 
for  a  jail  to  be  constructed  of  stone.  The  records  do  not  show  that  anything 
further  was  done  in  this  matter  until  December  4.  1845.  when  a  contract  was 
let  to  George  O.  Kingsley  for  the  erection  of  a  jail  for  $6,640.  At  the  March 
term,  1846.  lot  i.  No.  i  of  the  subdivision  of  lots  i  and  3  in  block  18,  was  chosen 
as  the  site  for  the  new  bastile.  Chester  Hamlin  was  appointed  superintendent 
of  the  work,  for  which  he  was  to  have  two  per  cent  commission.  Charles  Ul- 
richson,  an  architect,  was  allowed  $10  for  examining  the  plans  and  specifica- 
tions, but  what  they  were,  the  records  do  not  show.  After  having  made  some 
progress  in  his  work,  for  which  he  was  paid  $616,  Kingsley 's  contract  was  re- 
scinded at  the  September  term  1846.  For  that  reason  the  work  was  suspended 
and  nothing  further  was  done  until  the  December  term,  when  the  clerk  was 
directed  to  advertise  for  proposals  to  be  submitted  at  the  January  term,  1847, 
for  the  building  of  a  jail  according  to  plans  and  specifications  in  the  clerk's 
office.  On  January  6,  1847,  the  contract  was  let  to  Thomas  Turbit,  Thomas  P. 
Smith  and  William  Smith,  farmers,  then  living  in  that  part  of  the  county  which 
afterwards  became  known  as  Logan  township.     The  contract  price  was  $7,450. 

Three  years  after  it  had  been  commenced,  or,  to  be  exact,  on  April  14,  1849, 
the  new  jail  building  was  accepted  as  fullv  completed  and  on  settlement  there 
was  found  due  the  contractors  the  sum  of  $1,695.99.  This  sum  w-as  allowed, 
notwithstanding  the  contractors  had  placed  upon  the  building  a  temporary  roof 
instead  of  a  copper  roof  required  of  them  in  the  contract.  From  this  it  seems 
they   had  been   relieved. 

That  part  of  the  new  .structure  which  fronted  the  street  liad  the  appearance 
of  an  ordinary  brick  building.  It  was  brick  and  was  used  for  the  sheriff's 
home,  while  the  rear  portion,  or  jail  proper,  was  stone.  The  cells  were  on  the 
first  floor  and  arranged  around  the  outer  walls,  in  which  grated  windows  were 
inserted.  A  hall  separated  the  two  ranges  of  cells.  On  the  second  floor  was  a 
large  room  called  the  debtor's  room,  which  w'as  intended  for  the  imprisonment 
of  imfortunates  not  able,  or  refusing  to  pay  their  debts.  As  this  barbarous 
practice  became  illegal,  the  room  was  later  used  as  a  place  of  confinement  for 
female   prisoners. 

THE  THIRD  J.ML 

In  1867  the  board  of  supervisors  bought  the  lot  on  wliich  the  present  jail 
is  located,  for  the  sum  of  $6,000.  It  had  originally  belonged  to  the  county  but 
after  having  olitained  title  to  the  county  seat  site,  the  county  commissioners 
had  sold  the  lot  for  $75.  The  new  jail  was  completed  at  a  cost  of  $75,000  and 
was  placed  in  custody  of  the  sheriff  on  the  24th  day  of  January,  1869. 


112  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

THE   FIRST  COURT   HOUSE 

It  was  at  the  June  term,  1833,  that  initial  steps  were  taken  for  the  building 
of  a  court  house.  The  clerk  was  ordered  to  advertise  in  the  Sangamon  Journal 
for  sealed  proposals  to  be  delivered  at  the  clerk's  office  until  the  9th  day  of  July- 
following,  for  the  furnishing  of  150,000  brick  on  the  public  square,  at  which 
time  contracts  would  be  awarded,  also  at  the  same  time  contracts  would  be  let 
for  the  stone  and  lumber  that  might  be  wanted  in  the  construction  of  a  court 
house.  .At  the  l^larch  term,  1834,  Reuben  B.  Hamlin,  one  of  the  contractors 
for  furnishing  lumber,  was  allowed  $15  for  a  drawing  of  the  proposed  court 
house.  Bids  for  brick  were  received  at  the  July  term,  1833,  and  the  contract 
for  the  same  was  awarded  to  Samuel  Hackelton  at  $5  per  thousand,  and  the 
firm  of  Moffatt  &  Hamlin  was  awarded  the  lumber  contract.  The  brick  used 
in  the  building  was  burned  at  the  foot  of  the  bluff  near  Knoxville  avenue  by 
Moore  &  Pitt,  who  had  in  their  employ  at  the  time  Robert  Smith,  later  a  resident 
of  Mossville. 

At  the  January  term,  1834,  John  Hamlin  was  made  agent  to  procure  rock 
and  have  it  placed  upon  the  ground  for  the  foundation  and  also  to  procure 
hewn  timber  for  the  court  house  upon  the  best  terms  obtainable.  The  clerk 
was  directed  to  advertise  in  the  Sangamon  Journal,  Beardstown  Chronicle  and 
St.  Louis  Republic  that  sealed  proposals  would  be  received  at  the  clerk's  office 
ujitil  the  third  day  of  the  next  term  for  the  mason  work  in  the  foundation 
walls  and  also  the  brick  work,  the  county  to  furnish  the  materials.  Proposals 
were  also  asked  for  the  carpenter  work  exclusive  of  the  doors  and  windows, 
plans  and  specifications  to  be  sent  to  the  clerk's  office. 

The  query  might  here  arise  as  to  why  these  notices  were  not  published  in  a 
Peoria  paper,  and  the  answer  is,  there  was  no  paper  published  in  Peoria  at 
that  time. 

The  contract  for  the  mason  work  was  awarded  to  Charles  W.  McClallan, 
and  the  carpenter  work  to  George  B.  Macy,  at  the  March  term,  1834.  John 
Hamlin  was  released  as  agent  to  procure  materials,  and  at  the  April  term  fol- 
lowing Francis  Voris  was  selected  to  superintend  the  erection  of  the  building 
and  served  in  that  capacity  until  July  10,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Isaac 
Waters.  By  this  time  work  was  progressing  on  the  new  county  building,  and 
at  the  June  term,  1834,  orders  were  entered  for  the  payment  for  the  first  work 
done  thereon : 

F.    Voris,    digging   853^    yards     foundation    at    10   cents 

per  yard $     8.50 

C.  W.  McCkllan  for  quarrying  58  window  sills  at  62^4 
cents  each,   2   door   sills  at  623/^   cents   each,   and  200 

feet  water  table  at  6yi   cents  per  foot 50.00 

Alvah   Moftatt  for  hauling 16.621^ 

George  .Martin  for  pine  plank 283.00 

John   H.   Dusenberry    for   time   and  $5.00   advanced   for 

quarrying  rock    6.123^ 

From  what  has  been  related  the  reader  will  at  once  see  that  a  great  deal  of 
work  in  connection  with  the  new  court  house  devolved  upon  the  commissioners' 
court.  At  a  special  term  held  in  July,  1834,  Joseph  Mitchell  was  paid  for  haul- 
ing caps,  sills,  water  tables  and  scaffold  poles.  Alva  Moffatt  was  refunded 
$150  for  money  advanced  to  purchase  lumber;  C.  W.  McClallan  $50  for  mason 
work ;  and  John  Pitt  for  hauling  caps  and  sills.  At  the  October  term  John 
Hamlin  was  again  appointed  agent  to  procure  materials,  the  lack  of  which  had 
caused  delay  in  the  progress  of  the  work. 

The  first  plans  for  this  building  made  no  provision  for  ornamentation  but 
after  the  four  walls  had  reached  completion   it  was  determined  that  a  portico 


.MOTl)l!(  V(  I.K   I'Ol.K  i;.\li:.\    L\    FlldXI    (iF  (  11  V    I'KISOX 


I'A'ir.oL   IIOLSE.   PEORIA 


HISTORY  OI-    PEORIA  COUNTY  113 

and  cupola  should  be  added ;  consequently,  at  the  April  term,  1836,  Joshua 
Bowman  was  awarded  a  contract  for  foundation  stone  for  the  columns,  the 
same  to  be  four  feet  square,  ten  inches  thick  and  to  cost  $35. 

At  the  August  term,  Joshua  ISowman  was  awarded  a  contract  to  furnish, 
cut  and  lay  stone  steps  around  the  piazza  and  up  to  the  back  door  of  the  court 
house  at  62^^  cents  per  foot.  On  October  i6th  Charles  W.  McClallan  was 
ordered  paid  $100  on  his  contract  for  plastering,  and  soon  thereafter  the  No- 
vember term  of  circuit  court  convened  and  seems  to  have  been  in  the  new 
court  house  while  in  an  unfinished  state,  for  at  the  December  term,  Reuben 
Hamlin,  William  P.  BUxton,  Nathaniel  Dyes,  John  Brown,  Albert  Hurd  and 
Job  Ross  were  allowed  compensation  for  suspension  work  on  the  court  house 
during  the  sitting  of  circuit  court.  At  the  same  term  Henry  Gilbert  on  the 
part  of  the  county  and  \V.  A.  I'.lair  on  the  part  of  Reuben  B.  Hamlin  assessed 
the  additional  compensation  demantled  by  the  latter,  as   follows : 

To  additional  size  of  building $  300.OO 

To  one  extra  window 1 1.50 

To  extra  work  on  windows 75oo 

To  balustrades  around  bell  deck 50.00 

To  damages  for  failure  on  part  of  contract S/O.oo 

To  hindrance  for  lumber  this  summer 50.00 

To  glue  20,  at  31^  cents 6.25 

To  extra  work  on  capitals 150.00 

To  cash  paid  for  labor 1.50 

To  cash  paid  for  drayage .50 

$1,214.75 

At  this  time,  while  the  court  house  had  not  reached  completion,  it  was  far 
enough  advanced  to  admit  of  occupancy  of  a  portion  of  the  first  story,  which 
was  divided  into  six  rooms.  Plorace  P.  Johnson,  an  attorney,  was  granted 
leave  to  occupy  room  No.  2  from  and  after  the  9th  of  December.  On  the  nth 
Joshua  Bowman  was  awarded  a  contract  for  building  and  erecting  four  plain, 
round  columns  in  front  of  the  court  house,  to  be  completed  by  the  ist  day  of 
July  following,  at  $10  per  foot,  running  measure.  C.  W.  ]\IcClallan  was  also 
given  a  contract  to  ornament  the  court  room  by  putting  a  cornice  around  the 
ceiling.  Both  these  contracts  were  settled  for  at  the  June  term  1836,  and  the 
court  house  was  practically  finished. 

It  seems  to  have  been  the  aim  of  the  county  commissioners,  business  man- 
agers of  the  county,  to  make  the  court  house  in  a  measure  pay  for  itself,  for 
there  are  entries  showing  that  several  rooms  were  rented  to  parties  who  had 
no  official  relation  to  the  county.  As  has  been  stated,  Horace  P.  Johnson  was 
granted  leave  to  occupy  room  No.  2  on  the  ground  floor  of  the  building,  for 
which  he  was  assessed  as  rent  $50  per  year.  Others  to  whom  rooms  were  rented 
were  Charles  Kettelle,  who  secured  room  No.  3,  and  E.  N.  Powell,  room  No.  5, 
all  at  the  same  rent.  The  grand  jury  room  given  over  to  A.  M.  Hunt  at  $45 
the  year,  with  liberty  of  the  grand  jury  to  occupy  it  during  the  sitting  of  the 
circuit  court.  At  the  July  term,  1837,  No.  4  was  rented  to  Onslow  Peters  until 
the  December  term,  for  $12.50.  At  the  December  term  there  was  a  re-letting 
as  follows :  No.  2,  to  Horace  P.  Johnson  and  Jacob  Gale ;  No.  3,  to  Charles 
Kettelle;  No.  4,  to  Onslow  Peters;  and  No.  5  to  E.  N.  Powell,  at  $50.  There 
was  a  re-letting  of  the  rooms  the  next  year.  Horace  P.  Johnson  retained  No. 
2;  Charles  Kettelle  was  given  No.  3;  Peters  &  Gale,  No.  4;  George  B.  Parker, 
who  had  recently  been  elected  probate  justice  of  the  peace.  No.  5 ;  and  Frizby 
&  Metcalfe,  No.  6,  at  $50  a  year.  The  jury  room  was  let  to  Lincoln  B.  Knowl- 
ton  at  the  June  term,  1839.  with  the  condition  that  the  jury  should  use  it  when 
needed.     Later  some  of   the  partitions   were  removed  and  the  enlarged   rooms 

Vol,  1—8 


114  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

occupied  l)y  the  sheriff  and  circuit  clerk.  On  the  left  of  the  hall  was  the  county 
clerk's  office,  which  was  afterwards  used  by  the  board  of  supervisors.  Xext  to 
the  county  clerk's  room  was  a  small  one  occupied  by  the  county  judge,  who 
also  shared   it   w-ith  a   hrm   of  attorneys. 

The  court  room  was  in  the  second  story,  on  each  side  of  which  was  a  jury  room, 
but  some  years  later  a  balcony  was  constructed  in  the  portico,  which  was  ap- 
proached by  thin  stairways,  one  on  each  side  of  the  main  entrance.  From  that 
time  onward  the  court  room  occupied  the  entire  second  floor. 

THE    SECOND    COURT    HOUSE 

I'.v  the  year  1838  the  court  house  became  insufficient  for  the  needs  of  the 
county  and  a  more  secure  place  for  the  records  became  a  matter  of  prime  neces- 
sity. It  was  therefore  determined  to  erect  a  new  temple  of  justice,  which  was 
begun  on  an  elaborate  plan  that  year,  but  only  the  first  story  of  the  northeast 
wing  was  erected.  It  was  divided  lengthwise  into  two  rooms,  which  were  occu- 
pied by  the  circuit  and  county  clerks.  It  was  thoroughly  fireproof  and  although 
not  pleasing  to  the  eye  served  the  purposes  for  a  period  of  nearly  twenty  years. 
The  present  court  house  is  the  second  and  last  completed  building  of  the  kind 
erected  in  the  county.  The  plans  for  the  one  contemplated  in  1858  had  been 
abandoned  after  part  of  the  building  had  been  completed,  but  it  was  not  until 
the  December  session  of  the  board  of  supervisors  that  concrete  action  was  taken 
toward  the  erection  of  a  new  and  adequate  court  house.  On  the  loth  of  De- 
cember, 1874,  Horace  G.  Anderson,  chairman  of  the  committee  on  public  build- 
ings submitted  a  report  to  the  board  of  supervisors  in  favor  of  the  building  of 
a  new  court  house.     The  report  concluded  with  the  following  resolutions : 

"Resolved,  i.  That  the  county  of  Peoria  needs  a  new  court  house  and 
that  in  order  to  build  the  same  it  is  necessary  to  issue  county  bonds. 

"2.  That  the  question  of  issuing  county  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $250,000, 
to  run  not  to  exceed  ten  years  and  to  draw  not  to  exceed  8  per  cent  interest,  be 
submitted  to  the  legal  voters  at  the  next  April  election. 

"3.  That  the  county  clerk  be  instructed  to  give  the  proper  notice  that  the 
question  will  be  submitted  to  be  voted  upon  at  that  election  and  that  he  cause 
to  be  printed  on  the  ballots  to  be  used  at  that  election  "for  county  bonds'  and 
"against  county  bonds'  as  provided  by  law." 

After  amending  the  resolutions  so  as  to  change  the  time  of  voting  from 
April  to  the  next  November  election,  they  were  adopted  by  a  vote  of  16  to  9. 

The  vote  on  the  question  of  issuing  jjonds  was  submitted  to  the  electors  of 
the  county  at  the  November  election  of  1875  and  the  proposition  was  carried  by 
a  majority  of  1,516.  There  were  6,910  votes  cast.  Plans  were  at  once  adver- 
tised for  and  after  many  had  been  submitted  for  examination,  those  of  the 
firm  of  Wilcox  &  Miller."  architects  of  Chicago,  were  adopted  March  31,  1876. 
The  contract  for  the  building  was  let  to  Philip  H.  Decker,  of  Chicago,  May 
12,  1876,  his  bid  being  $206,071.31.  Work  at  once  began  on  the  new  building 
and  on  Saturday,  September  30,  1876,  the  corner  stone  was  laid,  with  very 
simple  ceremonies.  Addresses  were  made  on  that  occasion  by  Jonathan  K. 
Cooper,  one  of  the  pioneer  members  of  the  bar,  and  Hon.  Joseph  "W.  Cochran, 
judge  of  the  circuit  court.  After  the  speeches,  Thomas  Cratty,  member  of  the 
bar,  and  Mark  M.  Aiken,  one  of  the  oldest  settlers  of  the  county,  placed  within 
the  stone  a  number  of  documents  and  articles  of  historical  value. 

Early  in  the  month  of  November,  1878,  the  building  was  completed,  and  on 
the  1 8th  the  event  was  celebrated  by  a  grand  reception  to  the  public,  which  ter- 
minated with  a  banquet,  at  which  time  a  number  of  speeches  were  delivered, 
being  preceded,  however,  with  prayer  by  Rev.  J.  D.  Wilson,  rector  of  Christ 
English  Reformed  church.  The  orators  of  the  occasion  were  Judges  David 
McCulloch,  loseph  W.  Cochran  and  Sabin  D.  Puterbaugh,  and  Messrs.  Law- 
rence W.  James,  Washington  Cockle,  Thomas  Cratty,  ^McCoy,  Tipton,  Cremer 


PEORIA  torXIV   (  (IL'KTIIOI.'SE 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  115 

and  Fuller.  The  day  was  spent  by  a  vast  throng  of  visitors  to  the  building  and 
by  night  time  their  numbers  liad  increased  amazingly.  The  banquet  was  pre- 
pared by  Charles  H.  Deane,  proprietor  of  the  Peoria  House,  which  was  dis- 
cussed by  about  250  persons.  The  total  cost  of  the  building,  to  which,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  various  additions  and  changes  have  been  made  after  the  plans 
had  been  adopted,  was  $248,968.70.  The  clock  in  the  tower  was  manufactured 
by  the  Seth  Thomas  Clock  Company,  of  New  York ;  the  bell,  which  weighs 
four  thousand  pounds,  was  made  at  the  McNeely  &  Kimberly  bell  works,  Troy, 
New  York,  both  bell  and  clock  furnished  by  the  American  Clock  Company  of 
New  York,  cost  $2,495. 

The  architects'  description  of  this  beautiful  building  is  as  follows:  "Style, 
Venetian  Italian;  plan,  cruciform,  with  grand  colonnade  entrance  or  porticoes, 
42  feet  wide  on  the  two  fronts;  at  Main  and  Hamilton  street  fronts,  two  story 
colonnades  and  arcades;  size,  177  feet  front  by  90  feet  on  Main  and  Hamilton; 
height  to  cornices,  90  feet,  and  to  top  of  lantern,  166  feet  from  the  base  line. 
Material  of  exterior  w'alls  Amherst  stone  from  the  Clough  cjuarry  near  Cleve- 
land, Ohio." 

"The  old  court  house  was  sold  to  David  P)Urns  for  $250  to  be  removed 
within  ten  days.  On  Saturday,  the  13th  of  May,  the  members  of  the  Peoria 
bar,  many  of  whom  had  grown  old  in  the  practice  of  their  profession  beneath 
its  shadow,  assembled  in  the  court  room  of  the  condemned  structure  for  a 
formal  leave-taking  before  the  work  of  demolition  should  commence.  Jonathan 
K.  Cooper  presided,  speeches  were  made  by  Judge  Gale,  E.  G.  Johnson,  E.  P. 
Sloan,  D.  '5lcCulloch,  Judge  I.oucks  and  John  Holmes.  The  speeches  were 
full  of  reminiscences  incident  to  the  court  houses,  lawyers  and  judges  of  early 
times.  Some  of  them  were  historical,  some  humorous,  but  all  appropriate  to 
the  occasion." 

THE   COUNTY  INFIRM.\RY 

Every  commimity  has  its  helpless  and  indigent  individuals  who  through 
stress  of  circumstances,  disease  or  shiftlessness  become  a  care  and  oft  times  a 
burden  upon  the  community  at  large.  Provision  for  supplying  them  with  food 
and  shelter  are  incumbent  upon  the  taxpayers,  and  in  conseciuence  of  this  fact 
the  county  commissioners'  court  on  the  iith  day  of  December,  1847,  purchased 
of  William  Alitchell  the  south  half  of  the  northeast  c|uarter  of  section  9.  town- 
ship 8  north,  7  east,  to  be  used  as  a  comity  farm,  for  the  sum  of  $i,ocxd.  There 
were  buildings  on  the  place  at  the  time  which  were  considered  sufficient  for 
the  needs  of  the  county,  and  provisions  were  made  to  prepare  them  for  occu- 
pancy by  the  ist  of  February,  ensuing.  Furniture  and  provisions  were  secured 
and  the  commissioners  in  person  made  all  necessary  arrangements  for  the  sup- 
port and  accommodation  of  those  who  should  come  under  their  care.  From  a 
number  of  ap]ilicants,  Hiram  Partridge  was  selected  as  superintendent  of  the 
infirmary,  and  on  tiie  2(1  day  of  February,  1848,  he  w^as  appointed  to  the  posi- 
tion, at  a  salary  of  $275,  after  giving  bond  to  the  county  in  the  sum  of  $1,000. 
On  the  9th  of  Alarch  notice  w-as  published  in  the  newspapers  requiring  all  per- 
sons chargeable  to  the  county  to  be  conveyed  to  the  new  home  for  the  indigent. 
On  the  7th  of  February,  1849,  Hiram  Partridge  w-as  reappointed  superintendent 
for  another  year,  and  for  his  wife's  services  and  that  of  his  three  boys,  also  the 
use  of  a  cow  and  a  yoke  of  oxen,  he  was  to  receive  $373  for  the  ensuing  year. 
This  was  Partridge's  last  appointment  by  the  commissioners'  court,  but  he  was 
kept  in  the  position  for  several  years  by  the  board  of  supervisors. 

In  1865  the  board  of  supervisors  bought  a  tract  of  land,  consisting  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres,  known  as  the  Herron  farm,  adjoining  the  land  already 
secured,  for  which  was  paid  $9,000.  This  increased  the  county  farm  to  two 
hundred  and  forty  acres.  In  February,  1869,  the  building  committee  of  the 
board  reported,  among  others,  a  bid  for  the  construction  of  an  infirmary  build- 


116  IIIS'I'ORV  ()!•    r'EORIA  COUXTV 

ing  according  to  plans  and  specifications  already  adopted,  by  G.  L.  Royce  for 
$50,000.  The  rejjort  also  set  forth  that  the  committee  had  prepared  a  bill  to  be 
presented  to  the  legislature,  authorizing  the  board  to  issue  bonds  to  the  amount 
of  $0o,ooo,  to  pay  for  the  erection  of  the  building,  but  the  board  determined 
to  only  spend  830,000  for  that  purpose  and  accordingly  let  the  contract  to 
Charles  Ulrichson.  In  the  month  of  February,  1870,  the  building  was  com- 
pleted and  turned  over  to  the  county  by  the  contractor.  The  total  cost,  including 
lieating  apparatus  and  outhouses,  amounted  to  $37,950.  To  this  should  be  added 
$500,  voted  by  the  board  to  be  paid  Contractor  Ulrichson,  in  recognition  of  the 
faithful  and  honest  performance  of  his  work. 

COUNTY  HOME  FOR  THE  INS.\NE 

At  the  December  ( 1880)  session  of  the  board  of  supervisors  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  secure  plans  for  a  building  to  l)e  used  in  caring  for  the  insane 
of  the  count} .  Plans  were  adopted  by  the  committee  and  so  reported  at  the 
following  March  term,  but  no  action  was  taken  thereon,  as  legislation  pertinent 
to  the  subject  was  at  that  time  progressing  in  the  general  assembly.  The  matter 
again  came  up  before  the  board  at  the  March  session  of  1882,  Charles  Ulrichson 
submitting  plans  for  a  building  to  cost  $28,390,  w'hich  were  adopted,  and  no 
further  action  was  taken  until  at  the  September  session,  when  the  proposition 
to  issue  $50,000  in  bonds  was  carried  by  the  board  and  ratified  by  the  electors 
of  the  county  at  the  November  election. 

In  April,  1883,  the  board  of  supervisors  awarded  to  A.  F.  Miller  the  con- 
tract for  the  erection  of  the  main  building  for  the  insane,  which  was  completed 
the  following  December  at  a  cost  of  about  $37,000.  The  structure  is  of  brick 
and  three  stories  in  height.  It  was  built  contiguous  to  the  main  building  of  the 
infirmary  and  when  the  latter  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  March,  1886,  it  was  not 
touched  by  the  flames. 

The  main,  building  of  the  county  farm,  the  walls  of  which  were  standing 
after  the  fire,  was  rebuilt  by  Contractor  Fred  Meintz,  and  completed  in  De- 
cember, 1886,  the  total  cost  of  which  was  $17,021.  The  insurance  money  re- 
ceived on  the  old  building,  $14,030.43,  went  a  long  way  toward  meeting  this 
unanticipated  expense.  The  last  extension  improvement  made  here  was  the 
erection  of  a  hospital  building.  This  building  was  started  late  in  1896  and  com- 
pleted in  the  early  fall  of  1897,  at  a  total  cost  of  $11,419.  It  has  a  capacity  of 
sixty  patients  and  is  modern  in  its  conveniences.  There  are  now  two  hundred 
inmates  at  this  home  for  the  infirm  and  indigent  of  the  county,  who  are  well 
provided  for.     The  present  superintendent  is  D.  J.  Davis. 

n.LINOIS    .\SYI.UM    FOR   THE   INCUR.\BLE    INS.\NE 

One  of  the  great  eleemosynary  institutions  of  the  state,  the  Illinois  Asylum 
for  the  incurable  insane,  is  located  at  the  suburban  town  of  Bartonville,  in  Lime- 
stone township,  and  to  certain  energetic,  charitably  disposed  women  of  Peoria, 
may  be  given  credit  for  the  selection  of  Peoria  as  the  location  for  this  great 
home  for  the  state's  unfortunates.  In  his  report  to  the  governor  in  1904,  Dr. 
George  A.  Zeller,  superintendent,  among  other  things,  had  the  following  to  say: 

"As  local  federations  of  charities  multiplied  and  county  supervision  of  alms- 
houses became  more  strict,  the  necessity  of  state  care  for  incurables  became  more 
and  more  apparent,  and  finally  culminated  in  the  formation  of  an  organization 
of  Peoria  women,  headed  by  that  able,  energetic  and  public-spirited  woman, 
Clara  Parsons  P.ourland.  then,  as  now,  president  of  the  Women's  Club. 

"These  women  agitated  the  question  through  the  local  and  state  press  be- 
fore meetings  of  men  and  women  in  many  localities,  they  besieged  the  conven- 
tions of  both  parties  and  secured  endorsement  of  their  views  and  finally  sent  a 
lobby  to  Springfield  to  present  the  matter  to  the  legislature,  where,  in  the  ses- 


liriu'ial    KitrlH'ii('a|Jarity    I'iftccii    'riKuis.iihl    McaU    Daily 


'I'Ih'   Xiirsi's"   Home,   witli   (liiiii|i   .ii    Iiiiiiatr>    in    tlii'    lMirc.i;iiiiiiiil 


'l'y|iifal   t'dttafic    \  iiii's    and    Flowers.    Sliowini;    Inmates'    (  are 

HAirmw  ii.i.K   .\svi.i\\i    Fill;   insank 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  117 

sion  of  1895,  they  finally  succeeded  in  securing  an  appropriation  of  $65,000 
for  the  erection  of  a  main  building,  so  constructed  as  to  permit  of  extensive 
additions. 

"In  the  meantime  an  organization  of  Peoria  citizens  became  active  in  secur- 
ing desirable  sites  and  a  commission  named  by  Governor  Altgeld,  consisting  of 
Hon.  John  Finley,  of  Peoria,  Hon.  J.  J.  McAndrevvs,  of  Chicago,  and  Hon. 
Henry  \\".  Alexander,  of  Joliet,  selected  the  site  oftered  by  the  people  of 
Bartonville — a  clean  donation  of  three  hundred  and  eighteen  acres  of  land,  paid 
for  out  of  voluntary  subscriptions  secured  by  a  commission  headed  by  Joseph 
P.  Barton,  and  others. 

"The  fact  that  the  first  building  was  found  defective  and  unsafe,  owing  to 
the  discovery  that  it  was  located  over  abandoned  coal  drifts,  perhaps  proved 
a  blessing  rather  than  a  misfortune,  since  it  enabled  the  succeeding  governor, 
John  R.  Tanner,  through  his  al)le  adviser,  Dr.  Frederick  H.  Wines,  secretary 
of  the  State  Board  of  Charities,  to  re-plan  and  re-construct  it  upon  the  present 
magnificent  and  niotlern  lines.  Its  construction  occupied  the  whole  of  Governor 
Tanner's  term  and  he  left  no  greater  monument  than  the  splendidly  eciuipped  in- 
stitution. It  came  into  the  hands  of  Governor  Yates  as  the  unfinished  task 
of  two  previous  governors,  and  he  made  it  the  object  of  his  special  solicitude, 
succeeding  not  only  in  securing  for  it  the  necessary  funds  to  permit  of  its 
opening  on  February  10,  1902,  for  the  reception  of  seven  hundred  inmates, 
but  in  the  legislature  of  1903  he  again  urged  measures  which  doubled  its  ca- 
pacity." 

'1  he  original  plan  was  for  one  large  building  with  wings,  the  building  of 
which  was  practically  completed  when  the  scheme  was  changed  to  the  cottage 
system,  and  in  all  probability  that  was  the  real  reason  for  discarding  the  struc- 
ture already  erected  at  a  large  expenditure  of  money,  for  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
while  the  building  was  located  upon  an  abandoned  coal  mine,  the  roof  of  the 
mine  was  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  from  the  outer  surface  of  the  ground. 
The  change  of  plans,  however,  was  a  most  desirable  one.  The  cottage  system 
was  selected  and  now,  in  addition  to  the  administration  buikling  and  nurses' 
home,  there  are  some  thirty  or  forty  cottages. 

In  1910  a  beautiful  octagonal  building,  the  circle  being  composed  prac- 
tically all  of  glass  and  capable  of  seating  one  thousand  patients,  was  con- 
structed as  a  dining  hall,  and  otTers  a  most  pleasing  contrast  to  the  numerous 
cottages  of  uniform  design. 

In  1 9 12  the  construction  of  a  new  administration  building  was  commenced, 
which,  when  finished,  will  cost  about  $75,000.  The  last  biennial  report,  pub- 
lished in  June,  1910,  showed  the  actual  daily  average  jiopulation  present  at 
this  institution  during  the  entire  two  years  of  1909  and  1910  was  2,089. 

Dr.  (leorge  A.  Zeller  is  the  present  superintendent  and  has  been  in  charge 
of  the  institution  since  it  was  first  opened  in  1902. 

COUNTY    F.'MRS 

The  Peoria  Agricultural  Society  was  formed  in  the  year  1841.  Smith 
Dunlap  was  the  first  president;  John  C.  Flanagan,  recording  secretary;  Amos 
Stevens,  corresponding  secretary ;  and  Peter  Sweat,  treasurer.  There  were 
fifteen  members  in  all.  I'Vom  this  time  on  it  held  its  annual  meets  at  various 
places,  the  third  one  in  the  town  of  Kickapoo.  That  year  new  officers  were 
elected.  William  J.  Phelps  was  chosen  jiresident ;  John  Armstrong  and  Samuel 
T.  McKean,  vice  ]iresidents ;  John  C.  I'lanagan,  recording  secretary;  Thomas 
N.  Wells,  corresponding  secretary.  The  records  were  kept  in  so  indifferent  a 
manner  as  to  make  it  impossible  to  give  any  account  of  subsequent  meetings 
of  the  association  up  to  the  year  1855.  However,  that  year  twenty  acres  of 
land,  now  known  as  the  Taole  Grove  Addition  to  the  city  of  Peoria,  was  pur- 
chased, and  in  1856  a  fraction  over  two  acres  more  were  added.  Buildings 
were  erected  and  fairs  were  held  there  for  several  vears. 


118  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

The  society  was  reorganized  in  1855  under  the  name  of  Peoria  County 
Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Society,  and  fairs  were  held  under  that  name 
until  1872.  The  board  of  supervisors  who  had  purchased  the  ground,  leased  it 
to  the  society  May  4,  1871,  for  a  period  of  ninety-nine  years,  upon  a  nominal 
rental  of  one  dollar  per  year,  and  upon  condition  that  the  county  fairs  should 
be  held  there  annually.  At  this  time  it  was  thought  probable  that  state  fairs 
would  at  times  be  held  here  but  the  grounds  were  so  remote  from  railroad 
stations  and  difficult  of  access  that  they  were  found  unsuitable  and  the  Peoria 
Fair  Association  was  organized  early  in  the  year  1873,  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $50,000.  This  new  society  purchased  a  tract  of  land  lying  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Rock  Island  &  Peoria  railroad,  containing  about  thirty-five  acres,  and 
fitted  the  grounds  for  the  accommodation  of  the  state  fair,  as  well  as  for  county 
fairs.  State  fairs  were  held  there  in  the  years  1873  and  1874,  with  a  fair 
measure  of  success.  In  the  '90s  the  state  fair  was  permanently  located  at  Spring- 
field, and  the  capital  being  within  such  easy  distance  for  the  people  of  Peoria 
county  to  reach  with  a  small  expenditure  of  time  and  money,  the  local  meet- 
ings were  superseded  and  have  ceased  to  be  held. 

COUNTY    COMMISSIONERS 

Nathan  Dillon,  1825-27;  Joseph  Smith,  1825-26;  William  Holland,  1825-27; 
John  Hamlin,  1826-28;  George  Sharp,  1827-31;  Henry  Thomas,  1827-28;  Isaac 
Egman,  1828-30;  Francis  Thomas,  1828-30 ;  Stephen  French,  1830-32;  John 
Hamlin,  1830-31;  Resolved  Cleveland,  1831-32;  John  Coyle,  1831-36;  Aquilla 
Wren,  1832-34;  Edwin  S.  Jones,  1832-34. 

CLERKS    OF   THE    COUNTY    COMMISSIONERS    COURT    AND    COUNTY    CLERKS 

Norman  Hyde,  March  to  June,   1825;  John  Dixon,   1825-30;  Stephen  Still- 
man,    (resigned)    1830-31;   Isaac   Waters,    1831-35;   William   Mitchell    (died    ii 
office)    1835-49;  Ralph  Hamlin,   (to  fill  vacancy)    1849;  Charles  Kettelle,   1849 
65;   John  D.  McClure,  1865-82;  James  T.  Pillsbury,   1882-90;  James  E.  Walsh, 
1890-94;  Charles  A.  Rudel,  (resigned)    1894-1900;  John  A.  West,  June  16,   (to 
fill  vacancy)    1900;  Lucas  I.  Butts,   1900-06;  Oscar  Heinrich,   1906-. 

JUDGES  OF  PROB.XTE  COURT  .\ND  PR0B.\TE   JUSTICES  OF  PE.\CE 

Norman  Hyde  (died  in  office),  1825-32;  Andrew  M.  Hunt.  1832-37;  George 
B.  Parker,  1837-39;  Edward  Dickinson,  1839-43;  William  H.  Fessenden,  1843- 
47;  Thomas  Bryant,  1847-49. 

At  this  point  the  office  of  probate  justice  of  the  peace  was  abolished  and  juris- 
diction in  probate  matters  was  conferred  upon  the  county  courts  created  by  the 
new  constitution.  The  constitution  of  1870  provided  for  the  reorganization  of 
probate  courts  in  counties  having  70,000  population.  Peoria  county  having  in 
1890  attained  the  requisite  population,  the  office  of  judge  of  the  probate  court 
was  revived,  the  following  being  the  list  of  incumbents  since  that  period : 

Leslie  D.  Puterbaugh  (resigned),  1890-97;  Joseph  W.  Maple  (to  fill  vacancy), 
1897-98;  Mark  M.  Bassett,  1898-1906;  Leander  O.  Eagleton,  1906-10;  A.  M. 
Otman,  1910-. 

PROBATE   CLERKS 

George  M.  Gibbons,  1890-94;  Fitch  C.  Cook,  1894-98;  Charles  A.  Roberts, 
1 898-. 

COUNTY   JUDGES 

Thomas  Brvant  (with  two  assistants  for  county  business  until  1850).  1849- 
57;  Wellington  Loucks,  1857-61  ;  John  C.  Folliott,  1861-65;  John  C.  Yates,  1865- 


m 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  119 

82;  Lawrence  \\'.  James,  (resigned),  1882-1890;  Israel  C.  Pinkney,  1890;  Samuel 

D.  Wead,    1890-94;   Robert   H.   Lovett,   1894-1902;   W.   I.   Slemmons,    1902-10; 
Clyde  E.  Stone,  1910-. 

COUNTY  TREASURERS 

Aaron  Hawley,  March  8,  1825;  George  Sharp,  March  14,  1827;  Norman 
Hyde.  April,  1827;  Simon  Crozier,  June,  1827-28;  John  Hamlin,  1828-29;  Henry 
P.  Stillnian,  1829-30;  Isaac  Waters,  1830-32;  Asahel  Hale,  1832-37;  Rudolphus 
Rouse.  1837-38;  Ralph  Hamlin,  1838-39;  Joseph  C.  Fuller,  1839;  Allen  L. 
Fahnestock,  1865-67;  Thomas  A.  Shaver,  1867-69;  Edward  C.  Silliman,  1869- 
71;  Isaac  Taylor,  1871-82;  Frederick  D.  Weinette,  1882-86;  Henry  H.  Forsythe, 
1886-90;  Charles  Jaeger,  1890-94;  Adolph  H.  Barnewolt,  1894-98;  Jacob  F. 
Knupp.  1898-1902;  Frederick  Olander,  1902-06;  William  P.  Gauss,  1906-10; 
Lewis  M.  Hines,  1910;  Amos  Stevens,  1839-41;  Charles  Kettelle,  1841-43;  Wil- 
liam M.  Dodge,  1843-45;  Ralph  Hamlin,  1845-51:  John  A.  McCoy,  1851-55; 
Joseph   Ladd,   1855-59;   Isaac  Brown,    1859-65. 

CIRCUIT    CLERKS 

John  Dixon,  1825-30;  Stephen  Stillman,  1830-31;  Isaac  Waters,  1831-35; 
Lewis  Bigelow,  1835-39;  William  Mitchell,  1839-45;  Jacob  Gale.  1845-56;  Enoch 
P.  Sloan,  1856-64;  Thomas  Mooney,  1864-68;  George  A.  Wilson,  1868-76;  lohn 
A.  West,  1876-80;  James  E.  Walsh,  1880-88;  Francis  G.  Minor,  1888-92;  James 

E.  Pillsbury,    1892-96;  Thaddeus   S.   Simpson,    1896-1908;  Richard  A.   Kellogg, 
1908-. 

state's    ATTORNEYS 

Prior  to  tlie  year  1853,  ''  does  not  appear  that  Peoria  had  any  resident  state's 
attorney.  After  the  formation  of  the  sixteenth  circuit,  and  until  1870,  the  state's 
attorney  was  elected  for  the  entire  circuit.  Since  the  adoption  of  the  new  con- 
stitution of  that  year,  each  county  has  elected  its  own.  The  following  is  the  list 
of  state's  attorneys  from  1S53  until  the  present  time,  all  of  whom  have  resided 
in  Peoria. 

Elbridge  G.  Johnson.  1853-56;  Alexander  McCoy,  1856-64;  Charles  P.  Tag- 
gart,  1864-67 ;  George  Puterbaugh.  1867-72 ;  William  Kellogg,  1872-80 ;  Alva 
Loucks,  1880-83;  John  M.  Niehaus,  1883-92;  Richard  J.  Cooney,  1892-96;  John 
Dailey,  1896-1900;  William  \'.  Teft,  1900-1904:  Robert  Scholes,  1904-. 

sheriffs 

Samuel  Fulton,  1825-28;  Orin  Hamlin,  1828-30:  Henry  B.  Stillman,  1830- 
32 ;  John  W.Caldwell,  1832-34;  William  Compher,  (resigned),  1834-35;  Thomas 
Bryant,  1835-40;  Christopher  Orr,  1840-42;  Smith  Frye,  1842-46;  William 
Compher  (vacated  office — left  deputy  in  charge),  1846-50;  Clark  Cleveland, 
(depty),  1850;  James  L.  Riggs,  1850-52;  Leonard  B.  Cornwell,  1852-54;  David 
D.  Irons,  1854-56;  Francis  W.  Smith,  1856-58;  John  Bryner,  1858-60;  James 
Stewart,  1860-62;  J-  A.  J.  Murray,  1862-64;  George  C.  McFadden,  1864-66;  Frank 
Hitchcock,  1866-68;  Samuel  L.  Gill,  1868-70;  Frank  Hitchcock,  1870-80;  Samuel 
L.  Gill,  1880-82;  Cyrus  L.  Berry,  1882-86;  Warren  Noel,  1886-90;  Cyrus  L. 
Berry,  1890-94;  Charles  E.  Johnston,  1894-98;  John  W.  Kimsey,  1898-1902; 
Daniel  E.  Potter,  1902-06;  Lewis  M.  Hines.  1906-10;  Francis  G.  Minor,  1910-. 

SCHOOL  commissioners   AND  SUPERINTENDENTS   OF   SCHOOLS 

Jeriel  Root.  1831-33;  Andrew  M.  Hunt,  1833-37:  Charles  Kettelle.  1837-45; 
Ezra  G.  Sanger,  1845-47;  Clark  B.  Stebbins,  1847-51:  Ephraim  Hinman,  1851- 
55;  David  McCulloch,  1855-61 ;  Charles  P.  Taggart,  1861-63;  William  G.  Randall, 


120  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

1863-65;  X.  E.  Worthington,  1865-73;  ^I^ry  E.  VVhitesides,  1873-77;  James  E. 
Pillsbury,  1877-82;  Mary  Whitesides  Emery,  1882-90;  AloUie  O'Brien,  1890-94; 
Joseph  1'..  Robertson,  1894-1902;  Claude  U.  Stone,  1902-10;  John  Arleigh  Hayes, 
1910-. 


COUNTY    SL'RVEVORS 


Norman  Hyde,  1832;  Charles  Ballance,  1832;  Thomas  Phillips,  1835-39; 
George  C.  .McFadden,  1839-49;  Henry  W.  McFadden,  1849-53;  Daniel  B.  Allen, 
1853-57:  Samuel  Farmer,  1857-59;  Richard  Russell,  1859-61;  Daniel  B.  Allen, 
1861-65  ;  Luther  F.  Nash,  1865-67;  Charles  Spaulding,  1867-69;  Arthur  T.  Birkett, 
1869-75;  Robert  Will,  1875-76;  Daniel  B.  Allen,  1876-96;  Leander  King,  1896-97; 
Charles  H.  Dunn,  1897-. 

CORONERS 

William  E.  Phillips,  1825-26;  Henry  Neeley,  1826-28;  Resolved  Cleveland, 
1828-32;  William  A.  Stewart,  1832-36;  John  Caldwell,  1836-37;  Edward  F.  Now- 
land,  1837-38;  Jesse  Miles,  1838-40;  James  Mossman,  1840-42;  Chester  Hamlin, 
1842-44;  tereniiah  Williams,  1^844-48;  John  C.  Heyle,  1848-50;  Charles  Kimbel, 
1850-52;  Ephraim  Hinman,  1852-56;  Milton  McCormick,  1856-58:  John  N.  Nig- 
las",  1858-60;  Charles  Feinse,  "1860-62;  Thomas  H.  Antcliff.  1862-64;  Willis  B. 
Goodwin,  1864-68:  Philip  Eichorn,  1868-70;  Willis  B.  Goodwin,  1870-76;  Michael 
M.  Powell,  1876-82;  John  Thompson,  1882-84;  James  Bennett,  1884-92;  Henry 
Hoeffer,  1892-96;  Samuel  Harper,  1896-1904;  R.  Leslie  Baker,  1904-08;  William 
B.  Elliott,  1908-. 


CHAPTF.R   X\'I 
"old  peorias"  home  of  the  French  and  Indians  founded  about  1763 — in  1778 

THE    NEW    VILLAGE    WAS    ESTAHLISHED    BY    JEAN    BAPTISTE    MAILETT   AND   SINCE 

known  as  fort  CLARK,  THE  PRESENT  CITY  OF  PEORIA THE  VILLAGE  DESTROYED 

IN    1812 — DESCRIPTION  OF  EARLY  INHABITANTS  AND  THEIR  HOMES — SOME  WHO 
LIVED  IN  OLD  PEORIA SETTLEMENT  OF  FRENCH    CLAIMS  TO  TRACTS  OF  LAND. 

At  the  time  ni  the  cession  of  the  Ilhiiois  countr\'  l)y  France  to  England  (1/63), 
there  was  a  village  composed  of  I'rench  and  Indians,  on  the  west  bank  of  Lake 
Peoria,  near  the  foot  of  Caroline  street,  which  extended  as  far  as  "Birket's 
Hollow."  Here  a  fort  had  been  erected  and  the  place  was  known  as  "Old  Peoria's 
Fort  and  \'illage."  When  the  fort  was  built  is  not  definitely  known.  It  was 
probably  put  up  soon  after  the  destruction  of  Fort  Creve  Coeur.  In  his  "Pioneer 
History  of  Illinois"  Governor  Reynolds  says : 

"The  Traders — their  voyageurs,  and  others  in  their  employment,  occupied 
this  post,  more  or  less,  ever  since  its  first  establishment.  As  it  has  been  said, 
the  Indian  trade  of  that  section  of  the  country  was  better  than  at  any  other  point. 
This  made  it  to  the  interest  of  the  traders  to  occupy  the  place. 

"Peoria  never,  in  ancient  times,  was  as  large  a  village  as  either  Kaskaskia  or 
Cahokia,  but  it  is  more  ancient  than  either  of  them.  La  Salle,  when  he  first  saw 
the  country,  was  charmed  with  the  beauty  of  the  place  and  established  a  fort 
there.  He  also  knew  the  resources  of  the  country  arising  from  the  In<lian  trade, 
which  was  another,  and  perhaps  a  greater,  inducement  to  erect  his  grand  depot 
here  for  the  Indian  trade  than   for  any  other  consideration. 

"In  the  first  settlement  of  the  country,  the  missionaries  settled  at  this  point, 
and  had  their  flocks  of  the  young  natives  around  them.  Peoria  can  boast  of 
a  higher  anti(|uity  than  any  other  town  in  Illinois,  and  about  the  same  date  with 
St.  Josephs,  Green  Bay,  Mackinaw  and  Detroit. 

"The  French  cultivated  some  ground,  more  or  less,  at  Peoria,  for  more  than 
one  hundred  years  past.  They  cultivated  at  the  old  village  to  some  e.xtent  and 
at  the  new  one  since  the  year  1778,  when  it  was  commenced  by  Maillet.  It  will 
be  seen  by  the  report  of  the  United  States  officers,  sustained  by  positive  proof, 
that  one  .-\ntoine  St.  Francois  had  a  family  in  Peoria  in  the  year  1765,  and 
cultivated  a  field  of  corn  adjacent  to  the  village. 

"Other  inhabitants  also  resided  there  at  the  same  time  and  lone  before.  It 
is  true,  most  of  the  citizens  were  Indian  traders  and  those  living  on  the  trade ; 
but  this  trade  required  support  by  men  and  provisions  which  were  both  furnished, 
to  some  extent,  by  the  settlers  of  Peoria." 

Peoria  was  in  the  early  and  strenuous  days  an  important  military  and  trading 
post,  as  shown  by  the  famous  treaty  of  Greenville.  Under  that  treaty  sixteen 
military  or  trading  posts  were  ceded  to  the  government,  one  of  which  was  de- 
scribed as  "one  piece  (land)  six  miles  square  at  Old  Peoria's  Fort  and  \^illage, 
near  the  south  end  of  the  Illinois  lake,  on  the  said  Illinois  river."  Thus  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  village  of  Peoria  was  one  of  a  chain  of  trading  posts  with  a  fort, 
extending  from  Detroit  by  way  of  Michilimackinac  and  Chicago,  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Illinois  river. 

Of  the  remote  history  of  Peoria  and  when  it  was  first  settled  liy  white  men 

121 


\ 


122  TTISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUXTY 

there  are  some  discrepancies  among  historians.  It  is  said,  however,  that  in  the 
spring  of  1712  a  party  of  Frenchmen  came  from  Fort  St.  Louis  (Starved  Rock) 
and  estabhshed  a  trading  post  among  the  Indians  at  this  place ;  but  that  is  dis- 
puted. It  is  a  fact,  however,  that  for  many  years  the  only  inhabitants  of  the 
primitive  village  of  Peoria  were  the  French  and  Indians ;  and  the  houses  were 
built  about  one  and  a  half  miles  above  the  lower  end  of  Lake  Peoria.  Later, 
about  1778,  one  Jean  Baptiste  Maillet,  formed  a  settlement  about  one  and  a  half 
j  miles  i)elow  the  old  village,  which  was  known  as  Fort  Clark.  By  1797  the  old 
'  village  had  been  entirely  deserted  for  the  new. 

N.  Matson,  long  since  deceased,  who  had  been  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Prince- 
ton, the  capital  of  Bureau  county,  published  a  small  volume  of  history  in  1882, 
which  he  entitled  "The  Pioneers  of  Illinois."  In  the  preface  to  this  work  Mr. 
Matson  tells  his  readers  that  he  had  visited  descendants  of  French  pioneers,  then 
living  in  the  "American  Bottom,"  and  had  heard  them  relate  the  stories  of  their 
forebears.  As  these  persons  were  of  the  third  and  fourth  generation  a  repetition 
of  their  narrations  can  only  be  given  in  the  way  of  tradition,  especially  that  part 
pertinent  to  the  village  of  Peoria  and  its  people.     Mr.  Matson  says: 

"According  to  the  statement  of  Antoine  Des  Champs,  Thomas  Forsyth  and 
others,  who  had  long  been  residents  of  Peoria  previous  to  its  destruction  in  18 12, 
we  infer  that  the  town  contained  a  large  population.  It  formed  a  connecting  link 
between  the  settlements  on  the  Mississippi  and  Canada,  and  being  situated  in 
the  midst  of  an  Indian  country  caused  it  to  be  a  fine  place  for  the  fur  trade. 
The  town  was  built  along  the  beach  of  the  lake,  and  to  each  house  was  attached 
an  outlet  for  a  garden,  which  extended  back  on  the  prairie.  The  houses  were 
all  constructed  of  wood,  one  story  high,  with  porches  on  two  sides,  and  located 
in  a  garden  surrounded  with  fruits  and  flowers.  Some  of  the  dwellings  were 
built  of  hewed  timbers  set  upright,  and  the  space  between  the  posts  filled  in  with 
stones  and  mortar,  while  others  were  built  of  hewed  logs  notched  together  after 
the  style  of  a  pioneer's  cabin.  The  floors  were  laid  with  puncheons  and  the 
chimney  built  with  sticks  and  mud. 

"When  Colonel  Clark  took  possession  of  Illinois  in  1778  he  sent  three  soldiers, 
accompanied  by  two  Frenchmen,  in  a  canoe  to  Peoria  to  notify  the  people  that 
they  were  no  longer  under  British  rule,  but  citizens  of  the  United  States.  Among 
these  soldiers  was  a  man  named  Nicholas  Smith,  a  resident  of  Bourbon  county, 
Kentucky,  and  whose  son,  Joseph  Smith,  was  among  the  first  American  settlers 
of  Peoria.  Through  this  channel  we  have  an  account  of  Peoria  as  it  appeared 
a  century  ago,  and  it  agrees  well  with  other  traditional  accounts. 

"Mr.  Smith  said  Peoria  at  the  time  of  his  visit  was  a  large  town,  built  along 
the  beach  of  the  lake,  with  narrow,  unpaved  streets,  and  houses  constructed  of 
wood.  Back  of  the  town  were  gardens,  stockyards,  barns,  etc.,  and  among  these 
was  a  wine  press,  with  a  large  cellar  or  underground  vault  for  storing  wine. 
There  was  a  church  with  a  large  wooden  cross  raised  above  the  roof,  and  with 
gilt  lettering  over  the  door.  There  was  an  unoccupied  fort  on  the  bank  of  the 
lake  and  close  by  it  a  windmill  for  grinding  grain.  The  town  contained  six 
stores,  or  places  of  trade,  all  of  which  were  well  filled  with  goods  for  the  Indian 
market.  The  inhabitants  consisted  of  French,  half-breeds  and  Indians,  not  one 
of  whom  could  understand  or  speak  English. 

"Among  the  inhaljitants  of  Peoria  were  merchants  or  traders  who  made 
annual  trips  to  Canada  in  canoes,  carrying  thither  pelts  and  furs  and  loaded  back 
with  goods  for  the  Indian  market.  They  were  blacksmiths,  wagon  makers, 
carpenters,  shoemakers,  etc.,  and  most  of  the  implements  used  in  farming  were  of 
home  manufacture.  Although  isolated  from  the  civilized  world,  and  surrounded 
by  savages,  their  standard  of  morality  was  high ;  theft,  robbery  or  murder  were 
seldom  heard  of.  They  were  a  gay,  happy  people,  having  many  social  parties, 
wine  suppers,  balls  and  public  festivals.  They  lived  in  harmony  with  the  Indians, 
who  were  their  neighbors  and  friends,  adopting  in  part  their  customs,  and  in 
trade  with  them  accumulated  most  of  their  wealth. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  123 

"The  dress  of  both  men  and  women  was  very  plain,  made  of  coarse  material, 
and  the  style  of  their  wardrobe  was  partly  luirop'ean  and  partly  Indian.  The  men 
seldom  wore  a  hat,  cap  or  coat,  their  heads  being  covered  with  a  cotton  handker- 
chief, folded  on  the  crown  like  a  nightcaj),  or  an  Arabian  turban.  Instead  of  a 
coat  they  wore  a  loose  blanket  garment  called  capote,  with  a  cap  of  the  same 
material  hanging  down  at  the  back  of  the  neck,  which  could  be  drawn  over  the 
head  as  a  protection  from  rain  or  cold.  The  women  wore  loose  dresses,  made 
mostly  of  coarse  material,  with  their  heads  covered  with  a  hood  or  blanket,  and 
their  long  hair  hanging  down  their  back  like  an  Indian  s(|uaw.  But  these  women 
were  noted  for  sprightliness  in  conversation,,  with  grace  and  elegance  of  manners, 
and  notwithstanding  the  plainness  of  their  dress  many  of  them  were  not  lacking 
in  personal  charm." 

Under  the  treaty  of  1783  between  Great  Britain  and  die  United  States,  the 
French  became  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  when  the  war  of  1812  broke 
out  the  French  inhabitants  of  Peoria  were  suspected  of  giving  aid  to  the  British, 
by  furnishing  arms  and  ammunition  to  the  hostile  Indians.  Especially  was  this 
the  case  with  the  leading  man  in  the  village,  Jean  Baptiste  Maillet,  who  was 
captain  of  militia  and  posed  as  the  friend  of  the  government  and  as  such  had 
been  rewarded.  He  had  been  openly  charged  with  stealing  cattle  and  turning 
them  over  to  the  Indians  and  Captain  Craig  had  been  sent  to  Peoria,  in  the  autumn 
of  1812,  to  investigate  the  matter.  There  being  no  roads  between  the  southern 
part  of  the  territory  and  Peoria,  Captain  Craig  with  his  command  ascended  the 
river  in  small  row  boats  and  on  the  5th  day  of  November  reached  Peoria.  Upon 
his  arrival,  so  he  reported  to  Governor  Edwards,  he  was  told  the  Indians  had 
all  left  the  village,  but  this  was  not  true,  as  his  sentinels  on  the  boats  had  seen 
Indians  passing  through  the  town  with  candles  and  heard  their  canoes  crossing 
the  river  all  through  the  night.  On  the  following  night,  one  of  their  boats  dragged 
its  anchor  and  drifted  ashore  and  so,  the  report  continues,  in  the  morning  the 
boat  was  fired  on,  as  the  Captain  thought,  by  ten  or  more  Indians.  He  then  gave 
battle,  but  the  Indians  at  once  took  to  their  heels  and  esca])ed.  This  convinced 
Captain  Craig  that  the  French  were  in  league  with  the  Indians  and  guilty  of 
treason  and  he  took  all  of  them  prisoners,  after  having  located  them  all  in  one 
house.  How  many  there  were  he  does  not  state  in  his  report.  He  then  finished 
his  work  by  setting  fire  to  the  buildings  and  practically  destroying  the  town. 

In  1820  many  claims  to  title  in  the  land  in  and  about  Peoria  were  set  up  by 
these  same  French  settlers  and  their  representatives.  At  that  time  Edward 
Coles  was  register  of  the  United  States  land  ofiice  at  Edwardsville,  and  he  was 
deputized  to  take  proof  of  these  claims.  In  November  of  that  year  he  submitted 
a  report  to  the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  part  of  which  is  here  cjuoted,  as  it  gives, 
in  a  measure,  a  description  of  the  village  which  was  the  forerunner  of  the  present 
thriving  and  growing  city  of  Peoria : 

"The  old  village  of  Peoria  was  situated  on  the  northwest  shore  of  Lake  Peoria, 
about  one  mile  and  a  half  above  the  lower  extremity  of  the  lake.  This  village 
had  been  inhabited  by  the  French  previous  to  the  recollection  of  any  of  the  present 
generation,  .About  the  year  1778  or  1779,  the  first  house  was  built  in  what  was 
then  called  La\  ille  de  Alaillet,  afterwards  the  new  village  of  Peoria,  and  of  late 
the  place  has  been  known  by  the  name  of  Fort  Clark,  situated  about  one  mile 
and  a  half  Iselow  the  old  village,  immediately  at  the  lower  point  or  outlet  of  Lake 
Peoria,  tlie  situation  being  preferred  on  account  of  the  water  being  better  and 
its  being  thought  more  healthy.  The  inhabitants  gradually  deserted  the  old 
village,  and  by  the  year  1796  or  1797  had  entirely  abandoned  it  and  removed  to 
the  new  village. 

"The  inhabitants  of  Peoria  consisted  generally  of  Indian  traders,  hunters, 
and  voyageurs,  and  had  formed  a  link  of  connection  l:)etween  the  French  residing 
on  the  waters  of  the  great  lakes  and  the  Mississippi  river.  From  that  happy 
faculty  of  ada])ting  themselves  to  their  situation  and  associates  for  which  the 
French  are  so  remarkable,  the  inhabitants  of  Peoria  lived  generally  in  harmony 


124  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

with  their  savage  neighbors.  It  would  seem,  however,  that  about  the  year  1781 
they  were  induced  to  abandon  the  village  from  apprehension  of  Indian  hostilities ; 
but'  soon  after  the  peace  of  1783  they  again  returned,  and  continued  to  reside 
there  until  the  autumn  of  1812,  when  they  were  forcibly  removed  from  it  and 
the  place  destroyed  by  Captain  Craig  of  the  Illinois  militia,  on  the  ground,  as  it 
is  said,  that  he  and  his  company  of  militia  were  fired  on  in  the  night,  while  at 
anchor  in  their  boats,  before  the  village,  by  Indians,  with  whom  the  inhabitants 
were  suspected  by  Craig  to  be  too  intimate  and  friendly. 

"The  inhabitants  of  Peoria,  it  w-ould  appear  from  all  I  can  learn,  settled  there 
without  any  grant  or  permission  from  the  authority  of  any  government;  that 
the  only  title  they  had  to  their  lands  was  derived  from  possession,  and  the  only 
value  attached  to  it  grew  out  of  the  improvements  placed  upon  it.  That  each 
person  took  to  himself  such  portion  of  unoccupied  land  as  he  wished  to  occupy 
and  cultivate,  and  made  it  his  own  by  incorporating  his  labor  with  it,  but  as  soon 
as  he  abandoned  it  his  title  was  understood  to  cease,  with  his  possession  and 
improvements,  and  it  reverted  to  its  natural  state,  and  was  liable  again  to  be 
improved  and  possessed  by  any  who  should  think  proper.  This,  together  with 
the  itinerant  character  of  the  inhabitants,  will  account  for  the  number  of  persons 
who  will  frequently  be  found,  from  the  testimony  contained  in  the  report,  to  have 
occupied  the  same  lot,  many  of  whom,  it  will  be  seen,  present  conflicting  claims. 

"As  is  usual  in  French  villages,  the  possessions  in  Peoria  consisted  generally 
of  village  lots,  on  which  they  erected  their  buildings  and  made  their  gardens, 
and  of  outlots  or  fields,  in  which  they  cultivated  grain,  etc.  The  village  lots  con- 
tained, in  general,  about  one-half  of  an  arpen  of  land ;  the  outlots  or  fields  were 
of  various  sizes,  depending  on  the  industry  or  means  of  the  owner  to  cultivate 
more  or  less  land. 

"As  neither  the  old  nor  new  village  of  Peoria  was  ever  formally  laid  out  or 
had  defined  limits  assigned  them,  it  is  impossible  to  have  of  them  an  accurate 
map.  ...  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  with  precision  on  what  par- 
ticular quarter  sections  of  the  military  survey  these  claims  are  situated." 

SOME  WHO  LIVED  IN  OLD  PEORI.\ 

Congress  passed  an  act  on  the  3d  day  of  March,  1791.  in  which  was  a  provi- 
sion that  four  hundred  acres  of  land  be  given  to  each  of  those  persons  who  in 
the  year  1783  were  heads  of  families  at  Vincennes  or  in  the  Illinois  country, 
and  who  since  then  had  removed  from  one  place  to  another  within  the  district, 
and  also  to  such  as  had  removed  out  of  the  limits  of  the  territory  specified,  upon 
condition  of  their  returning  and  occupying  said  lands  within  five  years.  The 
further  provision  was  made  that  when  lands  had  been  actually  improved  and 
cultivated  within  the  limits  mentioned,  under  grants  presumed  to  be  valid,  issued 
by  any  commandant  or  court  claiming  authority  in  the  premises,  the  governor 
was  empowered  to  confirm  said  grants  to  such  persons,  their  heirs  or  assigns, 
or  such  parts  thereof  deemed  reasonable,  not  to  exceed  four  hundred  acres  to  any 
one  person ;  also,  "That  the  governor  be  authorized  to  make  a  grant  of  land, 
not  exceeding  one  hundred  acres,  to  each  person  who  hath  not  obtained  any  grant 
of  land  from  the  United  States,  and  who  on  the  first  day  of  August,  1790,  was 
enrolled  in  the  militia  at  Vincennes  or  in  the  Illinois  Country,  and  has  done 
militia  duty."  These  provisions  resulted  unsatisfactorily,  however,  and  congress 
passed  an  act  on  March  26,  1804,  establishing  land  offices  at  Mncennes  and  Kas- 
kaskia.  Michael  Jones  was  appointed  register  at  the  latter  settlement,  and  Elijah 
Backus,  receiver,  "who  were  vested  with  authority  to  receive  proof  of  all  claims, 
coming  under  the  acts  mentioned,  and  adjudicate  them.  This  commission  made 
several  reports  and  continued  in  existence  until  1815,  when  it  was  terminated. 

The  grants  of  land  were  separated  by  the  register  into  four  classes — ancient 
grants;  donations  to  heads  of  families;  donations  on  account  of  improvements; 
donations  to  militia  men.     The  records  of  the  land  office  do  not  show,  however. 


EAKl.V    I'KtiUIA    .MAXSluX.   LII'.EUTY   STREET   BETWEEN   .lEFEERSON   AND 

JIADISON   STREETS 

Note  tho   lirownll  gables 


Te.Corherof  Apams  . 

AND  FDLTOI-  StREETSAS 

rrAPPEAREPir<  1844  ♦  • 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  125 

that  any  claims  were  filed  by  Peorians  under  ancient  grants  from  the  I'Vench  or 
English  proprietors,  but  a  number  were  made  under  the  classification  herein 
noted,  and  the  following  claims  were  recommended  for  confirmation: 

"Pierre  Troge,  in  the  right  of  his  wife  Charlotte,  who  was  the  daughter  and 
heir-at-law  of  Antoine  St.  Francois,  was  reported  as  entitled  to  four  hundred 
acres  on  account  of  improvements  and  cultivation,  and  four  hundred  on  account 
of  St.  Francois,  the  ancestor  having  been  the  head  of  a  family  at  Peoria  in  1783. 
It  was  proved  by  Louis  Pilette,  an  ancient  inhabitant  of  Cahok'ia,  that  St.  Francois 
was  the  head  of  a  family  at  Peoria  and  that  he  cultivated  the  land,  having  a  small 
field  in  which  he  sowed  corn  in  the  year  1765;  and  that  he  remained  there  sev- 
eral years  thereafter;  also  that  Pierre  Troge  married  his  daughter.  This  little 
item  of  evidence  lets  the  light  in  upon  the  life  of  "Old  Peoria"  at  the  time  when 
the  sovereignty  of  the  country  was  transferred  from  France  to  Great  P>ritain. 
The  fact  that  St.  Francois  remained  after  that  period  raises  the  presumption,  at 
least,  that  he  became  a  P.ritish  subject ;  and  the  fact  of  his  heir  having  been 
granted  land  by  the  government  of  the  United  States  afl'ords  almost  conclusive 
evidence  that  he  had  become  a  citizen  of  Virginia  or  of  the  United  States  at  or 
after  the  time  of  the  Revolution.  Of  his  wife's  name  or  parentage  we  have  no 
information.  Nor  do  we  know  anything  of  Pierre  Troge,  except  that  he  married 
the  daughter.  The  name  of  Louis  Pilmette  is  closely  and  inseparably  connected 
with  the  history  of  Peoria.  It  also  appears  from  the  report  of  Edward  Coles 
that  this  same  Charlotte  Troge,  nee  St.  Francois,  laid  claim  to  a  lot  containing 
two  arpens,  situated  two  miles  above  Fort  Clark,  near  "Old  Fort  Peoria."  We 
therefore  discover  in  this  one  instance  the  name  of  five  persons  who  lived  at 
"Old  Peoria,"  namely :  Antoine  St.  Francois  and  his  wife,  his  daughter  Char- 
lotte, her  husband  Pierre  Troge,  and  Louis  Pilette. 

"That  Louis  Pilette  was  a  good  and  loyal  citizen  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he 
received  a  donation  of  one  hundred  acres  of  land  from  the  government  upon 
Governor  Harrison's  confirmation,  on  account  of  military  services. 

"The  claims  of  a  large  majority  of  the  inhabitants  had  been  sold  before  being 
proved,  principally  to  Nicholas  Jarrott,  Isaac  Darneille,  William  Russell  and 
William  .Arundel,  in  whose  names  the  proofs  were  made.  These  purchasers  will 
be  disregarded  and  the  names  of  the  original  claimants  given  as  the  donees. 

"To  Louis  Bihore  there  was  confirmed  four  hundred  acres  on  account  of 
improvements  and  four  hundred  acres  on  account  of  his  having  been  the  head 
of  the  family  at  Peoria  in  1783.  That  Bihore  was  a  very  early  inhabitant  of 
Peoria  is  shown  by  the  fact  of  his  having  been  a  witness  on  behalf  of  some  of 
the  oldest  claims. 

"To  Jean  Baptiste  Sheonberger,  alias  St.  Jean,  were  confirmed  four  hundred 
acres  on  account  of  improvements  near  the  "Old  Fort"  of  Peoria.  No  other 
claim  having  been  made  on  his  behalf,  it  is  to  be  presumed  he  was  neither  the 
head  of  a  family  nor  a  militiaman  within  the  terms  of  the  law. 

"To  Louis  Chattlereau  were  confirmed  one  hundred  acres  as  a  militia  man, 
four  hundred  as  head  of  a  family  at  Peoria  in  1783,  and  four  hundred  on  account 
of  cultivating  about  forty  acres  of  land  and  improving  the  same  by  building  a 
house,  a  horse  mill,  etc.,  thereon. 

"To  Pierre  Verbois,  alias  Blondereau,  were  confirmed  at  Peoria  one  hundred 
acres  as  a  militia  man.     No  other  information  obtainable. 

"To  Pierre  Lavassieur  ( dit  Chamberlain)  were  confirmed  one  hundred  acres 
as  a  militia  man.  This  man  was  also  a  claimant  before  Edward  Coles  for  a 
lot  containing  two  arpens  in  the  "Old  \'illage"  and  of  another  lot  containing  twelve 
arpens  near  the  same. 

"To  John  B.  Chevy  were  confirmed  four  hun<hed  acres  on  account  of  improve- 
ments and  four  hundred  acres  as  head  of  a  family.  It  was  proved  by  Louis  La- 
perche,  Louis  Boisman  and  Louis  Bihore  that  Chevy  was  an  inhabitant  of  Peoria, 
that  he  was  the  head  of  a  family  and  cultivated  ground,  planting  it  in  corn,  as  early 
as  the  year  1779. 


126  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

"To  fean  1!.  Jourdain,  who  lived  at  Peoria,  were  confirmed  four  hundred  acres 
on  account  of  improvements  made  upon  and  the  cultivation  of  a  farm  on  Maillet's 
river  (probably  the  Kickapoo)  where  he  had  a  house  and  jjlanted  corn  as  early 
as  1783. 

"To  Jean  B.  Amlin,  who  lived  at  Peoria  from  1779  to  1799,  were  confirmed 
four  hundred  acres  on  account  of  improvements  l)y  cultivating  land  and  planting 
it  in  corn,  also  four  hundred  acres  as  head  of  a  family  in  1783,  and  one  hundred 
as  a  militia  man. 

"To  Francois  Arcoit  were  confirmed  four  hundred  acres  on  account  of 
improvements  and  four  hundred  acres  as  the  head  of  a  family  at  Peoria  in  1783- 
It  was  proved  by  Baptiste  Pelitier,  Pierre  Verbois  and  Jean  B.  Parent  that  Arcoit 
was  the  head  of  a  family  at  Peoria  in  1783;  that  he  made  improvements  near  the 
village;  that  he  had  a  house  and  cultivated  ground  by  planting  corn  in  1782,  but 
had  to  leave  on  account  of  the  Indians. 

"To  Louis  Brunette  were  confirmed  four  hundred  acres  as  head  of  a  family 
at  Peoria  in  1783,  which  was  proved  by  Jaque  Ducharme  and  Francois  \'ailett; 
also  that  he  continued  to  reside  there  for  some  time  thereafter. 

"To  Jean  B.  Parent  were  confirmed  four  hundred  acres  as  head  of  a  family 
and  four  hundred  on  account  of  his  improvements.  It  was  proved  by  Jean  B. 
Pointstable  (Point  de  Saible),  Jaque  Ducharme,  Louis  Bihore  and  Pierre  Valois 
that  before  and  after  the  year  1783  Parent  was  the  head  of  a  family  at  Peoria, 
that  he  had  a  house  built  and  cultivated  land  near  the  "Old  Fort"  in  the  year  1780, 
and  that  he  had  a  farm  and  raised  crops. 

"To  Antoine  Grandbois  were  confirmed  one  hundred  acres  as  a  militia  man, 
which  had  been  confirmed  by  Governor  St.  Clair.  The  location  of  this  grant  is 
not  given,  but  it  is  known  that  Grandbois  was  a  resident  of  Peoria. 

"To  Francis  Babo  (Babeau)  were  confirmed  at  Peoria,  one  hundred  acres  as 
a  militia  man. 

"To  .-Vugustus  Roque  were  confirmed  four  hundred  acres  on  account  of 
improvements  made  near  Peoria,  and  four  hundred  acres  as  the  head  of  a  family 
at  Peoria  in  1783. 

To  Francois  Bouche  ( lioucher )  were  confirmed  four  hundred  acres  on 
account  of  improvements  about  one  league  from  Peoria  (Old  Fort),  four  hun- 
dred acres  as  head  of  a  family  at  Peoria  in  1783,  and  one  hundred  acres  as  a 
militia  man. 

To  Etiene  Bernard  were  confirmed  four  hundred  acres  as  the  head  of  a 
family  at  Peoria  in  1783,  and  on  account  of  improvements  four  hundred  acres  near 
the  River  Coteneau  (Kickapoo),  within  three  miles  of  Peoria. 

To  William  Arundel  were  confirmed  on  account  of  improvements  three 
hundred  acres  near  Peoria,  he  having  already  had  a  military  bounty  under  the 
fourth  class,  also  as  head  of  a  family  at  Peoria  in  1783  three  hundred  acres,  he 
having  received  a  militia  right  confirmed  by  the  governor. 

William  Arundel  was  a  man  of  fine  education.  He  was  born  in  Ireland, 
had  lived  in  Canada  and  some  time  prior  to  1783,  came  to  Peoria  with  his  family 
and  became  a  trader,  or  merchant.  Some  time  thereafter  he  removed  to  Cahokia, 
where  he  kept  a  general  stock  of  merchandise  and  at  the  organization  of  the  ter- 
ritory was  appointed  recorder  of  St.  Clair  county.  He^  was  the  first  secretary 
of  the  first  lodge  of  Masons,  which  was  organized  at  Kaskaskia,  June  3,  1806, 
and  at  an  extremely  old  age  died  at  Kaskaskia,  in  1816. 

lean  Baptiste  Point  de  Sable  (often  called  Pointstable)  was  another  person  of 
note  whose  history  makes  a  part  of  this  and  Cook  county.  As  the  head  of  a 
family  his  claim  for  four  hundred  acres  was  confirmed  and  also  for  another  four 
hundred  acres  on  account  of  improvements.  Pointstable,  as  he  was  called,  most 
likely  for  the  sake  of  brevity,  was  a  negro,  but  as  the  Indians  designated  all  races 
other  than  Indians  as  "white,"  this  man  became  noted  as  the  first  white  settler 
in  Chicago.  As  to  the  exact  date  of  his  arrival  in  Chicago  there  is  no  evidence, 
but  it  was  prior  to  his  residence  in  Peoria,  which  commenced  about  1782.     The 


HISTORY  OF  I'EORIA  COUNTY  127 

most  authentic  account  is  in  part  quoted  here,  as  taken  from  Mrs.  John  H.  Kin- 
zie's   (of  Chicago)  "W'aubun :'' 

"Jean  Baptiste  Point-au-Sable,  a  native  of  San  Domingo,  about  the  year  1796 
found  his  way  to  this  remote  region  and  commenced  life  among  the  Indians. 
There  is  usually  a  strong  affection  between  these  two  races  (negro  and  Indian), 
and  Jean  Baptiste  imposed  upon  his  new  friends  by  making  them  believe  that 
he  had  been  a  great  chief  among  the  whites.  Perhaps  he  was  disgusted  by  not 
being  elected  for  a  similar  dignity  by  the  Pottawottomies,  for  he  quitted  this 
vicinity  and  finally  terminated  his  days  at  Peoria,  under  the  roof  of  his  friend 
Glamorgan,  another  San  Domingo  negro,  who  had  obtained  large  Spanish  grants 
in  St.  Louis  and  its  environs,  and  who  at  one  time  was  in  the  enjoyment  of  an 
extended  landed  estate." 

It  was,  probably,  not  until  after  the  treaty  of  1783  that  some  of  the  inhabitants 
returned  to  Le  \'ille  de  Alaillet,  or  New  Peoria.  Jean  Baptiste  Maillet,  as  has 
been  said,  founded  this  village  about  the  year  1778.  Here  a  new  fort  had  been 
built,  in  which  his  son,  Hypolite,  was  born,  from  which  the  reader  may  take 
it  that  Alaillet,  who  was  captain  of  militia,  resided  for  some  time  in  the  fort.  He 
was  killed  in  an  aft'ray  with  one  Senegal,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1801. 

The  two  donations  of  land,  consisting  of  four  hundred  acres  each,  which  had 
been  confirmed  under  Maillet's  claim,  were  conveyed  by  Maillet  by  deed  on  the 
6th  day  of  July,  1801,  to  Isaac  Darneille.  The  deed  was  simply  signed  "Maillet," 
without  the  given  name.  To  prove  the  authenticity  of  the  deed  affidavits  were 
made  before  Antoine  Des  Champs  and  Raphael  Belongier,  justices  of  the  peace 
of  Indiana  Territory,  on  the  17th  day  of  May,  1802.  Des  Champs  later  became 
manager  for  the  American  Fur  Company  in  this  section. 

Isaac  Darneille,  on  the  5th  day  of  October,  1807,  executed  and  delivered  a 
deed  to  William  Russell,  of  St.  Louis,  alienating  among  other  tracts  of  land, 
those  mentioned  in  the  deed  conveyed  by  Maillet.  Also  "one  lot  of  land  and  a 
house  at  the  "Old  Peorias  Fort'  and  a  tract  of  land  near  said  'Peorias  Old  Fort,' 
quantity  unknown,  purchased  of  Jean  Baptiste  Point  Sable,  assignee  of  Jean 
Baptiste  Maillet,  by  deed  dated  Alarch  13,  1773."  This  plainly  indicates  that 
Pointstable  was  at  Peoria  in  the  year  just  mentioned.  Another  description  of 
property  located  in  Peoria  was  "a  house  and  lot  in  the  town  of  Peorias  and  a 
(|uantity  of  land  near  the  same,  bought  of  Theresa  .Maillet,  widow  Cattenoir, 
assignee  of  Francis  Babeaux  by  contract  dated  October  11,  1778. 

PKORr.'V's     FIRST    l..\WYER 

Isaac  Darneille,  whose  name  figures  so  largely  in  the  initial  transfers  of  prop- 
erty in  the  county,  was  the  first  lawyer  to  make  his  appearance  in  Peoria.  Gov- 
ernor Reynolds,  in  his  History  of  Illinois  Pioneers,  has  the  following  to  say 
of  him : 

"In  the  year  1794  the  celebrated  Isaac  Darneille  arrived  in  Cahokia  and  re- 
mained in  the  west  for  several  years.  He  was  the  second  professed  lawyer  that 
emigrated  to  Illinois,  John  Rice  Jones  being  the  first.  He  was  a  classic  scholar, 
and  was,  in  his  person,  genteel  and  agreeable ;  he  possessed  the  easy  and  graceful 
manners  of  a  polished  gentleman.  He  was  large  and  portly,  and  made  it  a  sine 
qua  non  to  be  extremely  neat  in  his  dress  and  attentive  to  his  personal  appear- 
ance. He  studied  all  the  arts  and  mysteries  of  gallantry,  and  thereby  made  a 
very  deep  and  rather  lasting  impression  on  his  female  friends.  Darneille  studied 
the  ladies  more  than  he  studied  his  profession  of  the  law.  He  was  benevolent 
and  kind  to  all  mankind,  and  ]:>articularly  to  the  ladies. 

"While  Darneille  retained  his  youthful  vigor,  this  life  passed  off  very  well; 
but  when  old  age  crept  on  him  his  former  pursuits  were  abandoned,  from  neces- 
sity, and  he  remained  an  old  man,  without  sincere  friends  or  means  of  support. 

"He  taught  school  in  the  western  part  of  Kentucky,  where  he  died,_  rather 
humble  and  neglected,  in  1830,  aged  sixty  years. 


128  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

"If  Darneille  had  abandoned  this  one  failing,  the  excess  of  gallantry,  he 
would  have  enjoyed  the  character  of  one  of  the  most  honorable  and  respectable 
gentlemen  in  Illinois." 

FOUNDER   OF  DAVENPORT,    IOWA,    A    PEORIAN 

It  might  be  well  to  note  here,  in  passing,  that  among  the  prominent  inhabitants 
of  New  Peoria  was  one  Antoine  Le  Claire,  who  had  come  to  the  town  from 
Canada.  He  subsequently,  after  removing  to  Iowa  Territory,  owing  to  his 
familiarity  with  several  Indian  languages,  and  of  his  own  people,  was  educated 
by  the  United  States  government  and  under  its  authority  acted  as  interpreter 
for  the  government  in  its  dealings  with  the  Indians,  prior  to  and  after  the  Black 
Hawk  war.  He  was  adored  by  the  Sac  and  Fox  tribe  of  Indians  and  when  they 
ceded  their  lands  in  Iowa  to  the  government,  it  was  provided  in  the  treaty  that 
Le  Claire  should  have  a  tract  of  land,  consisting  of  some  thousands  of  acres, 
and  that  a  certain  tract  should  be  set  apart  and  given  to  Le  Claire's  wife, 
Marguerite,  the  daughter  of  an  Indian  chief.  Part  of  this  land  is  now  the  site 
of  the  important  city  of  Davenport,  founded  by  Le  Claire  and  others,  chief 
among  whom  was  Colonel  Davenport,  a  trader  on  the  island  of  Rock  Island,  after 
whom  the  city  was  named.  Le  Claire  became  the  wealthiest  man  of  his  time, 
was  a  benefactor  to  his  community  and  died,  mourned  by  that  whole  section  of 
the  country.  Le  Claire,  an  important  village  near  Davenport,  which  he  at  one 
time  confidently  hoped  would  be  the  metropolis  and  seat  of  government  of  the 
county,  was  named  for  him. 

Probably  the  most  noted  citizen  of  Peoria  in  its  primitive  days  was  Thomas 
Forsyth,  to  whom  allusion  has  heretofore  been  made.  Another  pioneer  citizen 
who  played  a  notable  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  community  was  Michael  La  Croix. 

COLONEL  GEORGE  DAVENPORT 

Colonel  George  Davenjiort,  who  was  a  contemporary  of  Antoine  Le  Claire, 
was  a  non-commissioned  officer  in  Captain  Owen's  company  of  the  regular  army, 
and  took  part  in  a  primitive  expedition  against  the  Indians  in  1813,  organized  by 
General  Howard,  ex-governor  of  the  Territory  of  Missouri.  The  little  army 
numliered  about  eight  hundred  men  and  marched  up  the  Mississippi  bottom  to  a 
point  above  Ouincy  and  thence  to  the  Illinois  river  about  forty  miles  above 
Peoria,  and  then  on  down  the  river  to  that  village.  From  Colonel  Davenport, 
Historian  Matson  obtained  the  following  account  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
expeditionary  party  at  Peoria  : 

"On  arriving  at  Peoria  Lake,  the  soldiers  commenced  building  a  block  house 
for  storing  the  baggage  as  well  as  a  protection  against  an  attack  from  the  enemy. 
A  well  having  been  dug  near  the  block  house  to  supply  it  with  water,  it  became 
necessary  to  have  a  sweep  to  draw  it ;  consequently,  Mr.  Davenport,  with  two 
companions,  went  into  the  woods  to  get  a  grapevine  for  that  purpose.  Having 
found  one  suitable,  Davenport  climbed  the  tree  to  cut  it  ofif,  and  while  doing  so 
he  discovered  a  large  body  of  Indians  skulking  in  the  timber,  going  in  the  direction 
of  the  block  house.  On  seeing  this  war  party,  Davenport  and  his  companions 
gave  an  alarm  and  in  all  haste  fled  toward  the  block  house,  but  finding  Indians 
in  that  direction  turned  their  course  for  the  gunboats,  which  were  moored  in  the 
lake.  With  all  speed  the  fugitives  ran  for  the  boats,  closely  followed  by  the 
Indians,  who  fired  at  them  many  shots,  while  yelling  like  demons.  The  soldiers 
on  the  gunboats,  thinking  only  of  their  own  safety,  pushed  them  of?  from  the 
shore  but  fortunately  one  of  them  grounded  on  a  sand  bar,  which  was  the  means 
of  saving  the  life  of  Davenport  and  his  companions.  The  fugitives  ran  into  the 
water  waist  deep,  pushed  the  grounded  boat  off,  and  jumped  on  board  of  it,  while 
the  Indians  fired  on  them,  many  of  the  rifle  balls  whizzing  by  their  heads  and  lodg- 
ing in  the  sides  of  the  vessel.    The  boats  went  ofif  some  distance  from  the  shore, 


TllK   Hljsr  AlTOMDlilLE   IX  AMERICA  WAS  MADE  IX  PEORIA   TWO  YK^RS    AFTER 

THE  AUTOMOBILE  WAS  PERFECTED  IN  FRANCE 

C.   E.   DURVEA.   IX\EXT()R 


PEORIA'S  FIRST   ELECTRIC   CARS   l-.KTWEEX   TTIE   (ITV 


'V   AND    KAS-|-    1>E()I!IA.    liiOO 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  129 

nevertheless  the  Indians  continued  to  fire  on  them,  but  without  effect.  A  cannon 
on  one  of  the  boats  was  brought  to  bear  on  the  savages,  but  in  the  excitement  of 
the  moment  its  muzzle  was  raised  above  the  port  hole,  and  the  ball  tore  off  a  por- 
tion of  the  side  of  the  vessel.  The  Indians  also  attacked  the  block  house,  which 
was  in  an  unfinished  condition,  but  met  witii  a  warm  reception  from  those  within. 
The  cannons  on  the  boats  having  been  brought  to  bear  on  the  Indians,  they  fled 
from  the  thick  timber  where  thev  had  taken  shelter,  and  the  fight  ended." 

Colonel  Davenport,  as  has  been  said,  was  the  government's  agent  at  the  island 
of  Rock  Island,  and  accumulated  a  fortune  trading  among  the  Indians.  He  had 
built  a  home  on  the  island,  where  he  was  enjoying  the  fruits  of  a  strenuous  life, 
when  he  was  murdered  by  a  band  of  thieving  cuttiiroats  in  broad  daylight,  dur- 
ing the  absence  of  his  family  at  Rock  Island,  who  were  attending  a  Fourth  of 
July  celebration. 

In  a  letter  written  in  1850,  by  one  of  the  participants  in  this  expedition,  John 
S.  Brickley,  to  John  Lindsay,  then  a  prominent  Peoria  lawyer,  among  other  things 
mentioned  was  the  following: 

■'When  the  mounted  riflemen  arrived  at  Peoria  they  found  the  village  con- 
sisting of  a  great  number  of  huts,  all  deserted  a  few  days  before,  and  two  or 
three  frame  houses,  one  thirty  or  forty  feet  long  (said  to  have  been  built  by  the 
French),  although  they  did  not  appear  to  have  been  inclosed  or  covered.  The 
Indians  in  their  flight  had  left  nothing  but  some  dried  pumpkins,  corn  and  beans, 
which  were  found  in  some  of  the  houses,  but  much  more  was  found  wrapped 
up  in  skins  and  hid  in  the  ground,  all  of  which  was  seized  and  used  by  those  who 
found  them.  Every  house  in  the  village  was  demolished  the  same  day  we  en- 
tered    ....     and  used  for  fuel  during  the  stay  of  the  army  at  that  place.     . 

"As  the  army- approached  Peoria  from  the  northwest  and  got  a  first  view  of 
its  situation  from  the  high  land  prairies,  two  or  three  miles  from  the  lake,  looking 
easterly  and  southerly,  beheld  the  smooth  prairie  gradually  descending  to  the 
town,  the  lake  stretching  miles  far  to  the  northeast,  the  gunboats  lying  quietly 
at  anchor  upon  the  water,  the  towering  forest  across  the  water,  and  the  lovely 
prairies  bounded  only  by  the  horizon,  there  was  an  involuntary  halt — the  men 
all  gazed  in  silence  for  a  moment,  and  then  of  a  sudden,  as  if  moved  by  one  im- 
pulse, expressed  universal  admiration  of  the  beauty  and  grandeur  of  the  pros- 
]:)ect  s]iread  out  before  them.  At  this  time  there  was  no  road  to  Peoria  except 
the  Indian  trail,  not  a  forest  tree  amiss,  not  a  house  within  one  hundred  miles 
(except  the  town  before  described),  no  plow  had  ever  broken  the  turf  that  cov- 
ered the  rich  soil  beneath.  The  lake  was  covered  with  wild  geese,  ducks  and  other 
water  fowls ;  game  such  as  deer,  bear,  elk  and  turkeys  everywhere  in  the  thick 
woods  and  adjacent  prairies.  Bees  and  honey  were  found  in  almost  every  hollow 
tree,  and,  notwithstanding  express  orders  to  the  contrary,  the  men  would  and 
did,  on  the  march,  fre(|uently  stop  and  cut  down  the  trees  and  get  large  quan- 
tities of  the  most  delicious  honey.  While  employed  in  building  the  fort,  many 
of  the  men  were  well  supplied  with  venison,  fowls,  honey  and  sometimes  with 
fish  caught  in  the  lake.  This  description  fully  justifies  the  Indian  name  of  the 
place,  'Pimiteoui — The  Land  of  Plenty." 

"For  want  of  suitable  timber  and  materials  within  several  miles  of  the  place, 
on  the  west  side  of  the  lake,  on  account  of  the  country  back  from  the  river  being 
prairie,  it  became  necessary  to  obtain  all  timber  from  a  fine  forest  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Illinois  river  at  the  lower  end  of  the  lake  and  raft  it  over.  The 
men  commenced  felling  the  trees,  the  most  of  which  were  white  oak,  and  for 
the  palisades  cut  them  about  eighteen  feet  long  and  each  log  not  less  than  fifteen 
or  eighteen  inches  in  diameter — the  timbers  for  the  block  houses  at  the  corners 
of  the  enclosure  were  much  longer;  the  era  (area)  inclosed  for  the  fort  con- 
tained, according  to  my  recollection,  two  or  three  acres.  While  a  portion  of  the 
men  were  cutting,  others  were  employed  in  hauling  and  rafting  the  logs  over 
to  the  opposite  side  of  the  lake,  and  from  there  to  the  site  for  the  building  ; 
having  no  carriages  of  anv  description,  all   the  materials  were  drawn  bv  men 

Vol.  1—9 


130  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

on  trucks,  by  means  of  large  ropes,  a  distance  of  from  one  to  two  miles.  Thus 
was  I'ort  Clark  erected  where  Peoria  now  stands,  in  less  than  two  months,  by 
the  Missouri  and  Illinois  volunteers  of  mounted  riflemen,  in  September  and  Oc- 
tober in  the  year  1813,  at  a  distance  of  more  than  one  hundred  miles  from  any 
white  settlement,  and  with  no  other  means  than  above  described." 

Colonel  Davenport's  description  of  the  building  of  the  fort  is  here  added  to 
the  above  for  obvious  reasons : 

"Preparations  having  been  made  to  build  a  fort  on  the  site  of  the  old  French 
town  for  the  purpose  of  holding  possession  of  the  country,  timbers  were  cut  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  lake  and  floated  across  to  build  l)lock  store  houses,  and 
enclose  them  with  palisades.  On  a  high  piece  of  ground  near  the  bank  of  the 
lake  a  fort  was  built,  consisting  of  stockades  made  of  two  rows  of  split  timbers, 
and  the  space  between  them  filled  with  dirt.  A  ditch  surrounded  the  fort,  and 
at  two  corners  were  bastions  for  mounting  cannon.  Inside  of  the  stockades 
was  a  large  block  house,  two  stories  high,  and  on  three  sides  of  it  were  port  holes, 
so  the  inmates  could  fire  on  the  enemy  in  case  of  an  attack.  Besides  this  block 
house  were  store  houses  and  quarters  for  officers  and  soldiers. 

"When  the  fort  was  completed  and  cannons  mounted  on  its  ramparts,  with 
flags  waving  on  each  bastion.  General  Howard  ordered  all  the  soldiers  on  duty, 
forming  in  double  file,  fronting  the  gateway.  A  speech  was  made  by  the  com- 
manding officer,  drums  beat,  soldiers  cheered,  the  cannons  fired  a  salute,  and  with 
much  enthusiasm  the  fort  was  dedicated  and  named  'Fort  Clark'  in  honor  of 
General  George  Rogers  Clark,  the  hero  of  Kaskaskia  and  X^incennes." 

Ballance,  in  his  History  of  Peoria,  gives  the  dimensions  of  Fort  Clark.  He 
says : 

"This  fort  was  about  one  hundred  feet  square,  with  a  ditch  along  each  side. 
It  did  not  stand  with  a  side  to  the  lake,  but  with  a  corner  towards  it.  The  cor- 
ner farthest  from  the  lake  was  on  the  upper  side  of  Water  street,  near  the  inter- 
section of  the  upper  line  of  Water  and  Liberty  streets.  From  there  the  west 
line  ran  diagonally  across  the  intersection  of  Water  and  Liberty  streets  nearly 
to  the  corner  of  the  transportation  warehouse,  at  the  lower  corner  of  Liberty 
and  Water  streets,  x^t  this  corner  was  what  I  suppose  military  men  would  call 
a  bastion,  that  is,  there  was  a  projecting  corner  made  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
side  walls,  and  so  constructed,  as  I  imagine,  as  to  accommodate  a  small  cannon 
to  command  the  ditches.  And  the  same  had,  no  doubt,  been  at  the  opposite  cor- 
ner, but  when  I  came  to  the  country  in  November.  183 1,  there  was  no  vestige  of 
it  remaining.  In  fact  at  that  time  there  was  but  little  to  show  that  there  had 
ever  l.een  a  fortification  there,  except  some  burnt  posts  along  the  west  side,  and 
a  square  of  some  ten  or  twelve  feet  at  the  south  corner  with  a  ditch  nearly  filled 
upon  two  sides  of  it,  and  on  the  west  side  of  the  square." 

To  the  above,  Judge  McCulloch,  in  his  History  of  Peoria  County,  takes  ex- 
ceptions to  the  dimensions  of  Fort  Clark,  as  given  by  Mr.  Ballance,  in  the  fol- 
lowing paragraph : 

"Observing,  iiowever.  that  Water  street  is  one  hundred  feet  wide  at  the  point 
indicated,  and  that  the  location  of  the  magazine  which  must  have  been  within 
the  fort  was  very  close  to  the  base  of  the  smokestack  of  the  electric  light  plant, 
some  distance  below  Water  street,  the  conclusion  is  forced  upon  us  that  his  esti- 
mate of  its  dimensions  is  erroneous.  If  the  fort  was  of  a  square  form  and  con- 
tained one  acre,  one  side  of  it  would  measure  208.7  ^^^t,  which  would  correspond 
more  nearly  with  the  points  given  by  Mr.  Ballance  than  does  his  own  estimates." 
How  long  Fort  Clark  was  occupied  has  not  been  definitely  settled  by  those 
who  have  taken  the  pains  to  delve  into  the  matter.  Some  say  it  was  abandoned 
in  181 5.  others,  not  until  i8j8.  It  would  appear  from  Matson's  account  that  the 
former  contention  is  the  correct  one,  for  he  has  this  to  say  in  that  relation: 

"The  gate  of  the  fort  having  been  left  open,  it  became  a  lair  for  deer  and  a 
roost  for  wild  turkeys.  In  the  fall  of  1816  a  party  of  hunters  from  St.  Clair 
counlv  came  to  Fort  Clark  and   found  about  twentv  deer  in  the  fort  and  the 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  131 

floors  of  the  block  house  covered  with  manure.  The  hunters  cleaned  out  this 
building  and  occupied  it  as  a  residence  during  a  Stay  of  ten  days  while  hunting 
deer  and  collecting  honey  in  the  river  timber.  Fort  Clark  stood  unmolested  until 
the  fall  of  1818,  when  it  was  burned  by  the  Indians." 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  fort  was  partially  destroyed  prior  to  1819,  but 
there  must  have  been  part  of  it  left  standing,  for  in  the  year  last  mentioned,  the 
first  American  settlers  (permanent)  arrived  here  and  they  sj^eak  of  it  in  a  way 
to  leave  the  impression  a  remnant  of  the  structure  remained  at  that  time. 

.\RK1V.\L  OK  .VMERICAN   .SETTLERS 

In  the  sjjring  of  1819,  a  party  of  hardy  and  venturesome  pioneers,  composed 
of  Scth  and  Josiah  l-'ulton.  Aimer  Fads.  \'irginians;  Joseph  Hersey,  of  New 
York;  J.  Davis,  S.  Doug^herty  and  T.  Russell,  natives  of  Kentucky,  left  Shoal 
Creek,  now  a  part  of  Clinton  county,  where  they  had  lived  for  some  little  time, 
found  their  way  to  the  east  bank  of  the  river  and,  on  April  15,  1S19,  Hersey  and 
Eads,  placing  their  horses  in  a  boat,  ferried  across  the  river  and  landed  at  Fort 
Clark.  Two  days  afterward  they  were  joined  by  their  companions.  Josiah 
Fultcr  often  related  the  following  details  of  the  advent  of  this  pioneer  band  of 
settlers  to  Fort  Clark : 

"We  found  the  walls  of  two  small  log  cabins,  which  we  supposed  to  have  been 
built  by  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison  stationed  there,  and  at  once  set  to  work  to 
cover  tlicm  over  and  finish  them  up  for  dwelling  places.  While  we  were  em- 
ployed at  this  work  we  made  out  to  be  comfortable  in  the  shelter  of  our  tents 
and  boats.  The  cabins  stood  on  what  is  now  Water  street,  and  almost  directly 
in  front  of  the  Germania  Hall  building.  These  cabins  were  the  first  American 
dwelling  places  at  what  is  now  the  city  of  Peoria. 

"There  were  also  rails  enough,  which  the  soldiers  had  made,  to  inclose  fifteen 
acres  of  ground.  The  ground  was  broken  up  and  planted  to  corn  and  potatoes, 
from  which  a  pretty  good  crop  was  gathered  in  the  fall.  The  north  line  of  that 
first  field  ran  west  from  the  river  and  not  far  from  Fulton  street. 

"About  the  first  of  June,  Eads,  Fulton  and  Dougherty  returned  to  Shoal 
Creek  with  their  two  horses  to  move  Eads'  family,  consisting  of  his  wife  and 
two  children,  to  their  new  home.  After  settling  up  his  affairs  in  that  neighbor- 
hood Eads  loaded  his  household  effects,  wife  and  children  on  a  two-horse  wagon 
and  headed  across  the  country  in  the  direction  of  the  beginning  of  Peoria — the 
new  settlement  at  Fort  Clark.  They  reached  and  crossed  the  Illinois  river  at 
the  present  site  of  Wesley  City,  where  there  was  a  trading  post,  and  where 
Indians  and  Indian  canoes  were  nearly  always  to  be  found.  Some  of  the  canoes 
were  secured,  the  household  goods  were  unloaded  from  the  wagon,  and  with  the 
family  transferred  to  the  canoes  and  carried  over  to  the  west  side  of  the  river. 
The  wagon  was  then  taken  to  pieces  and  carried  over  in  the  same  manner.  The 
horses  and  cattle  were  made  to  swim  across. 

"Mrs.  Eads  was  the  first  American  woman  to  see  the  site  of  Peoria." 

Captain  Jude  Warner  came  into  the  settlement  from  St.  Louis  on  the  loth  of 
June,  in  a  boat  loaded  with  provisions  and  fishing  nets.  With  him  were  David 
W.  P.arnes,  James  Gotif,  Isaac  De  Boise,  William  Blanchard,  Theodore  and 
Charles  Sargent.  This  arrival  swelled  the  number  of  Americans  to  fourteen 
men.     Mr.   Fulton's  recital  continues: 

"We  were  about  as  happy  a  little  circle  as  has  ever  lived  in  Peoria.  We  were 
isolated,  completely  shut  out  from  the  rest  of  mankind,  it  is  true.  We  heard  but 
little  from  the  outside  world,  and  the  outside  world  heard  but  little  from  us. 
I'>ut  little  was  known  at  that  time  about  the  Fort  Clark  country.  There  were 
no  roads,  nor  steamboats,  nor  mail  routes,  nor  communications  of  any  kind,  so 
that  in  point  of  fact  we  were  as  much  a  community  by  ourselves  as  if  our  cabins 
had  been  built  on  an  island  in  the  middle  of  the  sea.  Our  postoffice  was  St. 
Louis,  and  we  never  got  our  mail,  those  of  us  who  got  any,  only  when  we  went 


132  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

there  for  supplies,  and  then  our  letters  cost  us  twenty-five  cents,  and  we  couldn't 
muster  that  much  money  every  day. 

"•Mrs.  Eads  was  duly  installed  as  housekeeper,  and  the  rest  of  the  company, 
except  Hersey,  who  didn't  remain  long,  boarded  with  her.  It  was  a  pretty  hard 
winter  on  us,  but  we  managed  to  get  through.  Bread  stufif  gave  out  and  we  had 
to  fall  back  on  hominy  blocks  and  hominy.  It  was  a  coarse  kind  of  food  we  got 
this  way,  but  it  was  a  good  deal  better  than  none,  and  served  to  keep  hunger 
away.  Hominy  blocks  went  out  of  use  long  ago,  and  there  are  thousands  of 
people  in  Peoria  county  who  never  saw  one,  but  they  were  a  blessing  to  hundreds 
of  the  pioneers  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Iowa,  and  in  fact  to  the 
first  settlers  of  the  entire  country,  and  were  the  means  of  keeping  many  of  the 
pioneers  and  their  little  ones  from  starving  to  death." 

Two  of  these  pioneers,  Seth  and  Josiah  Fulton,  were  attracted  bv  the  east  side 
of  the  river  and  selected  claims  on  Farm  creek  in  that  locality,  remaining  there 
until  1834,  when  they  sold  out  and  returned  to  Peoria  county,  and  both  proved 
themselves  good  citizens  and  gained  their  full  meed  of  respect  from  their  neigh- 
bors. Seth  Fulton,  however,  lending  an  ear  to  the  tales  then  told  of  the  rich 
lead  mines  at  Galena,  removed  to  that  place  and  remained  there  for  a  while.  He 
afterwards  removed  to  Henry  county.  Josiah  Fulton  spent  the  rest  of  his  life 
in  Peoria  county  and  died  March  4,  1894,  at  the  age  of  ninety-four  years. 

Abner  Eads,  another  one  of  the  first  seven,  who  came  to  Peoria,  bought  the 
northwest  quarter  of  section  17,  in  wdiat  is  now  Peoria  township,  on  which  Lin- 
coln Park  is  situated.  He  also  came  into  possession,  by  purchase,  of  valuable 
coal  mines  on  Kickapoo  creek,  which  was  subsequently  developed  by  others.  He 
became  a  man  of  importance  in  the  community  and  served  valiantly  as  captain  of 
a  Peoria  company  which  marched  under  General  Stillman  in  the  Black 
Hawk  war.  Absorbing  the  lead  mine  fever,  he  removed  to  Galena  about  1833, 
from  which  district  he  served  in  the  legislature  two  sessions.  In  1854  he  went 
to  California  and  having  started  back  for  his  family,  died  on  the  way,  with  fever. 
He  was  buried  at  St.  Louis. 

Hersey  and  Dougherty,  the  latter  a  reckless  Kentuckian,  after  a  residence  of 
some  little  time,  departed  for  other  scenes  of  activity  not  known  to  the  writer. 
Davis  first  settled  on  Farm  creek  and  after  a  while  removed  to  Sangamon 
county.  He  then  went  to  Texas,  where  he  died.  Russell  was  here  but  a  short 
time  and  then  went  to  St.  Louis,  and  was  last  heard  of  as  a  river  man. 

Of  the  Captain  Warner  party,  \Mlliam  Blanchard  soon  after  his  arrival  re- 
moved to  Woodford  county,  which  was  his  home  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
but  a  comparatively  few  years  since.  Barnes  and  the  two  Sargents  became  prom- 
inent citizens  of  Fulton  county,  and  Jacob  \\'ilson,  one  of  the  county's  first  jus- 
tices of  the  peace,  on  the  22d  day  of  March,  1825,  officiated  in  the  marriage  of 
William  Blanchard  with  Betsey  Donohoe.  This  was  the  first  marriage  ceremony 
performed  in  the  new  county. 

John  Hamlin,  in  company  with  several  others,  arrived  in  Peoria  in  1821.  In 
March,  1822,  he  had  his  personal  belongings  removed  from  his  former  home  at 
Elkhart  Grove,  then  in  Madison  county,  and  from  that  time  on  he  made  Peoria 
his  home.  In  1823,  with  William  S.  Hamilton,  who  had  a  contract  to  supply 
Fort  Howard,  now  known  as  Green  Bay,  with  beef  cattle,  Mr.  Hamlin,  on  ac- 
count of  his  knowledge  of  the  Indian  character,  accompanied  the  expedition 
made  up  by  Hamilton,  to  that  place.  The  journey  was  made  in  thirty  days.  On 
his  return  to  Peoria,  in  his  capacity  as  justice  of  the  peace  of  Fulton  county,  he 
performed  the  first  marriage  cermony  at  Fort  Dearborn,  the  parties  most  in- 
terested being  Dr.  Alexander  Wolcott  and  his  bride,  a  daughter  of  John  Kinzie, 
the  first  permanent  settler  of  Chicago.  This  was  the  first  marriage  ceremony  to 
take  place  in  the  great  city  of  Chicago.  John  Hamlin,  as  will  be  seen  further  on 
in  this  volume,  was  intimately  connected  with  the  early  history  of  this  county 
and  became  one  of  its  most  prominent  and  influential  citizens. 

Gurdon   S.   Hubbard,   of  the   American   Fur  Company,   spent  the   winter  of 


JOSIAH    FlUTOX 

Born   in  ISOO— Died  :\Iaroh  4,  1S94 

LiiMili'd  iit  a  place  called  Fort  Clark,  now  the  city  of  Peoria,  on  April  15,  1819 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  1^3 

1821-2  along  the  Illinois  river.  Reaching  Bureau  Station,  he  says,  he  found 
Mr.  IJeebeau  in  charge,  though  much  enfeebled  on  account  of  age.  Hubbard 
also  relates  that:  "After  resting  a  few  days  and  selecting  the  goods  and  men  to 
be  left  at  that  post  (Bureau),  we  proceeded  on  our  way,  making  our  ne.xt  halt  at 
Fort  Clark-,  where  we  found  several  families  located^  among  whom  were  Mr. 
Fulton,  the  first  settler  at  that  point,  who  still  resides  in  that  county,  and  a  Mr. 
Bogardus,  a  brother  of  General  Bogardus,  of  Xew  York,  a  highly  intelligent 
gentleman,  and  his  estimable  wife.  Two  miles  below,  at  a  point  now  known  as 
W'esle)-  City,  was  Mr.  Beeson's  post,  and  there  we  remained  about  one  week, 
during  which  time  I  went  almost  daily  to  the  fort." 

During  the  period  between  1821  and  1825  a  number  of  new  settlers  arrived 
in  the  territory  now  embraced  in  Peoria  county.  Among  those  who  settled  at 
Peoria  were  \\illiam  Fads,  brother  of  Abner  Fads,  Judge  James  Latham,  with 
whom  John  Hamlin  had  made  his  home  in  Madison  county ;  Joseph  A.  Moffat 
and  his  three  sons,  Alvah,  .Atjuilla  B.  and  Franklin,  also  two  Miss  Moffatts, 
daughters;  Isaac  I>"unk,  Xorman  Hyde,  Elijah  Hyde,  William  Holland,  John 
Dixon.  Isaac  Waters,  George  Sharp  and  Dr.  Augustus  Langworthy. 

From  an  assessment  made  in  the  year  1825  by  John  L.  Bogardus,  the  distri- 
bution of  population  and  wealth  of  the  new  county  of  Peoria  is  well  shown.  At 
Peoria  the  following  named  persons  were  assessed  in  the  amounts  here  given: 
Archibald  Allen,  $150;  Noah  Beauchamp,  Sr.,  $200;  Noah  Beauchamp,  $200; 
John  Barker,  $400;  John  L.  Bogardus,  $500;  Joseph  Bryant,  $300;  Cornelius 
Brown.  .$150:  John  Di.xon,  $350;  William  Fads,  $350;  Abner  Fads.  $Soo ;  Sam- 
uel Fulton,  $300;  Lsaac  Funk,  $200;  Jesse  Harrison,  $50;  John  Hamlin,  $400; 
William  Holland.  ,%Soo ;  E.  and  N.  Hyde,  $700;  Jacob  M.  liunter,  $50;  Charles 
l.ove,  $150;  Augustus  Langworthy,  $200;  J.  Latham,  $300;  Philip  Latham,  $100; 
Daniel  Like.  $50;  Alvah^  Moffatt,  $60;  Aquilla  Mofifatt,  $40;  Jesse  McLaree, 
$25;  Henry  Neely,  $150';  Martin  Porter,  $100;  Amherst  C.  Ransom,  $100; 
George  Sharp,  $600;  Joseph  \an  Scoik,  $50;  Isaac  Waters,  $100. 

At  Chicago  the  following  assessments  were  made:  John  B.  Beaubein,  $1,000; 
Jonas  Clyborne.  $625  ;  John  K.  Clark,  $250;  John  Crafts,  $5,000;  Jerrv  Clermont, 
Sioo;  Louis  Cantra,  $50;  John  Kinzie, '$500 ;  Joseph  Laframboise,  $50;  C.  La- 
framboise,  $100;  David  AicKcc,  $100;  Peter  "Piche,  $100;  Alexander  Wolcott, 
$572;  Antoine  Wilniette,  $400 — thirteen  in  all. 

At  the  Trading  House  (Wesley  City)  Antoine  Alscome,  $50;  Francis  Bour- 
bonne,  S200;  Louis  Beabor,  $700;  Francis  Bourbonne,  Jr.,  $100 — four  in  all. 

At  Mackinaw  Point  (near  which  is  the  village  of  Dillon)  Allen  S.  Dougherty, 
$100;  Walter  Dillon,  $250;  Nathan  Dillon,  $400;  Absalom  Dillon,  $200;  Thomas 
Dillon,  $300;  Jesse  Dillon,  $727;  John  Dillon,  $93;  William  Davis,  $200;  Hugh 
Montgomery,  $200;  Alexander  McNaughton,  $150;  Eli  Redmon,  $35;  Henry 
Redmon,  $35 ;  Peter  Scott,  $30 — thirteen  in  all. 

At  Ten  ^lile  Creek,  William  I'.lanchard,  $150;  Elza  Bethard,  $275;  Reuben 
Bratton,  $135;  Thomas  Banks,  $50;  Hiram  M.  Curry,  $225;  Major  Donahue, 
$200;  Seth  Fulton,  $100;  David  Mather,  $200;  John  and  William  Phillips,  $400; 
John  Stephenson,  $40;  Edmond  Weed,  $174;  Jacob  Wilson,  $300 — twelve  in  all. 
At  Farm  Creek,  Andrew  P.arker,  $100:  Austin  Crocker,  $200;  Thomas  Cam- 
lin.  $300;  Stephen  French,  $200;  James  Fulton,  $12.50;  Josiah  Fulton,  $150; 
Elisha  Fish,  $200;  Jacob  Funk,  $500;  Joshua  Harlin,  $150;  George  Ish,  $250; 
Joseph  Smith,  $550 — eleven  in  all. 

At  La  Salle  Prairie,  Elias  P.  Avery,  $200;  Stephen  Carroll,  $150;  Gilbert 
Field,  $150;  John  Griffin,  $50;  George  Harlan,  $150;  Lewis  Hallock,  $50;  John 
Ridgeway,  $100;  Hugh  W^alker,  $50 — eight  in  all. 

At  Illinois  Prairie  (Tazewell  county)  George  Cline.  $70;  John  Cline,  $264; 
Nathan  Cromwell,  $300;  Jesse  Egman,  $100 ;  Levi  Ellis,  $25;  William  Clark, 
$250;  Levi  Gilbert,  $25;  James  Latta,  $200;  Levi  McCormick,  $50;  Joseph  Ogee, 
$200;  Isaac  Perkins,  $400;  John  Sommers,  $300;  Ephraim  Stout,  Sr.,  and  Jr., 
$500;  Jonathan  Tharp,  $100;  Ezekiel  Turner,  $150;  Seth  Wilson,  $200;  Samuel 
Woodrow,  $150;  Hugh  W^oodrow,  $250 — eighteen  in  all. 


134  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

At  Fox  River,  Robert  Baresford,  $50;  Fred  Countryman,  $50;  Aaron  Haw- 
ley,  $200;  Pierce  Hawley,  $300;  John  L.  Ramsey,  $200;  Jesse  Walker,  $50 — 
six  in  all. 

At  Little  Detroit,  Thomas  N.  lirierly,  $100;  Abner  N.  Cooper,  $120;  Peter 
Du  Mont,  $50;  George  N.  Love,  $350 — four  in  all. 

At  Prince's  Grove  ( Princeville ),  John  Patterson,  $20 ;  Daniel  Prince,  $200 — 
two  in  all. 

It  will  have  been  seen  by  the  reader  that  in  the  year  1825  or  two  years  after 
the  organization  of  the  county,  there  were  but  one  hundred  and  twenty  taxable 
inhabitants,  one-fourth  of  which  were  assessed  at  Peoria,  forty-four  in  all,  living 
in  what  is  now  Peoria  county.  The  others  were  at  Chicago,  Mackinaw  Point, 
Ten  Mile  Creek,  Farm  Creek,  La  Salle  Prairie,  Fox  River,  Little  Detroit  and 
Prince's  Grove. 


CHAPTER  XVTI 

EARLY    THOROUGHFARES FIRST    ROAD    LAID    OUT    liV    PEORIA    AUTHORITIES — FERRIES 

AND    BRIDGES DIXON's    FERRY THE    ILLINOIS    RIVER — PRIMITIVE    STEAMBOAT- 

ING — PEORIA    AN    IMPORTANT    RAILROAD    CENTER ILLINOIS    TRACTION    SYSTEM. 

It  is  liighly  prohahle  that  at  the  time  of  the  huihling  of  Fort  Clark  there 
was  not  a  white  man's  cIwelHng  witliin  man}-  miles  of  it  and  the  only  roads,  if  such 
they  may  be  called,  were  Indian  trails.  However,  the  public  surveys  of  Tazewell 
county,  made  in  1823,  show  a  thoroughfare  marked  "Road  to  Fort  Clark,"  which 
on  the  map  indicated  that  the  road  run  along  the  township  line  between  Grove- 
land  and  Fond  du  Lac,  at  the  head  of  a  ravine  through  which  meanders  Cole 
creek.  This  was  the  original  course  of  the  road  running  from  Peoria  to  Spring- 
field, and  it  might  be  taken  for  granted,  there  was  a  road,  as  described  above, 
from  Fort  Clark  to  the  lower  settlements  anterior  to  the  birth  of  either  Peoria 
or  Springfield,  and  was  used  by  the  soldiers  of  the  fort.  If  such  is  the  case, 
then  this  was  the  first  road  coimecting  the  future  Peoria  with  the  outer  world. 

.\  history  of  Illinois  was  published  Ijy  Rufus  Blanchard  in  1883  and  the  map 
it  contained  shows  a  trail  styled  the  "Fort  Clark  and  Wabash  Trace,"  running 
from  Fort  Clark  to  Terre  Haute.  Historian  Blanchard  says:  "It  was  a  well 
traveled  road  from  the  settlements  of  southern  Ohio  and  Indiana  to  Fort  Clark 
in  an  early  day."  This  was,  in  all  probability,  the  road  marked  on  the  Tazewell 
surveys.  This  survey  also  shows  a  road  called  "Kellogg's  Trail  from  Peoria  to 
Galena,  1825,"  on  practically  the  route  chosen  for  the  Galena  state  road,  after- 
wards laid  out  by  way  of  Princeton.  Of  this  Air.  Blanchard  says:  "This  trail 
shows  the  first  overland  route  from  Peoria  to  Galena.  It  was  made  by  Mr.  Kel- 
logg, an  old  pioneer  settler,  in  1825,  and  subsequently  became  a  well  known 
route."  Another  road,  as  shown  by  the  map,  was  laid  out  or  in  existence  in 
1822,  and  was  designated  as  a  mail  route  from  Peoria,  by  way  of  Lewistown  to 
Rushville,  and  diverging  from  the  latter  place  to  Quincv,  Pittsfield  and  Jackson- 
ville. 

The  first  road  laid  out  by  the  authorities  of  Peoria  county  was  that  for  which, 
at  the  June  session  (1825)  of  the  county  commissioners'  court,  Norman  Hyde 
and  Alexander  McXaughton  had  been  appointed  viewers,  with  authority  to  lo- 
cate. This  road  led  from  the  ferry  landing  opposite  the  hamlet  of  Peoria  to  the 
"Old  Crossing"  on  Sugar  creek,  near  Robert  Musick's  where  the  remains  of  a 
bridge  were  found.  As  this  road  trended  south,  it  is  presumed  the  old  Fort 
Clark  road  crossed  the  creek  at  this  point.  Two  years  after  the  laying  out  of 
this  road  by  the  county,  the  legislature,  on  the  12th  day  of  February,  1827,  made 
it  a  state  road,  and  it  became  the  stage  and  mail  route  between  Peoria  and  Spring- 
field. In  the  act  of  creating  the  state  road  Springfield.  Musick's  on  Salt  creek, 
Thomas  Dillon's  and  Peoria  were  mentioned  as  l)eing  on  its  line. 

On  January  23,  1826,  an  act  of  the  legislature  was  passed  providing  for  a 
state  road  leading  from  Peoria  to  Danville,  the  county  seat  of  \'ermilion  county. 
and  thence  to  the  state  line.  Abner  Eads,  Samuel  Fulton  and  Dan  W.  Beckwith 
were  named  in  the  act  as  viewers  to  locate  the  road.  These  men  performed  their 
duty  and  were  assisted  by  Orlin  Gilbert  and  James  Barnes,  chain  carriers,  and 
William  Rowan,  who  blazed  the  trees  marking  the  line  of  direction.     A  special 

135 


136  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

act  passed  by  the  legislature  in  1831,  five  years  later,  by  which  they  received  pay 
for  their  labors,  was  secured. 

At  the  January  (1826)  session  of  the  county  commissioners'  court,  viewers 
were  appointed  to  locate  a  road  leading  from  Peoria  to  a  point  at  the  northern 
boundary  of  the  county  and  also  for  a  road  leading  from  Peoria  to  as  equally 
an  indefinite  point  at  its  southern  boundary.  These  roads  were  subsequently 
ordered  to  he  opened  a  sufficient  width  for  the  passage  of  teams.  At  this  same 
term  viewers  were  appointed  to  locate  a  road  from  Peoria,  passing  the  "Trading 
Post" — later  Wesley  City — and  the  house  of  Isaac  Perkins,  to  intersect  the 
Springfield  road  at  or  near  Prairie  creek. 

The  first  road  laid  out  leading  in  the  direction  of  Chicago  was  provided  for 
by  the  commissioners'  court,  when,  at  its  September  (1826)  session,  John  Barker, 
George  Harland  and  Samuel  Fulton,  viewers  appointed  to  locate  a  road  from 
Peoria  to  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  county,  made  their  report  and  the  road  was 
established.  Later,  in  1833,  the  legislature  appointed  Lewis  Bigelow,  of  Peoria 
county,  John  M.  Gay,  of  I'utnam  county,  James  B.  Campbell,  of  La  Salle  county, 
and  James  Walker,  of  Cook  county,  viewers  to  locate  a  road  from  Peoria  to  the 
mouth  of  Fox  river  (South  Ottaw'a)  and  thence  to  Chicago.  That  part  of  the 
road  mentioned  to  run  "from  Peoria  to  the  mouth  of  the  Fox  river,"  was  sub- 
stantially the  one  located  by  the  viewers  appointed  by  the  county  commissioners 
at  their'june  session  of  1826.  It  went  by  way  of  Metamora  (Hanover),  Mag- 
nolia, Union  Grove,  Ottawa  and  thence  to  Chicago.  It  will  have  been  seen  by 
the  reader  that  by  this  time,  the  year  1833,  Peoria  had  secured  the  state  roads  of 
great  importance  to  the  settlement — one  to  Springfield  and  the  south,  one  to  Dan- 
ville and  the  east — which  became  the  main  thoroughfare  for  immigration,  and  the 
other,  to  Chicago  and  the  great  lakes. 

The  lead  mines  at  Galena  early  attracted  that  class  of  settlers  who  were  short 
of  ready  money,  and  they  sought  the  wages  paid  there  with  which  many  of  them 
subsequently  bought  land  here  and  in  other  settlements.  .\  thoroughfare  to 
Galena,  therefore,  became  a  matter  for  the  consideration  of  those  in  authority 
and  consequently,  at  the  September  term  of  the  commissioners'  court  Isaac 
Waters,  Norman  Hyde  and  John  Ray  were  appointed  viewers  to  locate  a  road  to 
"the  lead  mines."  At  the  March  term,  1828,  the  order  was  modified  so  as  to  read, 
towards  the  lead  mines  as  far  as  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court  extended.  From 
this  beginning  the  famous  Galena  road  came  into  existence  and  the  legislature, 
on  the  i8th  day  of  January,  1833,  declared  it  to  be  a  state  road.  It  commenced 
at  the  public  square  and  followed  the  line  of  Adams  street  to  the  limits  of  the 
city,  thence  by  the  river  road  to  a  point  near  Mossville,  thence  on  a  line  north 
through  Northampton,  Windsor  (now  Tiskilwa),  Princeton,  Dixon's  ferry, 
thence  northwesterly  to  the  west  line  of  Stephenson  county,  where  it  intersected 
the  Chicago  and  Ga'lena  road  and  from  there  on  to  Galena.  From  this  time  on 
roads  were  laid  out  when  needed,  but  it  was  several  years  before  another  state 
road  was  established  in  the  county. 

FERRIES    .\ND    BRIDGES 

The  first  ferrv  in  Peoria  is  supposed  to  have  been  located  at  the  foot  of  the 
bridge,  but  when'and  bv  whom  remains  in  the  dark.  It  was  there  in  1821,  when 
Ossian  Ross  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  Spoon  river  and  learned  of  this  ferry  and 
the  only  other  one  on  the  river,  which  was  at  Beardstown.  He  at  once  saw  the 
virtue  of  another  ferry,  as  the  two  then  doing  business  were  ninety  miles  apart. 
He,  therefore,  established  a  third  one  at  what  is  now  Flavana  and  prospered,  his 
enterprise  yielding  him,  so  history  has  it,  an  annual  income  of  $2,000  for  many 
years.  .McCulloch,  in  his  history  of  the  county,  relates  that  "James  Eads,  son 
of  William  Eads,  says  his  unc'le,  Abner  Eads,  established  the  first  ferry  at 
Peoria." 

The  legislature  in  1827  passed  an  act  re(|uiring  all  ferry  keepers  chargmg  toll 


THE    COJ.K    BKIDGE, 


OKICIXAL    TOLL    nPJlXiE    ACROSS    'ITIE    ILI.IMMS    i;i\i:i; 
TO  TAZEWELL  COUNTY 


THE   PEORIA   &    PEKTX    IXIOX    I!AILI;m\|i    I'.IMIiilE.   RECENTLY    SUPPLAX'TED   BY 
A    FINK    lirNDKKl)    TIlorsAM)    IKil.I.AR    STRt'( 'irill': 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  137 

to  procure  a  license  from  the  county  commissioners"  court  before  commencing 
operations  and  by  the  same  legislative  measure  the  court  was  vested  with  author- 
ity to  grant  such  licenses,  fix  the  toll  rates  and  license  fee  and  sit  upon  complaints 
against  keepers  not  observing  the  law  governing  their  vocation.  By  the  same 
act  ferry  keepers  were  required  to  have  good  boats  and  eiiuipment,  to  run  their 
boats  from  daylight  until  dark,  and,  upon  call,  to  carry  passengers  at  any  hour 
of  the  night  and  charge  double  for  the  service  if  they  so  desired.  And  it  seems 
that  passes  for  public  servants  were  in  vogue  even  at  that  early  day,  for  the  act 
also  stipulated  that  public  messengers  and  expresses,  and  jurymen  while  on  their 
way  to  court,  should  be  carried  free  of  charge. 

The  custom  had  been  heretofore  upon  the  granting  of  a  ferry  license  to  fix 
the  rates  of  toll.  For  example,  John  L.  Bogardus  had  been  authorized  to  make 
certain  charges  at  his  ferry  and  those  licensed  after  him  were  allowed  to  fix 
the  same  rates.  However,  at  the  June  term,  1826,  the  county  commissioners' 
court  fixed  the  tolls  to  be  charged  on  all  ferries  crossing  the  Illinois  river  as 
follows : 

For   each    foot    passenger    634  cents 

For   man   and   horse    121/2  cents 

For  Dearborn,   sulky,  chair  with  springs 50       cents 

One-horse    wagon    25      cents 

For  four-wheeled  carriage  drawn  by  two  oxen  or  horses ZlY^  cents 

For  cart  with  two  oxen    37>4  cents 

For  every  head  neat  cattle,  horses  or  mules 10      cents 

For  each  hog,  sheep  or  goat   3      cents 

For  every  hundred  weight  of  goods,  wares  and  merchandise 6^4  cents 

For  each  bushel  of  grain  or  articles  sold  by  the  bushel 3      cents 

All  other  articles  in  equal  and  just  proportion. 

It  was  further  ordered  by  the  court  that  the  Bogardus  ferry  might  collect 
double  rates  when  the  river  should  be  out  of  its  banks  and  prevent  a  landing  at 
the  first  material  bend  in  the  (Farm)  creek  from  the  ferry. 

At  the  December,  1829,  term  of  the  county  commissioners'  court  George  Miller 
and  James  Scott  were  licensed  to  keep  a  ferry  at  Hennepin,  and  at  the  June  term 
William  See,  a  Methodist  minister,  was  authorized  to  keep  a  ferry  on  the  Calu- 
met river,  at  the  head  of  Lake  Michigan.  In  July,  1830,  the  list  of  ferries  given 
below  paid  licenses  as  follows : 

William    Haines,    Pekin $  4.00 

\\'illiam  Eads,  Trading  House   2.00 

John   L.    Bogardus,    Peoria    lo.oo 

Matthew   &   Chandler,   The   Narrows 2.00 

Miller   &   Scott,    Hennepin    2.00 

James  Adams,  Little  \'ermilion   2.00 

Clyborne  &  Miller,   Chicago 2.00 

^^'illiam  See,  Calimink 2.00 

Other  ferry  licenses  were  granted  from  time  to  time  to  Jesse  Egman,  Septem- 
ber 30,  1830,  at  Kingston;  Thompson  and  Wright,  December,  1830,  at  Au  Sable; 
Abner  Eads,  January,  T831,  at  foot  of  Liberty  street,  near  the  ravine.  In  March, 
1832,  the  license  of  ]\Iatthews  &  Chandler,  at  the  Narrows,  was  revoked  and 
one  granted  to  Yincent  Barton,  father  of  W.  C.  H.  Barton,  for  whom  the  vil- 
lage of  Bartonville  was  given  its  name.  The  ferry  in  a  year  or  two  thereafter 
passed  into  the  control  of  Charles  Ballance.  In  1832  a  license  to  keep  a  ferry 
at  a  point  opposite  the  extinct  village  of  Allentown.  between  Rome  and  Chilli- 
cothe.  was  granted  Samuel  Allen. 

With  the  advent  of  bridges  the  ferries  soon  went  into  a  state  of  "innocuous 


138  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

desuetude."  The  first  attempt  to  build  a  public  bridge  in  the  county  was  in 
March,  1827,  when  the  county  commissioners'  court  "then  proceeded  to  examine 
and  ascertain  a  suitaijle  site  for  a  public  bridge  across  Kickapoo  creek  and,  after 
thorough  examination,  decided  on  the  following  place:  'Immediately  above  the 
present  crossing  of  the  iniblic  road  from  Peoria  to  I.ewistown.'  "  The  matter 
went  no  further  than  this  until  the  December  term,  when  the  proposed  location 
was  again  inspected  and  a  contract  was  awarded  John  L.  Bogardus  for  the  build- 
ing of  the  bridge,  whose  bond  was  fixed  at  $500.  This  he  gave  with  John  Dixon 
and  Augustus  Langworthy  as  sureties.  Bogardus  failed,  however,  in  making 
good  his  contract  and  at  the  ]\Iarch,  1828,  term  it  was  ordered  that  suit  be 
brought  against  him  and  his  bondsmen. 

Another  order  was  entered  by  the  commissioners'  court,  June  13,  1829,  for 
the  erection  of  a  bridge  across  the  Kickapoo  creek  at  the  ford  on  the  Lewistown 
road  frni  Peoria,  "164  feet  in  length,  to  rest  against  two  certain  trees,  one  on  each 
side  marked  'B.'  "  The  contract  was  let  to  John  Cameron,  who  finished  work 
the  same  year,  which  was  accepted  and  a  balance  of  $50  due  him  was  paid.  The 
total  cost  of  the  structure  has  not  been  recorded.  Subsequently  the  building  of 
bridges  became  more  frequent  and  today,  wherever  a  road  crosses  a  stream  of 
any  importance,  there  a  good  bridge  is  standing  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
public.  And  the  Illinois,  as  wide  as  it  is  in  this  locality,  is  spanned  at  more  than 
one  point  in  the  county,  by  both  wagon  and  railroad  bridges,  made  and  erected 
to  meet  the  requirements  of  a  busy  and  prosperous  community. 

Early  in  the  year  1912  a  magnificent  new  bridge  crossing  the  Illinois  river  was 
completed  by  the  Peoria  &  Pekin  Union  Railway  Company,  at  a  cost  of  about 
$750,000.  The  work  was  begun  on  the  structure  early  in  1909.  It  is  1,032  feet 
in  length  and  the  channel  opening  is  127  feet  in  the  clear.  While  in  course  of 
construction  two  attempts  were  made  to  blow  up  the  structure  by  dynamite.  An 
unex]>loded  bomb  and  mechanism  attached  to  it  was  happily  discovered  in  time 
and  it  is  suspected  that  John  and  James  McNamara,  recently  convicted  of  dyna- 
miting the  Los  Angeles  Times  building,  in  which  a  number  of  lives  were  lost, 
were  implicated  in  the  movement  to  destroy  the  Peoria  bridge.  This  new  high- 
way across  the  river,  it  is  estimated,  has  increased  the  transportation  facilities  of 
Peoria  at  least  one  hundred  per  cent. 

DIXON 's    FERRY    BECOMES   THE    CITY    OF   DIXON 

There  are  not  many  people  in  this  vicinity  nor  in  the  locality  where  the  people 
are  more  interested  in  the  matter,  who  are  aware  of  the  fact  that  a  Peorian  was 
the  primary  means  of  the  founding  of  the  city  of  Dixon,  but  such  is  the  case. 
Judge  McCulloch,  in  his  history  of  Peoria  county,  gives  the  facts  in  the  follow- 
ing short  paragraph,  and  as  they  relate  to  men  who  were  pioneers  of  Peoria 
county,  they  are  here  preserved  as  a  part  of  local  history : 

"John  Dixon,  who  had  for  some  years  been  clerk  of  the  circuit  court  of 
Peoria  county,  had  taken  a  government  contract  to  carry  the  mails  every  two 
weeks  from  Peoria  to  Galena.  To  facilitate  the  work  Joseph  Ogee,  the  half- 
breed  heretofore  mentioned,  was  sent,  or  went  of  his  own  accord,  to  establish  a 
ferry  across  Rock  river  at  the  present  site  of  the  city  of  Dixon,  which  was  for 
a  short  time  operated  by  him ;  but  his  management  not  proving  satisfactory  to 
Dixon,  the  latter  bought  him  out  and  removed  with  his  family  to  that  place.  The 
ferry  was  ever  afterward  called  Dixon's  Ferry,  and  it  was  in  this  way  and  by 
two  Peorians,  the  city  of  Dixon  was  started  and  received  its  name.  The  viewers 
were  Joseph  B.  Meredith,  of  Peoria  county ;  John  D.  Winter  and  Joseph  Smith 
of  Jo  Daviess  county,  and  Cliarles  Boyd,  of  Putnam  county.  Meredith  drew  from 
the  treasury  of  Peoria  county  $50  for  his  services  as  surveyor." 


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HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  139 

RIVER   AND    RAII.RUAU    TRAFFIC 

The  first  travelers  of  the  white  race  came  to  Peoria  by  way  of  the  Illinois 
river  and  for  many  years  thereafter,  before  land  vehicles  were  available,  the 
canoe,  skiff  and  flatboat  were  used  by  the  Indians,  hunters,  adventurers,  voy- 
ageurs  and  settlers.  The  Illinois  river  was  the  favorite  thoroughfare  for  the 
transportation  of  articles  of  value  and  until  the  advent  of  the  railroad  traffic  by 
water  was  of  no  inconsiderable  consequence  and  value. 

Tradition,  or  history  has  it  that  the  first  steamboat  seen  at  the  city  of  Peoria 
was  the  "Liberty,"'  which  had  arrived  at  this  port  in  December,  1849,  but  from 
whence  no  one  knows.  In  the  spring  of  1830  the  "Triton''  tied  up  here,  having 
come  from  St.  Louis  with  a  stock  of  merchandise  for  John  Hamlin.  This  same 
John  Hamlin,  whose  name  appears  in  this  volume  many  times,  secured  a  half 
interest  in  the  "Fairy,"  in  1832,  which  on  its  return  trip  from  Peoria  was  lost  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Alissouri  river.  In  1839  the  "Friendship,"  the  "Exchange," 
the  "Utility"  and  the  "Peoria"  were  all  in  these  waters. 

By  1834  immigration  to  Peoria  had  set  in  steadily  and  river  traffic  increased 
to  a  comparatively  large  extent.  The  "Winnebago,"  the  "Argus,"  the  "Herald" 
and  "Jo  Daviess"  plied  between  ports  all  along  the  river  and  carried  many  tons 
of  freight  to  and  from  Peoria.  All  of  these  vessels  did  a  passenger  business  and 
brought  a  number  of  distinguished  visitors  to  the  growing  city.  The  "Jo  Da- 
viess" was  owned  in  Peoria,  by  its  captain.  William  A.  Hall  and  his  brother, 
David.  The  craft  was  sunk  near  the  mouth  of  the  Spoon  river  early  in  1836. 
There  were  other  citizens  of  Peoria  who  had  an  interest  in  vessels  touching  here. 
Captain  W.  S.  Moss,  a  prominent  merchant,  bought  the  hull  of  a  damaged  boat, 
at  St.  Louis,  and  brought  it  to  Peoria,  where  it  was  completely  rebuilt.  By  185 1 
the  traffic  had  become  so  large  that  Drown,  in  his  history  of  the  times,  gives  con- 
siderable space  to  the  subject  and  mentions  the  landing  of  1,236  vessels  at  Peoria 
during  the  year. 

When  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  was  completed  in  1848,  the  river  trade 
at  Peoria  began  to  suffer.  There  was  an  alert  and  vigorous  rival  with  which  to 
contend.  Chicago  held  out  inducements  to  those  engaged  in  the  river  business 
and  the  tide  of  commerce  turned  her  back  on  Peoria  and  headed  for  the  embryo 
metropolis. 

In  1851,  the  "Illinois  River  Express  Line,"  with  its  packet  boats  made  weekly 
trips  from  St.  Louis  to  La  Salle,  one  leaving  St.  Louis  every  day  except  Sunday. 
These  vessels,  the  "Ocean  Wave,"  the  "Connecticut."  the  "Gladiator,"  the  "Ava- 
lanche," the  "Prairie  Bird"  and  the  "Prairie  State"  catered  principally  to  pas- 
senger business,  but  on  their  lower  decks  merchandise  and  other  articles  of  com- 
merce were  shipped  in  large  quantities.  One  of  the  noted  river  men  of  those  days 
was  Captain  Thomas  I'.aldwin,  master  of  the  "Aunt  Letty.''  named  after  his 
wife.  He  had  also  commanded  the  "Lucy  Bertram."  The  Captain  became  one 
of  Peoria's  most  esteemed  and  influential  citizens  and  at  the  time  of  the  Civil  war 
was  placed  in  command  of  the  United  States  gunboat,  Romeo. 

Other  boats  of  the  early  day  that  might  be  mentioned  were  the  "Bell  Gould," 
the  "Amazonia."'  the  "Cataract,"  the  "Hibernia,"  "Sam  Gaty,"  "Sam  Young," 
"Louisville,"  "F.  X.  Aubrey,"  "Altoona."  "Americus,"  "Brazil,"  "Polar  Star." 
"Challenge,"  "La  Salle,"  "Lacon,"  "Schuyler,"  "City  of  Pekin,"  "City  of  Peoria," 
"Illinois"  and  "Beardstown." 

The  advent  of  the  railroad  was  the  forerunner  of  the  doom  of  river  traffic  at 
this  port.  The  trade  be.gan  to  dwindle  almost  from  the  start  until  today  it  might 
well  be  termed  a  negligible  quantity.  But  few  boats  touch  at  Peoria  and  most 
of  the  traffic  is  by  the  passenger  boats,  which  depend  almost  entirely  on  their 
revenues  from  excursionists  during  the  summer  months. 

Strange  to  relate,  the  city  of  Peoria  has  not  one  trunk  line  entering  its  con- 
fines, ijut  to  offset  this  seeming  disadvantage,  it  is  the  terminal  for  fourteen 
branch  roads,  arteries  of  some  of  the  greatest  systems  of  railroads  in  the  United 


140  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

States.  Coupletl  with  these  is  the  famous  Illinois  Traction  System  of  interurban 
railways,  which  not  only  brings  into  the  city  each  day  visitors  and  shoppers,  but 
also  contributes  to  storehouses  and  busy  marts  shipments  of  vast  quantities  of 
merchandise  and  other  valuables.  A  statistician  connected  with  the  Peoria  As- 
sociation of  Commerce  has,  by  research  and  computation,  arrived  at  the  conclu- 
sion that  I'eoria  "outranks  every  other  city  of  its  class  in  the  United  States  in 
transportation  facilities."    The  railroads  centering  in  P'eoria  are : 

The  Chicago,  Rock  Island  &  Pacific  Railway.  ( Eastern  terminals,  Chicago 
and  Peoria.) 

The  Chicago,  Burlington  li-  Quincy.  (Eastern  terminals,  Chicago,  Peoria 
and  St.  Louis.) 

The  Iowa  Central.     (Eastern  terminal,  Peoria.) 

The  Rock  Island  and  Peoria. 

The  Toledo,  Peoria  and  Western.  ( Under  control  of  the  Pennsylvania  Com- 
pany. ) 

The  Lake  Erie  &  Western.  (Under  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern  con- 
trol and  ownership. ) 

The  Cleveland,  Cincinnati,  Chicago  &  St.  Louis.     (\^anderbilt  system.) 

The  \'andalia  Line — Terre  Haute  &  Peoria.  (Under  control  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  Company.) 

The  Illinois  Central.     (Peoria,  Decatur  &  Evansville  Division.) 

The  Chicago,  Peoria  &  St.  Louis. 

The  Chicago  &  Alton. 

The  Chicago  &  Northwestern. 

The  Peoria  &  Pekin  Union  Railway.     (Terminal  line.) 

The  Peoria  &  Pekin  Terminal  Railway. 

STREET  R.XILW.WS 

For  the  convenience  of  citizens  and  the  traveling  public,  omnibus  lines  were 
the  first  means  of  conveyance  in  Peoria,  but  these  were  not  regularly  established 
by  organized  companies,  their  existence  being  due  simply  to  the  enterprise  of  livery 
men.  .As  the  city  grew  and  the  railroads  increased  their  passenger  traffic,  the 
need  of  more  rapid  transportation  in  and  over  the  city  became  apparent.  This  led 
to  the  application  of  certain  capitalists  in  1867  for  a  charter,  to  empower  the 
'Central  City  Street  Railway  Company"  to  build  a  line  of  street  railway  in  Peoria. 
The  board  of  directors  were  De  Witt  C.  Farrell,  John  C.  Proctor,  John  L.  Gris- 
wold,  Horace  C.  Anderson  and  Washington  Cockle.  These  gentlemen  resigned 
and  a  new  board  was  elected  in  August,  1S68,  the  project  up  to  that  time  not 
having  made  satisfactory  progress.  William  R.  Burt  was  made  president  of  the 
board.  Nelson  Burnham,  secretary,  and  Edward  PI.  Jack,  treasurer.  Nothing, 
however,  was  accomplished  that  year  and  the  year  1869  was  well  on  its  way  when, 
in  October  the  last  named  members  of  the  board  of  directors  were  superseded  by 
William  Reynolds,  John  L.  Griswold,  Washington  Cockle,  Henry  R.  Woodward, 
Joseph  W.  Cochran,  Joseph  H.  Wight  and  James  T.  Rogers.  William  Reynolds, 
president,  Joseph  W.  Cochran,  secretary,  and  James  T.  Rogers,  treasurer.  On 
October  6,  1869,  the  company  was  granted  a  franchise  by  the  city  council,  for 
the  construction  of  railway  tracks  over  a  stated  portion  of  the  city.  December  i, 
1869,  two  miles  of  track  commencing  on  South  street  was  finished  and  four  horse 
cars  in  operation.  The  enterprise  proved  a  success  from  the  start  and  within  a 
month  therefrom  the  line  was  continued  from  Alain  street  to  the  vicinity  of  the 
American  pottery.  The  company  had  purchased  the  land  known  as  Central  Park 
and  in  the  spring  of  1870  tracks  were  laid  to  the  pleasure  grounds.  November 
10,  1871,  the  Peoria  Horse  Railway  Company  received  from  the  council  a  fran- 
chise for  a  double-track  line  along  Washington  street  from  Persimmon  to  Main, 
along  Alain  and  the  Farmington  road  to  Elizabeth  street,  along  High  from  Main 
to  Elizabeth  and  on  Elizabeth  north  to  the  city  limits ;  also  for  a  single  track 


SCENE  AT  COLE  BRIDCE.  FOOT  OE  BRIDGE  STREET,  JUST  BEFORE  BRIDGE   WAS 

TdUX   DOWN   IX   1908  FOR  NEW  STRUCTrRE 

The   liiiilge   •■frowd"   say   "good-bye" 


PEORIA'S  NEW  FREE   I'.IMDCK  AT   Fi "  ri'  of   !'>1:IDi;E   STI!KET 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  HI 

along  Floral  street  to  P.ourland,  on  Bourland  to  Hansel,  on  Hansel  to  the  city 
limits;  along  North  street  from  Main  to  Armstrong  avenue,  and  on  Armstrong 
avenue  to  Taylor  street  and  to  liluflf  street;  also  along  the  Knoxville  road  from 
Alain  to  the  city  limits. 

May  17,  1873,  the  Fort  Clark  Horse  Railway  Company  was  organized  by 
Jacob  Darst.  John  S.  French,  John  H.  Hall,  William  E.  Bunn  and  Jacob  Littleton. 
Under  the  franchise  granted  the  company  had  authority  to  lay  track,  some  of 
which  paralleled  the  "Central's."  which  eventually  led  to  the  last  named  company 
absorbing  its  rival. 

April  20,  1 888,  the  Central  City  Horse  Railway  Company  was  reorganized  as 
the  Central  Railway  Company  and  changed  from  horse  to  electric  power.  The 
Fort  Clark  Company  was  given  authority  to  adopt  electric  power  May  18,  1891, 
and  changed  its  corporate  name  to  the  Fort  Clark  Street  Railway  Company, 
March  11,  1892. 

The  Peoria  Rapid  Transit  Company  was  organized  December  10,  1891,  mainly 
to  benefit  the  Central  Company  and  laid  tracks  on  Monroe  and  Fifth.  These 
tracks  with  others  of  the  Central  paralleling  the  Fort  Clark  road,  made  the  lat- 
ter's  business  hazardous  to  its  stockholders  and  as  a  result  the  Fort  Clark  road 
lost  its  identity  by  being  merged  with  its  competitor. 

The  Peoria  Heights  Street  Railway  Company  was  organized  October  i,  1892, 
and  the  Glen  Oak  &  Prospect  Heights  Railway  Company,  May  7,  1896.  The 
latter  company  operated  a  single  track  road,  which  began  at  the  intersection  of 
Main  street  and  Glendale  avenue  and  from  thence  run  to  the  old  Mount  Hawley 
road  at  the  "Alps."  Im-oui  there  the  line  continued  past  Glen  Oak  Park  and 
Springdale  cemetery  to  the  village  of  Prospect  Heights.  The  stock  of  this  road 
is  largely  held  by  the  Central  City  company. 

ILLINOIS   TRACTION    SYSTEM 

The  Illinois  Traction  System  known  as  the  McKinley  Lines  runs  from  Peoria 
through  Springfield  to  St.  Louis,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  seventy-four  miles 
and  is  the  only  railroad  between  these  two  points  that  has  its  own  rails  all  the 
way,  its  own  terminals  and  liridges.  Trains  run  from  the  courthouse  s(|uare  in 
Peoria  to  the  corner  of  High  and  Twelfth  streets  in  St.  Louis,  the  very  heart  of 
the  hotel,  business  and  theatre  district. 

Over  forty-five  passenger  trains  and  cars  a  day  enter  and  leave  Peoria. 
From  Peoria  the  traction  also  runs  to  Bloomington,  Decatur,  Champaign,  Urbana 
and  Danville,  also  to  Springfield.  Decatur  and  Springfield  are  connected,  mak- 
ing five  hundred  miles  of  high  speed  lines  owned  and  ojierated  by  this  road. 

The  station  in  Peoria  is  located  at  the  corner  of  Hamilton  and  Adams  streets 
where  the  offices  of  the  X'ice  President,  Executive,  the  tJeneral  Counsel,  the  Chief 
Surgeon,  the  Chief  Operating  Engineer,  the  Purchasing  Agent  and  the  Depart- 
ment of  Publicity  are  also  located.  At  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Walnut 
is  located  the  freight  house,  the  car  barns  and  the  power  house.  The  freight 
house  has  but  recently  been  enlarged  and  afl^ords  shipping  facilities  unequalled 
by  other  roads. 

The  Illinois  Traction  System  is  the  only  electric  line  in  the  world  to  operate 
sleeping  cars.  These  run  nightly  between  Peoria  and  St.  Louis.  They  leave  the 
station  in  Peoria  at  11  130  p.  m.  arriving  at  St.  Louis  at  7:05  a.  m.  These  cars, 
designed  by  officials  of  the  Traction  System,  are  said  to  be  the  finest  sleepers  on 
wheels,  being  much  superior  to  Pullmans.  They  have  windows  in  the  upper 
berths.  Steel  lockers  for  valuables  are  placed  in  the  wall  at  the  head  of  each 
berth.  The  berths  are  not  made  into  seats  and  have  six  inch -spring  beds  and 
are  six  inches  longer  than  standard  Pullmans.  They  are  as  comfortable  as  a 
bed.     These  cars  are  lighted  by  storage  batteries  with  lights  in  each  berth. 

Another  innovation  for  an  electric  line  is  parlor  cars.  These  have  every 
convenience  and  were  designed  for  comfort  and  easy  riding.     They  have  large 


142  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

observation  platforms,  comfortable  arm  chairs  and  for  a  small  charge  offer 
privacy  and  luxury.  These  cars  run  to  Springfield,  Bloomington,  Decatur  and 
St.  Louis. 

The  System  also  handles  all  classes  of  freight.  Rapid  delivery  of  freight  is 
a  big  feature.  Goods  delivered  to  the  freight  house  in  the  evening  reach  any 
point  on  the  Traction  the  ne.xt  morning.  This  is  true  of  all  terminals.  Regulation 
freight  ecjuipment  is  handled  by  the  Traction  which  has  elevators  and  connections 
with  steam  roads  for  its  freight  business.  Belt  lines  around  Decatur,  Spring- 
field, Edwardsville  and  Granite  City  have  recently  been  completed  for  the  more 
rapid  handling  of  its  freight  trains. 

The  lines  were  built  and  put  in  operation  from  Bloomington  to  Peoria  in 
1906  and  1907,  and  in  1908  from  Mackinaw  Junction  to  Springfield. 

The  street  car  lines  in  Peoria  were  acquired  by  the  System  in  1904  and 
work  was  started  on  the  McKinley  bridge  across  the  Illinois.  The  power  house 
was  rebuilt  and  enlarged  to  furnish  current  for  the  local  lines  and  the  interurban. 

Since  acf|uiring  the  street  car  lines  they  have  been  practicallv  rebuilt  and  to- 
day are  said  to  be  the  best  in  the  west  for  a  city  of  the  size  of  Peoria. 

The  Illinois  Traction  is  in  every  respect  a  railroad  doing  all  classes  of  rail- 
road business.  It  operates  freight  trains  and  gives  an  unexcelled  passenger 
service.  Cars  leave  Peoria  for  all  points  every  hotir  and  arrive  on  the  same 
schedule.  This  frequence  of  service  is  a  great  convenience  for  travelers.  The 
local  cars  stop  at  all  highway  crossings  making  it  possible  for  the  farmer  to  visit 
the  city  as  he  pleases.  The  limited  cars  stop  at  stations  only  and  make  as  good 
time  as  the  steam  roads. 

At  St.  Louis  across  the  Mississippi  the  System  has  built  the  McKinley  Elec- 
tric Bridge  at  a  cost  of  four  million,  five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  This  is  the 
largest  bridge  ever  built  by  an  electric  railroad  and  the  heaviest  in  carrying 
capacity  of  any  that  crosses  the  river.  A  handsome  passenger  station  and  ter- 
minal facilities  have  but  recently  been  finished. 

During  the  last  year,  the  Traction  has  installed  a  complete  system  of  auto- 
matic electric  block  signals.  These  are  absolutely  automatic  in  their  operation 
and  assure  perfect  safety  in  train  operation.  They  are  placed  at  all  meeting 
points,  curves  and  subways  and  render  collision  practically  impossible.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  that  the  Traction  has  more  signals  of  this  type  than  an)-  other 
electric  road  in  the  United  States. 

In  the  northern  part  of  the  state  the  INIcKinley  interests  own  and  control 
the  Chicago,  Ottawa  and  Peoria  Railway  Company.  This  interurban  operates 
one  hundred  miles  of  track  connecting  Princeton,  La  Salle,  Spring  \'alley, 
Ottawa,  Streator  and  Joliet.  Eventually  these  lines  will  enter  Chicago  and  be 
connected  with  the  Illinois  Traction  System,  making  a  continuous  interurban 
from  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  to  Chicago,  via  Peoria. 

William  B.  McKinley  is  the  founder  and  builder  and  president  of  these  inter- 
urban lines.  He  is  also  well  known  from  his  public  life,  having  represented  the 
nineteenth  district  of  Illinois  in  congress  for  six  terms.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
committee  of  foreign  affairs  and  was  for  four  years  chairman  of  the  committee 
on  coinage  weights  and  measures. 

H.  E.  Chubl)uck,  vice  president  and  general  manager  of  all  the  McKinley 
interests,  lives  in  Peoria.  Sir.  Chubbuck  is  one  of  the  foremost  men  in  the  "elec- 
trical business  in  the  United  States.  His  father  and  grandfather  also  spent  their 
lives  in  the  electrical  inilustry.  His  grandfather  then  living  in  LTica,  New  York, 
had  the  distinction  of  collaborating  with  Morse  in  the  invention  of  the  telegraph. 
His  father  invented  the  sounder  and  established  the  first  factory  for  the  manu- 
facture of  telegraph  instruments  in  the  United  States.  Mr.  Chubbuck  is  the 
head  of  an  organization  of  more  than  three  thousand,  five  hundred  men.  His 
offices  are  in  Peoria  and  he  has  made  this  city  his  permanent  home,  having  bought 
property  on  Moss  avenue.  He  is  well  known  in  Peoria,  taking  an  active  interest 
in  all  its  business  and  social  affairs. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

RELIGIOUS    ORGANIZATION'S    Ul'    PKORIA    GOUNTV THE    CATHOLIC    CHURCH    FIRST    IN 

THE    FIELD THE     METHODISTS    STRONG    IN     THE    FAITH     AND    IN     NUMBERS 

HISTORY  OF  MANY  CHURCHES  TO  BE  FOUND  IN  THIS  CHAPTER. 

ROMAN   CATHOLIC   CHURCH. 

The  story  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church  in  I'coria  county  can  best  lie  told 
under  several  general  headings. 

I 

As  with  Columbus  the  church  came  to  this  continent  so  came  it  also  with  the 
sons  of  France  who  first  rowed  down  our  unknown  streams  and  penetrated  our 
trackless  forests.  The  e.xplorers  were  catholic :  the  missionaries,  as  well.  Fre- 
()uently  the  same  individual  was  both  the  one  and  the  other.  Witness  the  names 
of  Marquette,  Hennepin,  Allouez,  Rasle  and  Gravier. 

The  spring  of  1673  saw  Father  James  Marquette,  Joliet  and  five  fellow 
countrymen  rowing  down  the  Wisconsin  river  to  the  Mississippi,  thence  down 
its  current  to  the  place  where  the  Arkansas  pitches  itself  into  the  Father  of 
Waters.  Here,  satisfied  that  the  Mississippi  emj^ties  into  the  Gulf  instead  of 
the  Pacific  ocean,  they  started  on  the  return  voyage.  Just  a  little  curious  that  as 
Columbus  was  seeking  a  short  route  to  India  and  discovered  America,  so  these 
seven  Frenchmen  in  seeking  a  short  passage  to  India  opened  up  a  territory  com- 
pared with  whose  wealth  the  lure  of  India  drops  into  utter  insignificance.  Mar- 
quette's Journal  of  his  first  glimpse  of  the  Illinois  country  says:  'AVe  had  seen 
nothing  like  this  river  for  the  fertility  of  its  land,  its  prairies,  wood,  wild  cattle, 
stag,  deer,  wild  cats,  swan,  ducks,  parrots  and  even  beaver:  its  many  lakes  and 
rivers."  Prophetic  forecast,  for  the  golden  harvests  of  Illinois  now  find  their 
wav  to  Bendemeer  and  liosphorus ! 

Having  satisfied  themselves  that  the  Mississippi  afforded  no  short  cut  to 
India,  they  began  the  return  and  when  at  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river  they 
were  told  by  the  Indians  of  the  place  that  this  river  offered  a  shorter  way  to  the 
lakes,  they  ascended  it  and  in  that  ascension  we  are  privileged  to  chronicle  the 
fact : 

Peoria  County  First  Pell  Upon  White  }hiu's  I'ision 

The  exact  date  of  this  potent  event  we  do  not  know,  but  the  month  and  the 
year  we  are  able  to  record.  June  17,  1673,  saw  Marquette  and  companions 
entering  the  Mississippi  and  two  months  later,  we  note  him  spending  three  days 
with  the  Indians  of  the  Peoria  village,  announcing  the  Catholic  faith  to  them 
and  baptizing  a  dying  child  which  was  brought  to  him  on  the  water's  edge  as  he 
and  companions  were  embarking  to  continue  the  journey  to  the  Great  Lakes. 

With  the  preaching  of  Father  Marc|uette  and  the  administration  of  the  Sacra- 
meiit  of  I'.aptism  .\ugust,  1673,  we  are  able  to  fix  the  humble  beginning  of  the 
Catholic  church  in  Peoria  county.  Its  beginning  is  caezvl  icith  the  adi'ent  of  the 
first  Zi'hitc  man  to  these  parts. 

In  this  voyage  up  the  river  a  stop  was  made  at  the  principal  village  of  the 

143 


144  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

Kaskaskias — a  mission  station  was  established,  and  from  this  estabhshment  dates 
the  authentic  period  of  the  Illinois  history  (1673).  Seven  years  later  La  Salle 
descended  the  Illinois  river  on  his  way  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  and  while 
on  that  journey  built  Fort  Creve  Coeur,  opposite  the  present  city  of  Peoria.  This 
marks  the  second  step  in  the  opening  up  of  Illinois.  While  neither  settlement 
was  made  in  Peoria,  they  were  both  made  in  the  portion  of  Illinois  which  since 
1875  is  known  in  church  geography,  as 

The  Diocese  of  Peoria 

April  8,  1675,  finds  Father  Marquette  at  the  first  Kaskaskia  village — on  the 
high  ground  north  of  the  Illinois  river  and  south  of  the  present  village  of  Utica. 
The  narrative  tells  us  that  five  hundred  chiefs  and  old  men  were  seated  in  a 
circle  round  the  priest  while  the  youth  stood  without,  to  the  number  of  fifteen 
hundred  besides  the  many  women  and  children.  Marquette  preached  to  them 
and  on  the  following  Thursday  and  Sunday — Holy  Thursday  and  Easter  Sun- 
day— celebrated  Mass,  the  first  clean  Oblation  ever  offered  to  God  in  Illinois. 

April  iith  and  14th,  1675,  are  the  dates  of  the  first  Masses  ofifered  in  the 
Diocese  of  Peoria.  A  little  more  than  a  month  later  this  first  missionary  passed 
to  his  reward  near  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph  river,  on  the  eastern  shore  of 
Lake  Michigan.  His  thirty-eight  years  ending  on  the  i8th  of  May,  1675,  make 
the  historian,  however  crude,  feel  they  were  the  beginning  of  immortality  and 
the  Middle  West  places  him  among  names  she  cannot  afford  to  let  die. 

After  the  death  of  Illinois'  and  Peoria  county's  first  missionary.  Father  Allouez 
came  to  Kaskaskia  on  the  Illinois  (  1677).  Father  Rasle,  who  was  later  murdered 
by  the  New  Englanders  at  Norridgewock,  Maine,  in  1724,  also  visited  Kaskaskia 
before  1700. 

II 

The  era  of  the  discoverer  passes  and  the  missionary  gives  place  to  the  explorer 
and  the  colonist.  The  idea  grows  upon  us  as  we  behold  in  Fort  Creve  Coeur 
(  1680)  the  fourth  of  that  chain  of  fortresses  which  La  Salle's  far-reaching  plans 
contemplated.  He  had  already  established  Fort  Frontenac  on  Lake  Ontario, 
Fort  Conti  on  the  River  Niagara  and  Fort  Miami.  With  these  the  church 
historian  is  not  particularly  concerned  except  as  he  finds  them  centers  of  mis- 
sionary activity.  We  have  already  noted  Marquette's  visit  to  Peoria  county, 
1673,  and  a  little  more  than  seven  years  later  we  chronicle  the  advent  of  the 
second  missionary  or  rather  band  of  missionaries.  For  New  Year's  day,  1680, 
witnessed  La  Salle,  Tonti  and  twenty-five  followers  and  three  Franciscan  mis- 
sionaries landing  to  begin  the  construction  of  Fort  Creve  Coeur.  The  mission- 
aries were  Fathers  Hennepin,  Gabriel  de  la  Rebourde  and  Zenobe  Membre. 

March  i,  1680,  saw  the  fort  nearly  finished.  We  cannot  do  better  than  let 
Hennepin  tell  the  story  in  his  own  words:  "Our  fort  was  very  nearly  finished 
and  we  named  it  Fort  Creve  Coeur  because  the  desertions  of  our  men  and  the 
other  difficulties  which  we  labored  under  had  almost  broken  our  hearts.  And  we 
heard  nothing  of  our  ship  and  therefore  wanted  rigging  and  tackle  for  our  bark 
— M.  de  La  Salle  did  not  doubt  then  that  his  beloved  Griffin  (i.  e.  his  transport 
and  trading  ship — Ed. )  was  lost,  but  neither  this  nor  the  other  difficulties  dejected 
him — his  great  courage  buoyed  him  up,  and  he  resolved  to  return  to  Fort  Fron- 
tenac by  land  notwithstanding  the  severe  and  unspeakable  dangers  attending  so 
great  a  voyage." 

Hennepin  tells  again  of  long  consultations  had  and  the  resolve  that  La  Salle 
set  out  with  three  men  and  bring  back  with  him  all  the  necessary  things  for  their 
discoveries.  La  Salle  was  intending  to  navigate  the  Mississippi  to  its  mouth 
and  Hennepin  and  two  companions  to  go  by  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  to  the  upper 
Mississippi. 

The  missionaries  who  had  accompanied  La  Salle  to  Creve  Coeur  are  now  about 


ST.  MARY'S  C-ATIIK1)I;A1. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  145 

to  scatter  themselves  for  more  widespread  effort.  We  cannot  do  better  than 
hear  again  the  story  in  Hennepin's  own  words :  "We  were  three  missionaries 
for  that  handful  of  Europeans  at  Fort  Creve  Coeur  and  therefore  we  thought 
lit  to  divide  ourselves.  Father  Gabriel  de  la  Rebourde,  being  very  old,  was  tc 
continue  with  our  men  at  the  fort.  Father  Zenolire  Membre  was  to  go  among 
the  Illinois,  having  desired  it  himself,  in  hopes  to  convert  that  numerous  nation, 
and  I  was  to  go  on  without  discovery." 

Tonti  was  left  in  command  of  the  fort  as  La  Salle  with  three  men  set  out 
overland  for  Canada.  Father  Hennepin  and  two  companions  went  down  the 
Illinois  and  began  his  memorable  e.xploration  of  the  upper  Mississippi.  Mean- 
while Father  Membre  lived  in  the  cabin  of  the  chief  Oumahowha  but  the  brutal 
habits  greatly  discouraged  him.  Gradually,  however,  he  accjuired  their  language. 
Tonti  was  deserted  by  most  of  his  men  and  the  aged  Father  de  la  Rebourde  was 
adopted  by  Asapiata.  an  Illinois  chief. 

In  September,  same  year,  the  Peorias  and  Kaskaskias  were  attacked  by  an 
Iroquois  army  and  tied.  Tonti  and  the  missionaries  narrowly  escaped  and  seeing 
no  alternative  set  out  for  Green  Bay  in  a  wretched  bark  canoe.  The  following 
day  being  compelled  to  land  for  repairs  while  Tonti  and  Father  Membre  were 
making  the  repairs,  Father  de  la  Rebourde  retired  to  the  shade  of  a  neighboring 
grove  to  recite  his  office.  This  was  the  last  seen  of  him.  Three  Kickapoos  had 
come  upon  him  and  killed  him  and  thrown  his  body  into  a  hole.  His  breviary 
eventually  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  Jesuit  missionary. 

Thus  September  9.  1680.  bears  n'itncss  to  the  first  martyr  of  the  Illinois  mis- 
sions in  the  person  of  Father  Gabriel  de  la  Rebourde,  who  in  the  seventieth  year 
passed  from  earth,  far  indeed,  from  his  native  France. 

From  the  breaking  up  of  Fort  Creve  Coeur  in  Autumn,  1680,  to  172 1,  we 
Ijehold  the  Catholic  church  in  the  ministrations  of  Father  Gravier,  Jesuit,  who 
was  here  in  1693  and  1694,  and  who  tells  us  of  fervent  Christians  among  the 
Indians.  Even  in  the  absence  of  the  missionary  the  men  assembled  in  chapel 
for  morning  and   evening  prayers. 

The  year  1700  we  see  h'ather  Gravier  again  in  Peoria,  but  this  time  the  medi- 
cine man  incited  a  sedition  in  which  the  missionary  was  dangerousl}^  wounded 
and  narrowly  escaped  his  life. 

h'ather  Moreat  resided  here  for  some  time  after  Father  Gravier's  experience 
in  1700.  The  mission  then  became  vacant,  and  the  Indians  in  punishment  for 
their  cruelty  to  Father  Gravier  were  cut  oft"  from  the  French  trade.  Father 
Moreat  came  a  second  time  to  them  in  171 1,  and  found  them  somewhat  subdued 
and  conscious  of  their  former  cruelty.  On  his  return  to  Kaskaskia  (on  the 
Mississi])]3i )  he  sent  from  there  Father  de  \'ille  to  renew  the  faith  among  the 
I'eorias.  The  next  priest  to  visit  this  site  was  Father  Charlevoix  in  172 1.  At 
that  time  the  chief's  little  daughter  was  dying  and  he  brought  her  to  the  mis- 
sionary to  be  baptized.  The  chief  wore  on  his  breast  a  cross  and  figure  of  the 
Blessed  \'irgin. 

Ill 

From  1721  until  early  in  the  next  century  silence  falls  upon  missionary  effort 
among  the  Indians  in  the  Illinois  country.  This  is  so  for  the  reason  that  tribal 
wars  of  the  bitterest  kind  made  such  effort  impossible.  That  their  wars  were 
relentless  yet  having  in  them  elements  of  the  noblest  daring  and  greatest  heroism 
the  reader  need  but  advert  to  the  memorable  siege  of  Starved  Rock,  where,  like 
Schamyl,  on  Gunib's  height,  ninety  years  later,  valiant  warriors  looked  down 
upon  the  enemy.  But  what  traitors  or  new  found  paths  could  not  do  hunger  and 
thirst  did. 

Another  explanation  is  found  for  a  prolonged  interruption  of  the  missionary 

story  in  what  here  follows.     In  17 12  the  French  government  began  to  send  white 

settlers  to  this  and  other  colonies,  which  stretched  all  the  way  from  New  Orleans 

to  the  Great  Lakes.     It  granted  valuable  franchises  to  Crosat  and  Cadillac.     The 
vii.  I— 10 


146  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

grant  ended  in  disaster  in  1717  and  was  quickly  followeil  by  the  bursting  of 
Law's  bank  in  1720.  This  was  known  in  those  days  as  the  Mississippi  Bubble 
and  was  doubtless  Illinois'  first  experiment  in  high  finance.  The  white  settler 
lost  his  all.  In  1736,  war  broke  out  with  the  Chickasaws  and  the  Illinois  troops 
met  defeat.  Illinois'  tirst  governor,  D'Artaguiette  and  its  second  martyr  priest. 
Father  Senet,  were  put  to  death  by  slow  torture  at  the  stake. 

The  Illinois  troops  under  Bienville  again  tasted  of  defeat  at  the  hands  of  the 
Chickasaws.  Then  came  \'andruel,  as  governor  of  Louisiana,  who  later  in  1760 
surrendered  Montreal  and  the  whole  of  Canada  to  England.  1763,  just  ninety 
years  after  Marquette's  visit  to  Peoria,  witnessed  the  passing  of  our  city  and 
surrounding  territory  from  French  to  short-lived  British  rule. 

IV 

From  Father  James  Marquette's  visit,  then,  in  1673  to  the  proclamation  of 
General  Gage  bearing  date  December  30,  1764,  the  catholic  was  the  only  form  of 
the  christian  religion  known  or  proclaimed  in  Illinois.  Bearing  upon  the  fact : 
the  early  missionar)-  ]3hase  of  religion  was  exclusively  catholic,  ^liss  Jones,  in 
her  painstaking  work  entitled  "Decisive  Dates  in  Illinois  History"  writes:  "Two 
strong  motives  led  the  French  into  the  wilderness.  One  was  the  fur  trade  and 
the  other  was  the  love  of  their  church  which  sent  them  as  missionaries  among 
the  American  Indians.  Wherever  a  trading-post  was  located,  a  mission  was 
established.  The  priest  with  his  altar  on  his  back  went  side  by  side  with  the 
explorer  and  the  trader.  This  was  the  case  from  the  time  of  the  building  of 
Quebec,  the  first  permanent  settlement  in  New  France  by  Samuel  Champlain  in 

1608." 

The  first  proclamation  of  the  first  English  Governor  of  the  newly  acquired 
territory  has  to  do  with  religion  and  reads  as  follows.  General  Gage  says: 
"And  His  Brittanic  Majesty  grants  to  the  inhabitants  of  Illinois  the  liberty  of  the 
Catholic  religion,  as  has  already  been  granted  to  his  subjects  in  Canada.  He  has 
consequents  given  the  most  precise  and  efifective  orders  to  this  end  that  his  new 
Roman  Catholic  subjects  of  the  Illinois  may  exercise  the  worship  of  their  religion 
according  to  the  rites  of  the  Roman  church." 

The  British  held  possession  of  all  this  northwest  territory  until  1778  \yhen 
Col.  George  Rogers  Clark  dislodged  them.  That  Father  Gibault  greatly  assisted 
the  colonel  the  records  show.  Through  him  messengers  were  dispatched  to 
Vincennes  and  Peoria  (\'ille  du  Maillet)  assuring  the  French  residents  they 
were  American  allies  and  enemies  of  the  English,  against  whose  rule  their  racial 
feelings  had  protested  for  the  past  fourteen  years.  Father  Gibault's  services 
in  this  episode  of  the  militant  gospel  were  recognized  in  public  eulogium  in  the 
legislation  of  \'irginia  in  1780. 

V 

From  the  period  of  the  revolution  just  adverted  to,  the  local  historian  asks 
the  reader  to  make  a  good  long  mental  jump  of  more  than  fifty  years.  There 
are  no  records  covering  the  intervening  half  century ;  in  truth,  there  seems  little 
to  record  other  than  a  settling  back  into  primeval  wilderness  and  silence  from 
which  our  territory  was  first  awakened  by  Father  .^Marquette  on  a  memorable 
August  day,  1673. 

To  be  exact  in  dates,  the  mental  jump  brings  historian  and  reader  to  Decem- 
ber, 1837,  and  August,  1839.  The  former  date  tells  of  .A lass  celebrated  in  the 
house  of  Thomas  Alooney",  who  in  1835,  with  his  family  came  to  the  La  Salle 
Prairie  about  sixteen  miles  up  the  river  northeast  of  the  present  city  of  Peoria. 
Mr.  Mooney's  name  attached  itself  to  this  early  homeseeking  in  Peoria  county 
and  the  place  is  rightfully  called  Mooney  Settlement.  The  priest  who  first  paid 
the  few  Catholic  settlers  there  a  visit  was  a  fellow  countryman  of  Father  Mar- 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  147 

cjuette.  IJorn  at  Lyons,  I'Yance,  1804,  and  ordained  at  St.  Louis,  by  ISishop 
Rosati,  April  6,  1833,  the  Rev.  J.  j\I.  J.  St.  Cyr.  has  the  distinction  of  being  the 
first  resident  priest  of  Chicago  and  of  building  its  first  church — St.  Mary's. 
He  has  also  the  pilgrim's  experience  of  walking  from  (Chicago)  l'"ort  Dear- 
born to  St.  Louis.  This  foot  journey  enables  us  to  chronicle  his  visit  to  Mooney 
Settlement  and  to  resume  the  story  of  the  Catholic  church  in  Peoria  county 
after  more  than  fifty  years  of  silence. 

The  village  of  Kickapoo  lays  claim  to  possessing  the  first  permanent  Roman 
Catholic  church  edifice  built  in  Illinois.  The  little  stone  church  is  still  in  use 
and  its  cornerstone  was  laid  August  4,  1839.  Fortunately  the  record  of  this 
most  interesting  early  event  has  been  preserved. 

"By  the  authority  of  the  IJishop,  the  illustrious  and  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Rosati, 
I  have  this  day  blessed  and  placed  the  (first)  cornerstone  of  a  church  to  be 
erected  by  the  faithful  in  Kickapoo,  a  mission  connected  with  this  parish  and 
situated  in  the  county  of  Peoria  about  sixty  miles  from  La  Salle,  said  church 
to  be  erected  to  the  glorv  of  God  and  of  St.  Patrick,  ISishop  of  the  Irish  People." 
August  4,  1^9.  '  J.  B.  Raho,  C.  M^ 

The  local  historian  finds  himself  noting  the  passing  of  the  early  Jesuit  and 
Franciscan  missionary  and  their  places  taken  by  the  Lazarist,  who  is  to  occupy 
no  small  space  in  the  church  history  of  central  Illinois  after  the  event  chronicled 
by  their  worthy  son,  who  came  from  the  center  of  their  religious  activity  at  La 
Salle,  Illinois,  to  lay  the  cornerstone  of  the  first  permanent  Catholic  church  in 
Peoria  county  and  perhaps  in  Illinois.  Father  Raho's  name  is  closely  associated 
with  the  beginnings  of  the  Catholic  activity,  which  has  remained  down  to  the 
present  in  the  city  of  Peoria.  He  paid  a  short  visit  here  in  1838  on  his  way  from 
St.  Louis  to  La  Salle  and  a  year  later  returned  and  celebrated  Mass  at  the  home 
of  Patrick  Ward  on  tlie  Jefferson  street  lot  adjoining  the  present  St.  Mary's 
parochial  school. 

From  this  date  Mass  was  said  now  and  then  at  the  houses  of  various  early 
settler  Catholics. 

Services  were  held  in  a  public  building  for  the  first  time  in  1840.  The  distinc- 
tion belongs  to  Father  Raho  and  the  place  the  u])per  room  of  a  frame  building, 
corner  Main  and  Adams,  where  the  AIcDougal  drug  store  now  stands.  Father 
Raho  was  assisted  by  Fathers  Parodi  and  Staehle.  For  a  few  years,  the  Sunday 
Mass  was  celebrated  about  once  a  month.  From  1841  to  1843,  public  services 
were  held  on  the  lower  side  of  Washington  street  about  half  way  between  Main 
and  I'ulton  streets  in  what  was  known  as  Stillman's  Row. 

The  year  1843  bears  witness  to  the  visit  of  the  first  Catholic  bishop  to  Peoria. 
P>ishop  Peter  Kenrick  of  St.  Louis  came  and  celebrated  Mass  in  Stillman's  Row 
and  also  in  the  old  courthouse.  His  visit  w^as  quite  an  event  bringing  Catholics 
from  Galena,  La  Salle,  Black  Partridge  and  Kickapoo.  He  confirmed  twenty- 
seven  and  remained  for  some  days  delivering  addresses  for  three  consecutive 
evenings  to  mixed  audiences  in  the  courthouse. 

It  was  this  visit  which  brought  about  the  purchase  of  the  ground  which  later 
became  the  site  of  old  .St.  Mary's  church — so  many  years  the  pro-cathedral  of  the 
diocese  of  Peoria.  To-day  the  church  building  has  passed  but  the  grounds 
remain  ornamented  by  a  new  and  up-to-date  parochial  school  which  is  the  prop- 
erty of  the  parish  and  retains  the  name  of  St.  Mary's. 

From  Bishop  Kenrick's  visit  to  185 1  and  1852  when  the  first  St.  Mary's 
church  was  built,  services  were  held  in  various  places  about  the  city  chiefly  in  a 
little  brick  building  on  the  alley  between  Madison  and  Jefferson  streets.  For 
many  years  afterward  this  same  spot  was  the  site  of  the  first  parochial  school 
in  Peoria.  St.  Mary's  church,  whose  opening  under  Father  Montuori,  July  4, 
1852,  we  are  all  privileged  to  chronicle  was  dedicated  some  months  later,  April 
17,  1853,  by  Bishop  \'an  de  \'elde — the  second  bishop  of  Chicago.  From  the 
opening  of  St.  Mary's  church  in  1852  its  abandonment  May,  1889,  in  favor  of 
the  cathedral  which  now  stands  a  thing  of  imposing  beauty,  sixteen  pastors  pre- 


148  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

sided  over  its  destinies.  Among  the  best  known  were  Father  Abraham  J.  Ryan, 
later  known  as  "The  Poet  Priest  of  the  South"  and  Fathers  M.  J.  Hurley  and 
Benjamin  J.  Spalding,  whose  early  death  was  bemoaned  but  who  left  in  the  new 
St.  Mary's,  corner  Madison  and  Green  streets,  an  enduring  monument  to  his 
memory  and  an  evidence  that  his  ten  years  of  pastorate  were  busy  and  fruitful 
years. 

Tlic  Diocese  of  Peoria 
VI 

The  setting  apart,  into  a  diocese  bearing  the  name  of  our  county  seat,  of  a 
certain  territory  stretching  across  the  entire  width  of  central  Illinois  gives  a 
new  and  significant  prominence  to  the  Catholic  church  story  of  Peoria  county. 

The  diocese  of  Peoria  was  erected  by  Papal  Brief,  February  12.  1875,  and  its 
first  Bishop  Rt.  Rev.  John  L.  Spalding  was  consecrated  in  New  York  city  by 
Cardinal  McClosky,  May  i,  1877.  Twenty-two  days  later  he  came  to  Peoria  and 
for  more  than  thirty  years  or  to  be  exact  until  November,  1908.  when  his  resigna- 
tion handed  in  two  months  previous,  was  accepted  by  Rome,  he  directed  the 
destiny  of  the  Catholic  church  in  Peoria  with  rare  administrative  power ;  with 
wisdom,  catholic  in  the  broadest  sense ;  with  universal  sympathy  and  with  a  gift 
of  eloquence  that  would  have  marked  him  in  any  age  or  country ;  with  a  pen 
unfailing  and  chaste.  All  this  lifted  the  diocese  of  Peoria  to  a  place  not  explained 
by  numbers  or  distinctive  early  history,  however  interesting.  Doubtless  in  last 
analysis  the  historian  in  explanation,  finds  himself  saying  as  Sir  Arthur  Helps 
said  of  Cardinal  Ximines,  "He  is  like  a  city  on  the  margin  of  deep  waters  such 
as  Genoa,  where  no  receding  tide  reveals  anything  that  is  mean,  squalid  or 
unbecoming." 

When  Bishop  Spalding  took  up  his  residence  in  Peoria,  May,  1877,  there  were' 
besides  St.  Mary's,  St.  Joseph's  and  St.  Patrick's  parishes.  The  year  1855  bears 
witness  to  the  erection  of  St.  Joseph's  church.  It  was  in  every  way  uripretentious, 
a  frame  building  fifty  by  thirty-two.  Its  first  pastor  and  builder  was  Father 
Gipperich — formerly  of  Black  Partridge — who  remained  until  1857.  Among  the 
well  known  and  more  prominent  pastors  of  this  church  are  Fathers  Boers, 
Dieters,  Baak,  Rotter  and  Greve,  who  yet  remains.  The  distinction  of  building 
the  present  permanent  church  dedicated  in  1880  belongs  to  Father  Baak,  who 
began  his  pastorate  in  1872. 

St.  Patrick's,  the  largest  of  the  Catholic  parishes  of  the  city  of  Peoria,  began 
its  particular  history  in  1862.  Father  Coyle,  rector  of  St.  Mary's,  built  a  stnall 
frame  church  there  for  the  wants  of  the  growing  population  in  "The  Lower 
End."  It  was  attended  from  St.  Mary's,  and  became  strong  enough  to  stand 
alone.  May  i,  1868,  when  Father  Hurley  resigned  the  pastorate  of  St.  Mary's 
to  become  the  first  and  much  loved  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's.  He  built  the  present 
permanent  church,  which  was  tried  as  by  fire,  but  which  arose  again  and 
was  dedicated  November  27,  1881.  Father  Hurley  died  December  11,  1892,  and 
was  succeeded  by  its  present  rector  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Peter  J.  O'Reilly. 

The  parish  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  whose  proximity  to  the  city  hall  makes  the 
visitor  know  the  church  is  in  toimi  and  suggests  possibly  the  balance  of  civil  and 
religious  government — this  church  was  the  first  of  the  new  parishes  which  fol- 
lowed in  fairly  rapid  succession  under  the  stimulus  of  the  first  bishop  of  Peoria. 
Begun  in  1880  it  was  for  more  than  a  decade  cared  for  by  the  Capuchin  Fathers, 
who  in  1892  were  succeeded  by  the  Sons  of  St.  Francis  of  Assissi.  They  have 
changed  all  the  temporary  buildings  into  permanent  structures  of  approved 
architectural  beauty. 

The  year  1881  finds  the  population  of  "The  Lower  End"  demanding  nearer 
church  accommodations  and  in  this  demand  arose  St.  Boniface's  parish.  Its  first 
rector  and  organizer  was  the  Rev.  F.  Von  Schwedler,  who  built  a  frame  church 
and  school  and  brick  parochial  residence.    He  was  succeeded,  1892,  by  the  Fran- 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  149 

ciscan  Fathers,  who  later  erected  the  permanent  church  and  school.  The  parish 
remains  under  their  charge  and  shows  yearly  gains  in  membership  and  religious 
vitality. 

St.  John's  parish  took  birth  July,  1890.  It  found  reason  for  its  existence  in 
the  growth  covered  up  by  that  somewhat  mystic  but  comprehensive  phrase  "The 
Lower  End."  It  was  most  fortunate  in  its  first  rector,  who  like  the  first  rector 
of  St.  Boniface,  came  from  Oilman,  Illinois. 

The  Rev.  John  P.  Ouinn  had  youth,  vigor,  industry,  enthusiasm  and  eloquence. 
They  were  assets  that  counted.  January,  191 1,  he  was  advanced  to  the  Deanery 
of  Ottawa,  Illinois.  His  twenty  years  of  residence  in  St.  John's  left  a  void  in 
many  hearts ;  they  also  left  four  permanent  buildings  in  which  to  carry  on  the 
parochial  life.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  T.  E.  .Madden,  of  Arlington, 
Illinois. 

St.  Mark's  parish  made  a  beginnmg  July,  1891.  Its  first  rector  and  organizer 
was  Rev.  Francis  J.  O'Reilly,  who  came  from  Utica,  Illinois,  to  do  the  work. 
He  remained  in  charge  until  June,  1897,  when  he  was  advanced  to  the  rectorship 
of  St.  Mary's  cathedral  and  made  chancellor  of  the  diocese  of  Peoria.  His  six 
years  of  living  on  the  West  Bluff  witnessed — after  a  year  of  temporary  organiza- 
tion— the  completion  of  the  present  permanent  church  and  rectory. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  James  Shannon,  who  in  December,  1910,  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  John  H.  Burke,  of  Bloomington,  Illinois.  Father  Burke,  its 
third  rector  still  cares  for  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  growing  parish. 

St.  Bernard's,  the  newest  of  the  congregations  of  the  city  of  Peoria  proper, 
was  born  of  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  people  of  the  Catholic  faith  who  sought 
homes  in  what  is  locally  called  the  East  Bluff.  The  parish  was  created  and  the 
church  built  in  1904  by  Father  F.  J.  O'Reilly,  while  rector  of  the  cathedral. 
Its  first  resident  rector  was  appointed  on  the  day  of  dedication,  October,  1904. 
He  remains  and  reigns  successfully  in  the  person  of  Rev.  M.  P.  Sammon,  who 
has  since  added  to  the  parish  e(|uipment  a  parochial  residence  and  school,  both  of 
permanent   character   and   architectural   beauty. 

St.  Peter's,  Averyville,  came  into  existence  humbly  enough  toward  the  end 
of  December,  1897.  In  August,  1898,  the  present  church  was  dedicated  and 
later  a  parochial  residence  was  acquired.  These  things  were  done  by  Rev.  F. 
J.  O'Reilly  while  rector  of  St.  Mary's  Cathedral.  The  priests  of  the  cathedral 
answered  all  its  spiritual  demands  until  August,  191 1,  when  its  first  and  present 
rector  came  in  the  person  of  Rev.  Enos  Barnes. 

Extra-Urban  Territory 

Brimfield,  Dunlap,  Princeville,  Elmwood,  Edelstein,  and  Chillicothe  all  have 
churches  and  four  of  them  are  administered  by  resident  priests. 

Brimfield  claimed  its  first  resident  priest  in  1867  and  the  honor  fell  to  Rev. 
J.  Murphy  who  has  had  twelve  successors — among  them  Rev.  Max  Albrecht, 
Canon  J.  Moyinhan,  \'ery  Rev.  James  Shannon,  present  Vicar  General  of  the 
Diocese  of  Peoria  and  the  Rev.  A.  Mainville,  rector  since  1899. 

Elmwood  for  several  years  attended  from  lirimfield,  secured  a  resident  rector 
in  1892.  Rev.  D.  A.  Kelley  to  whom  that  distinction  came  was  succeeded  after 
a  few  months  by  Rev.  J.  W.  Callias,  who  in  turn  was  followed  by  Rev.  N. 
Dempsey,  the  present  incumbent. 

Chillicothe  after  being  an  out-mission  of  Henry  for  some  years,  became  a 
distinct  parish  entity  in  1904,  when  the  Rev.  E.  M.  Hayden  arrived  as  its  first  rec- 
tor. The  present  church  building  was  erected  by  Rev.  Edward  Kniery,  while 
coming  now  and  then,  as  rector  of  St.  Joseph's,  Henry.  The  parochial  residence  is 
due  to  Father  Hayden,  who  remained  until  autumn,  1911.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  J.  E.  Roach. 

Catholicity  came  to  Princeville  with  the  early  Irish  and  German  settlers. 
At  that  time  there   was  no  church   nearer  than   Kickapoo  or   Peoria  to   which 


150  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

places  they  were  accustomed  to  drive.  While  the  present  Peoria  diocese  was 
part  of  the  archdiocese  of  Chicago,  the  Catholic  people  of  Princeville  township 
were  ministered  to  by  priests  from  Peoria  city.  On  September  7,  1867,  the  Rev. 
T.  Alurphy  was  appointed  lirst  rector  of  Princeville  and  his  successors  in  turn 
have  been,  Rev.  Max  Albright,  Rev.  Chas.  Wenserski,  Rev.  Father  .Moore,  Very 
Rev.  I.  Canon  Moyninhan.  Rev.  H.  Schreiber,  Rev.  P.  A.  McGair,  Rev.  C.  A. 
Hausser  and  Rev.  C.  1'.  O'.Xeill. 

It  was  in  Father  Murphy's  time  that  the  old  Presbyterian  meeting  house 
was  purchased  and  made  into  a  Roman  Catholic  church,  the  first  in  Princeville. 
Father  Albrecht  built  the  first  rectory.  The  handsome  new  church  was  the 
work  of  Father  McGair,  while  the  present  fine  new  rectory,  together  with  the 
Christ  chapel  and  the  fittings  for  the  church  are  the  results  of  the  labor  of  Father 
O'Neill,  the  present  rector. 

Attached  to  the  mother  church  in  Princeville  are  two  missions,  one  at  Dun- 
lap  and  the  other  at  Edelstein.  At  the  former  place  is  a  strong  parish  composed 
of  many  of  the  leading  citizens.  The  first  church  was  built  in  1879  by  Father 
Moyninhan  on  ground  given  by  Alva  Dunlap.  This  church  known  as  St.  Rose's 
served  the  congregation  till  the  November  of  1909  when  it  was  destroyed  by 
lightning.  It  has  been  replaced  by  a  handsome  new  brick  and  stone  structure 
in  the  English  Gothic  style  and  is  now  known  as  St.  Clement's. 

St.  Matthew's  in  Edelstein  was  the  result  of  a  gift  by  Matthew  :\IcDonnell, 
one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Hallock  township  and  a  staunch  Catholic.  It  _  was 
built  in  1 90 1  and  although  the  parish  is  small  the  members  make  up  in  enthusiasm 
what  they  lack  in  numbers. 

VII 

Roman  Catholic  Institiifions 

Apart  from  distinct  parochial  organization  and  equipment,  which  is  similar 
to  that  found  elsewhere,  the  Bishop  of  Peoria  was  eager  and  persistent  in  the 
establishment  of  parish  schools.  It  is  noteworthy  therefore,  that  in  the  city  of 
I'eoria  each  parish  has  its  own  school.  Most  of  the  buildings  are  new  and  models 
in  equipment  and  efficiency.     Five  sisterhoods  direct  their  progress. 

Higher  education  is  represented  by  the  Academy  of  Our  Lady  of  The  Sacred 
Heart,  corner  Brvan  and  Madison,  and  bv  the  Spalding  Institute,  corner  Madison 
and  lackson  streets.  The  former  began  in  1863  and  has  gradually  added  to  its 
mateVial  endowment  so  that  it  is  stronger  to-day  than  at  any  time  during  the 
past  half  centurv.  It  has  continued  under  the  management  of  the  founders  and 
their  successors  in  the  same  sisterhood — Sisters  of  St.  Joseph's,  Carondelet,  Mo. 
Many  of  the  women  of  the  leading  families  of  Peoria  and  surrounding  counties 
lovinglv  call  it  Alma  Mater. 

Spalding  Institute,  which  in  1901  opened  its  doors  for  young  men  seeking 
a  higher  education  classical,  commercial  and  scientific  other  than  that  obtainable 
in  the  ordinary  graded  school,  is  the  personal  gift  of  Bishop  Spalding.  Born  of 
his  brain  and  pocket  book,  it  continues  as  it  began,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Brothers  of  Mary  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  to  send  forth  its  yearly  quota  of  young 
men  ec|uipped  in  things  of  the  mind  for  the  more  serious  and  strenuous  problems 
of  modern  life.     The  building  itself  is  one  of  the  architectural  triumphs  of  the 

citv  of  Peoria.  ,     ,  •, 

'  From  the  educational  institutions  we  pass  to  the  charitable  and  philanthropic, 
which  have  found  material  expression  in  the  St.  Francis  Hospital,  Home  of  the 
Good  Shepherd  and  St.  Joseph's  Home  for  the  Aged. 

St.  Francis'  Hospital  began  in  1876.  Four  'of  the  Bismark— exiled  sisters 
were  brought  to  Peoria  bv  the  Rev.  B.  Baak,  rector  of  St.  Joseph's  church. 
They  rented  the  Bradley  home  place  on  Adams  street  and  remained  there  until 
the  autumn  of  1877,  when  Bishop  Spalding  secured  for  them  the  site  on  Glen 
Oak  avenue,  which  thev  still  occupv.     Thev  have  not  only  annexed  neighboring 


HISTORY  OF  TEORIA  COUNTY  151 

lots  for  tlie  needs  of  newer  and  up-to-date  buildings  and  equipment  at  home; 
hut  they  liave  gone  al)road  and  almost  annexed  surrounding  states.  To  a  modern 
and  highly  efficient  hospital  and  Motlier  Mouse  in  I'eoria,  they  have  added  ten 
new  hospitals  in  Illinois,  ^Michigan  and   Iowa.     The  acorn  is  now  the  oak. 

The  Home  of  the  Good  Shepherd  threw  open  its  doors  July,  1891.  The 
impelling  power  was  Bishop  Spalding,  who  called  on  the  various  parishes  of  the 
tliocese  to  lend  the  helping  hand.  The  Catholics  of  the  city  of  Peoria  and  many 
non-Catholics  as  well  have  continued  their  interest  in  and  appreciation  of  the  great 
sacrifices  made  by  the  sisters  for  the  fallen  and  dangerously-near  of  our  race. 

The  local  chronicler  finds  himself  dwelling  upon  the  bond  which  ties  Peoria 
in  its  Catholic  history  to  St.  Louis.  The  first  bishop  to  visit  Peoria  was  Bishop 
Kenrick  of  St.  Louis,  the  first  priest  to  say  Alass  here  after  the  discoverer  and 
the  explorer  had  passed  was  sent  by  Bishop  Rosati  of  St.  Louis.  The  Sisters  of 
St.  Joseph's  who  opened  the  first  Catholic  school  of  learning  here  came  from 
St.  Louis.  The  Brothers  of  Mary  who  direct  the  Spalding  Institute  iioiv  look  to 
St.  Louis  as  their  Mother  House  and  headquarters.  The  Sisters  of  the  Good 
Shepherd  came  from  St.  Louis  and  as  their  home  here  grows  they  turn  to  St. 
Louis  for  other  "Angels  of  Buena  Vista"  to  continue  the  work.  Though  tried 
by  fire  they  have  prospered  and  are  to-day  more  flourishing  than  ever.  Not 
Peoria  county  alone  nor  many  counties  of  Illinois  but  neighboring  states  are 
indebted  to  their  zeal  for  relieving  them  of  many  of  the  cares  and  burdens  of 
charity. 

St.  Joseph's  Home  for  the  Aged  is  a  home-grown  charity.  It  was  given  its 
first  impulse  by  Rev.  C.  Rotter,  rector  of  St.  Joseph's  church.  December,  1902, 
found  it  beginning  in  a  humble  way  on  Smith  street.  The  present  modern 
Iniildings  twice  added  to  are  an  index  of  the  need  for  such  an  institution  and  of 
the  aliility  to  make  things  go  which  stands  back  of  it  in  the  humble  garb  of  Mother 
Pacifica.  It  has  since  sought  other  fields  and  con(|uered  them.  Nine  schools 
and  homes  look  to  it  for  supi)ly  and  guidance.  Just  now  a  new  building  to  be 
used  for  training  sisters  as  a  mother  house  is  lifting  itself  skyward  on  the  West 
Bluflf. 

YIII 

We  interrupted  the  story  special  to  St.  Mary's  parish  when  we  noted  the  pass- 
ing of  old  St.  Alary 's  church,  May  14,  1889,  corner  Jeflferson  and  Bryan  streets, 
in  the  cathedra],  corner  'Madison  and  Green,  which  since  May  15,  1889,  has  been 
not  only  the  center  of  the  parochial  life  for  the  people  of  St.  Mary's  but — being 
the  Bishop's  church  and  seat — of  the  directive  Catholic  life  of  Peoria  and  sur- 
rounding counties  as  well.  The  day  of  the  opening  of  the  new  cathedral  was  also 
the  day  of  its  dedication.  Archbishops  P^ehan  ant!  Ireland,  Bishops  Ryan  of 
.\lton,  Janssens  of  Bellville,  Cosgrove  of  Davenport  and  Hennessy  of  Dubu<iue 
were  prelates  present.  The  Mass  was  celebrated  by  Archbishop  Feehan  and  the 
sermon  delivered  by  Bishop  Hennessy.  The  next  event  which  in  the  story  of  the 
parish  had  a  wider  than  parochial  interest  was  the  consecration  of  Rt.  Rev.  P.  J. 
O'Reilly  as  Bishop  .Auxiliary  to  Bishop  Spalding.  This  event  took  place  Septem- 
ber, 1900,  and  brought  to  Peoria  many  visiting  Bishops.  The  consecra^or  was 
the  apostolic  delegate  later  known  as  Cardinal  Martinelli. 

Far  and  away  the  most  important  and  most  imposing  event  in  the  history  of 
St.  Mary's  gathers  itself  around  the  silver  jubilee  of  Bishop  Spalding  who.  May 
I,  1902,  celebrated  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  his  consecration.  There  were 
present  Cardinal  Gibbons  of  Baltimore;  Archbishop  Ireland  of  St.  Paul;  Arch- 
bishop Keane  of  Dubuque;  Archbishop  Kain  of  St.  Louis;  Archbishop  Riordan, 
of  San  Francisco.  Bishops  Gabriels  of  Ogdensburg,  N.  Y.,  McOuaid  of  Roches- 
ter, N.  Y. ;  liyrne,  of  Nashville;  Foley,  of  Detroit;  Messmer,  of  Green  Bay; 
Shanley,  of  Fargo,  North  Dakota ;  Cotter,  of  Winona,  Minnesota ;  Scannell,  of 
Omaha;  Burke,  of  St.  Joe.  Missouri;  Dunne,  of  Dallas,  Texas;  Cosgrove,  of 
Davenport;  Glennon,  of  Kansas  City;   Muldoon,  of  Chicago;  Ryan,  of  Alton; 


152  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

Janssens,  of  Belleville,  Illinois;  Aloeller,  of  Columbus,  Ohio;  and  Conaty,  Rector 
Catholic  University,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Since  the  dedication  of  St.  'Mary's  cathedral  it  has  had  four  rectors ;  Rev.  C. 
F.  H.  O'Neill,  Rev.  Martin  O'Conner,  Rev.  F.  J.  O'Reilly  and  Rev.  James  Shan- 
non, present  incumbent.  The  two  former — after  a  pastoral  direction  of  six  years 
passed  to  their  reward.  The  Rev.  F.  J.  O'Reilly,  succeeding  to  the  rectorship, 
June,  1897,  and  with  the  distinction  of  serving  longest  in  point  of  years,  was 
transferred  to  Danville,  Illinois,  December  8,  191 1.  The  \'ery  Rev.  James  Shan- 
non, who  now  directs  its  spiritual  and  temporal  interests  is  also  Vicar  General 
of  the  Diocese  of  Peoria. 

January  6,  1905,  Bishop  Spalding  was  suddenly  stricken  with  paralysis,  which, 
while  not  fatal  nor  wholly  incapacitating  him  for  the  work  here  recounted  and  of 
which  he  had  been  so  large  a  part  that  the  narrator  must  thrust  him  forward  and 
hang  around  his  virile  and  constantly  growing  personality  the  story  of  more  than 
thirty  years  of  the  Catliolic  life  of  Peoria  county — the  affliction  so  handicapped  him 
that  in  September,  1908,  he  voluntarily  laid  down  the  burden. 

That  diocesan  work  did  not  locally  confine  him  or  take  up  all  his  energies 
cannot  better  be  told  than  in  the  words  of  a  cosmopolitan  newspaper  which 
chronicling  his  resignation  September,  1908,  said  "when  John  Lancaster  Spalding 
became  the  Roman  Catholic  Bishop  of  Peoria,  in  1877,  he  was  an  ardent  young 
churchman,  and  his  missionary  labors  were  fruitful.  He  was  not  then,  as  now 
internationally  famous  as  scholar,  writer,  orator  and  sociologist,  but  the  thirty 
odd  years  of  his  episcopacy  brought  this  and  more. 

"Illinois  has  claimed  as  sons  some  great  idealists.  Foremost  among  them 
stands  John  Lancaster  Spalding,  a  gentle,  saintly  prelate  in  his  church  relation- 
ships and  a  lion  in  strength  as  educator,  sociologist  and  humanitarian.  An 
ideal  American  bishop  was  Spalding,  for  his  teachings  were  American.  He 
was  a  natural  leader  in  the  group  of  progressive  churchmen  including  Gibbons, 
Ireland  and  Keane.  who  have  helped  to  make  American  Catholicism  what  it  is 
to-day." 

September  t,  1909,  witnessed  at  the  cathedral  of  Chicago  the  consecration 
of  Rt.  Rev.  Edmund  M.  Dunne.  Eight  days  later  the  newly  consecrated  came 
to  Peoria  and  was  installed  as  successor  to  Rt.  Rev.  John  L.  Spalding.  The 
second  bishop  of  Peoria  has  youth,  vigor  and  sympathy — one  to  the  manor  born, 
and  a  cosmopolitan  grasp — the  result  of  many  years'  study  abroad.  He  is  a 
linguist,  eloquent  of  speech  in  his  own  tongue  and  the  first  native  of  Illinois  to 
be  advanced  to  an  episcopal  see  in  Illinois. 

PRE,SRVTI-:RL\NI.';M    and    PRESBYTERI.\NS    in    PEORIA    COUNTY 

The  identity  of  a  church  may  be  established  or  distinguished  by,  or  discovered 
from  its  form  of  government  or  its  system  of  doctrine.  The  Presbyterian  church 
has  both  marks  and  takes  its  name  from  the  governmental  conception  of  the 
church  as  outlined  in  the  New  Testament  and  exemplified  in  Jewish  worship 
maintained  in  the  synagogue  services.  Presbuteros  or  elder  is  the  "office"  that 
gives  the  name  to  the  church.  Presbyterians  have  a  definite  scriptural  creed  and 
a  constitutionally  defined  and  equitable  form  of  government  and  a  consistent 
history.  Denominationallv  considered,  a  Presbyterian  church  is  defined  as  a 
church  constructed  on  the  Presbyterian  polity  or  form  of  government  whose 
creed  is  in  harmony  with  the  consensus  of  the  Reform  church.  That  consensus 
lies  in  the  confessional  agreement  in  five  fundamental  features :  First,  the 
supremacy  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  as  the  only  rule  of  faith,  doctrine  and  duty ; 
second,  election  by  free  grace;  third,  atonement  by  the  blood  of  Christ;  fourth, 
justification  of  faith  alone;  and  fifth,  the  doctrine  of  the  sacraments. 

The  polity  of  the  Presbyterian  church  is  defined  by  a  written  constitution,  by 
the  terms  of  which  the  government  of  the  church  is  administered  by  chosen 
representatives  of  the  people.     This  polity  clearly  distinguishes  three  great  prin- 


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HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  15;5 

ciples :     First,  the  parity  of  official  equality  of  the  clergy ;  second,  representative 
government  by  the  people ;  and  third,  the  unity  of  the  bodv  of  Christ. 

The  soul  requirement  for  admission  to  membership  in  this  church  is  an  open, 
honest  confession  of  allegiance  to  Jesus  Christ  as  Lord  and  Master.  No  creedal 
test  or  obligation  is  met  at  the  door  of  the  Presbyterian  church  by  one  who  would 
enter.  That  door  of  entrance  is  as  wide  as  the  gate  of  Heaven  and  as  narrow 
as  Jesus'  declaration  makes  it,  "No  man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  me." 

The  I'resbyterian  church  stands  today,  as  of  yore,  for  important  Christian 
prmciples  essential  to  the  formation  of  sturdy  character,  vital  to  Christian  citizen- 
ship—two things  for  which  the  world  has  real  need.  It  is  also  a  church  most 
catholic,  most  fraternal  in  its  spirit,  most  cordial  and  courteous  in  its  attitude 
toward  and  treatment  of  other  comnumions  of  the  Lord's  people.  It  cultivates 
an  irenic  spirit  and  temper  and  extends  to  the  Christian  world  the  right  hand 
of  fellowship  by  reason  of  its  ecumenic  creed,  and  with  confident  hope  prays 
for  and  seeks  to  anticipate  the  reunion  of  Christendom. 

Having  been  reared  in  this  faith,  early  settlers  coming  from  the  south  or 
east  and  across  the  seas  brought  with  them  to  this  region  their  religious  habits 
and  fond  desires  to  enjoy  after  their  wont  divine  services  and  to  rear  their 
children  in  the  Presbyterian  faith.  Accordingly,  they  founded  churches  in  every 
comnuinity  where  they  found  any  considerable  number  of  people  of  like  religious 
training  with  themselves.  This  favored  generation  has  small  appreciation  of 
what  it  owes  to  the  early  settlers,  who  as  Christians  maintained  their  integrity, 
worshiped  God,  planted  churches,  created  and  left  over  and  handed  down  to 
their  descendants  a  rich  religious  legacy  for  which  they  endured  privations  and 
made  sacrifices  in  this,  then  new  country,  in  order  that  they  might  provide  houses 
of  worship,  estated  ministry,  and  gospel  privileges  for  themselves,  their  neighbors 
and  their  children. 

in  the  following  sketch  it  is  purposed  to  trace  the  early  history  and  later 
developments  of  what  may  be  called  the  pioneer  churches  and  to  give  a  brief 
statement  concerning  the  organization  and  growth  of  the  later  churches  estab- 
lished in  Peoria  county.  Some  of  these  early  churches  answer  perfectly  to  that 
description  of  the  patriarchs  who  "served  their  generation  and  fell  on  sleep," 
for  a  changing  and  complex  population.  Removals  by  death  and  immigration 
have  depleted  to  exhaustion  some  churches  that  early  in  their  history  flourished 
and  gave  religious  tone  and  moral  vitality  to  the  communities  in  which  they  were 
planted. 

The  task  of  one  who  essays  to  write  of  the  early  churches  of  Peoria  county 
is  made  difticnlt  liy  reason  of  the  fact  that  the  early  records  kept  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  churches  and  their  subsec]uent  transactions  were  very  few  and  scant 
in  the  first  place,  and  many  of  them  through  lapse  of  time  have  been  lost  or 
destroyed.  It  is  a  great  pity  that  they  were  not  made  more  complete  or  had 
i)een  better  preserved  and  that  resort  for  data  need  not  be  made  to  such  civil 
records  as  may  be  found  for  incidental  reference,  in  order  to  present  a  historical 
narration.  The  attempt  is  here  made  to  describe  the  main  items  of  interest  and 
importance  connected  with  each  congregation. 

The  earliest  Presbyterian  church  planted  in  the  county  of  Peoria,  whose 
history  remains  unbroken  from  its  beginning  till  now,  is  the  Princess  Grove,  or 
Princeville  church,  founded  .August  16,  1834.  At  the  organization  of  this  cliurch 
under  the  leadership  of  the  Rev.  Robert  Stewart  and  Theron  Baldwin,  we  find 
such  names  enrolled  as  White,  Morrow,  Garrison,  Peet,  Miller,  as  charter  mem- 
bers ;  indicating  that  they  were  of  English  and  Scotch  blood.  We  see  them 
living  through  the  dangers  of  the  Black  Hawk  war  of  the  two  years  before, 
guarding  their  flocks  and  herds  from  coyotes,  wolves,  lynxes  and  wild  cats,  while 
building  their  huts  of  logs  cut  from  the  grove,  and  then  having  raised  small  crops 
of  wheat  or  corn,  hauling  it  to  Chicago  and  on  their  return  trip  bringing  back 
with  their  ox  team,  shingles  and  finishing  lumber  for  their  church  house,  for  we  are 
told  that  they  built  the  first  house  of  worship  from  stone  gathered  near  by  and 


154  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

sawed  walnut  siding  by  hand  from  the  trees  of  the  grove  and  hewed  the  dimen- 
sion timbers  and  erected  the  building  by  volunteer  labor. 

These  were  days  of  devoted  self-denial  on  the  part  of  both  ministers  and 
people.  The  Princeville  pulpit  was  occupied  in  the  early  days  by  Rev.  C.  W. 
Bal)bit,  George  D.  Sill,  Robert  ISreese,  and  Robert  Campbell,  all  able,  consecrated 
men,  and  they  have  had  their  successors  of.  like  attainments  and  consecration, 
who  have  proved  themselves  by  their  service  to  Christ  and  the  church.  To  this 
church  such  men  ,as  Dr.  Robert  Henry,  George  Rowcliff,  Lemuel  Auten,  B.  H. 
Weir  have  devoted  themselves  in  the  ruling  eldership,  serving  in  an  unstinted 
and  loyal  way  the  churcli  of  their  love.  This  church  celebrated  its  seventy-hfth 
anniversary,  and  the  historical  sermon  preached  by  the  present  pastor,  the  Rev. 
Max  B.  Wiles,  is  replete  with  interesting  reminiscences  and  may  be  found  in 
the  "Princeville  Telephone"  of  August  19,  1909. 

The  first  Protestant  church  founded  in  Peoria  was  what  is  now  known  as  the 
First  Presbyterian  church.  It  owed  its  existence  largely  to  the  devotion  and 
determination  of  one  Salnuel  Lowry,  who  was  its  earliest  ruling  elder,  with  con- 
siderable em]:)hasis  on  the  adjective.  But  neither  his  rugged  faith  nor  unflinching 
adherence  to  what  he  saw  fit  to  call  "principle"  are  to  be  spoken  of  lightly.  That 
he  was  intensely  human,  an  active  member  of  the  church  militant,  there  is  no 
doubt,  and  from  his  appearance  as  shown  in  a  daguerreotype  one  might  conclude 
that  had  he  lived  a  little  earlier,  he  would  not  have  been  an  unequal  antagonist 
of  the  rather  famous,  or  infamous,  Claverhouse.  but  making  due  allowance  for 
his  fighting  spirit,  when  it  is  known  that  it  was  his  privilege  to  have  been  born 
on  Londonderry  battlefield,  much  might  be  said  to  his  credit.  ]\Ir.  Lowry,  co- 
operating with  the  Rev.  John  Birch,  gathered  in  Peoria  a  congregation  and  on 
the  22d  of  December,  1834,  the  First  church  was  organized  by  Mr.  Birch,  as 
"The  Ohio  Missionary,"  in  Mr.  Lowry's  home,  and  it  was  in  all  probability  the 
last  church  organized  by  this  devoted  and  heroic  soldier  of  the  Cross,  for  he 
perishefl  on  Delavan  prairie  the  night  of  the  awful  Friday,  December  16,  1836, 
when  the  temperature  fell  rapidly  without  warning  and  he  was  overtaken  by 
the  storm  while  making  his  way  on  horseback  to  his  appointment  in  Peoria,  and 
was  found  next  day   frozen  to  death. 

Succeeding  him,  came  the  Rev.  Isaac  Kellar  from  Hagerstown,  Maryland, 
who  served  and  brought  faithfully  in  this  church — encountered  the  opposition 
of  the  world — the  flesh,  and  Elder  Lowry.  But  all  the  mistakes  made  that  became 
steps  leading  up  or  down  to  unhappy  contentions  over  church  property — litigation 
in  the  church  courts — could  not  have  been  all  on  one  side,  anci  it  is  quite  possible 
that  Samuel  Lowry  was  about  half  right  and  half  wrong,  the  other  contending 
parties  dividing  the  burden  with  him  in  about  the  same  proportion.  However, 
time,  changing  circumstances,  and  the  coming  of  new  people  affected  changes  in 
the  church  life,  and  out  of  controversey  and  division,  and  by  the  dissolution 
of  a  sporadic  organization,  the  First  church  persisting  came  to  inherit  "all  the 
rights  and  privileges  to  the  title  appertaining,"  and  is  therefore  the  "First  Church 
in  Peoria"  with  its  Presbyterian  complexion,  historically  and  continuously  since 
1834  to  the  present. 

The  Rev.  Isaac  Kellar  was  first  in  the  succession  of  such  able,  scholarly  and 
worthy  pastors  as  Addison  Coffey,  Robert  Johnston,  Jonathan  Edwards — all  of 
whom  "wrought  nobly  in  the  work  of  the  Master,"  and  have  been  called  to  meet 
their  reward.  Surviving  in  this  succession  are  John  H.  Morron,  Jesse  C.  Bruce, 
Newell  D.  Hillis,  Thomas  A.  McCurdy,  Chauncey  T.  Edwards  and  Hugh  Jack, 
each  of  whom  has  contributed  his  particular  part  in  building  this  Zion,  having 
had  the  earnest  cooperation  of  the  people  of  the  First  church,  who  have  always 
had  "a  mind  to  work,"  and  from  their  ranks  have  furnished  such  able  men  and 
women  as  Christian  workers  as  the  Weises,  the  Griswolds,  McCoys,  Powells, 
Reynolds,  Schneblys,  Batchelders,  Johnstons,  Louckes,  Mcllvaines,  .McKin- 
neys.  Fishers,  and  others  whose  names  are  in  the  Book  of  Life. 

The  First  church  has  been  the  mother  of  churches.     Through  her  activity 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  155 

from  lier  membership  the  Second.  Calvary,  Grace,  Arcadia  and  Westminster 
churclies  of  Peoria  and  the  Pottstown  church  were  formed,  each  in  succession 
being  developed  from  a  mission  Sabbath  school  established  and  conducted  by 
active  and  devoted  men  and  women  from  the  First  church.  This  church  has 
given  to  the  Presbyterian  ministry  eight  of  her  sons,  namely :  John  W  C.  Nellis, 
James  M.  Batchelder.  Wellington  E.  Loucks,  Charles  M.  and  Herbert  H.  Fisher, 
Charles  E.  and  Chaunccy  T.  Edwards  and  A.  W.  McCurd}-,  who  all  have  done, 
and  the  surviving  members  of  this  band  are  still  doing  faithful  and  fruitful  work 
for  and  in  the  church  in  which  they  were  reared  and  to  which  they  have  devoted 
their  lives. 

Places  of  worship  occupied  by  this  church  were  first,  the  county  court  house, 
a  small  and  insignificant  building;  then  the  First  church  building  in  Peoria 
county  at  the  corner  of  Adams  and  Jackson  streets ;  then  a  frame  building  on 
Fulton  street,  between  Adams  and  Jefiferson ;  the  brick  building  now  standing 
at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Madison;  and  the  present  commodious  structure  on 
Hamilton  boulevard  and  Crescent  avenue. 

This  church  celebrated  its  seventy-fifth  or  "Diamond  .Anniversary,"  December, 
1909,  with  attractive,  appropriate  and  impressive  services,  participated  in  or  con- 
tributed to  by  all  the  former  living  pastors,  and  with  greetings  from  the  children 
of  the  church  unable  to  be  present,  a  full  account  of  which  may  be  found  in  a 
i)ooklet  called  the  "Diamond  Anniversary"  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church, 
Peoria,  Illinois,  and  which  may  be  consulted  at  the  Peoria  library. 

It  appears  that  from  1849  to  1854  a  number  of  churches  were  formed  in 
the  county,  namely :  La  Marsh,  Rochester,  Orange  Prairie,  West  Jersey,  etc., 
all  of  which  served  a  good  purpose,  flourished  for  a  time  and  because  of  the 
incoming  of  the  railroads  and  the  shifting  of  the  population  to  the  new  towns 
erected  on  these  highways,  were  abandoned  and  became  physically  and  legally 
extinct. 

An  early  church  was  that  of  Brunswick,  organized  by  the  Classis  of  the 
Reformed  Dutch  church,  September  19,  1840,  and  was  then  known  as  the 
Protestant  Dutch  church  of  Copperas.  After  the  establishment  of  the  Bruns- 
wick postoffice,  the  name  of  the  church  was  changed  to  Brunswick  and  in  1844 
the  church  was  admitted  to  Presbytery,  and  is  still  connected  therewith  and 
maintains  stated  services  and  a  Sabbath  school. 

The  location  is  beautiful  for  situation,  commanding  a  view  of  some  of  the 
best  farms  in  Peoria  county  and  magnificent  scenery  for  miles  around  in  either 
direction.  Among  the  early  workers  and  later  laborers  in  this  old  church  are  to 
be  found  the  names  of  the  Ramseys,  Wellses,  Fahnestock,  Erford.  Love. 
Graham,  Wilson  and  Eslinger,  and  it  has  had  as  its  ministers  the  Revs.  Sill, 
Eraser,  Martinis,  McFarland,  Ferguson,  Johnston,  Scott,  McMillan,  Keiry,  Mul- 
len and  Smith. 

The  influence  of  the  church  on  the  communit}-  life  was  for  years  very 
marked  and  its  fragrance  lingers  still.  On  the  east  slope  between  the  highway 
and  the  church  lies  one  of  the  most-cared-for  country  cemeteries  and  in  it 
sleeps  the  dust  of  former  pastors  of  the  church  and  members  of  the  Pjrunswick 
flock.  (3nce  a  year  the  Cemetery  Association  of  Brunswick  holds  a  reunion,  at 
which  the  ancient  traditions  are  discussed  and  the  holy  memories  of  the  things 
done  by  the  fathers  and  mothers  are  revived  and  the  fund  replenished,  and  serv- 
ice of  grateful  love  goes  on  in  care  bestowed  on  the  grounds  that  enclose  those 
beds  of  green,  beneath  which  rest  the  mortal  part  of  those  who  "served  till 
set  of  sun"  and  entered  into  the  "rest  that  remaineth." 

After  Brunswick  comes  the  Salem  church,  organized  in  1849  by  Revs.  S.  C. 
McCune  and  William  McCandlish.  William  .Stewart  and  James  H.  Patterson, 
were  its  first  elders,  and  their  successors  have  been  such  men  as  John  L.  Clark. 
R.  W.  Francis,  C.  H.  X'orthrup.  This  church  has  been  ministered  to  by  the 
Revs.  McFarland.  Hanna,  Cameron,  Marquis,  Johnston,  Scott,  McMillan,  Flem- 
ming,  Keiry,  Alullen  and  Smith.     In  the  removal  of  the  church  to  Hanna  City, 


156  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

and  the  building  of  a  new  and  attractive  house  of  worship,  steps  were  taken  to 
change  the  name  to  the  llanna  City  church,  by  which  name  with  Presbyterial 
and  legal  sanction  that  church  has  become  the  successor  of  all  the  historical  and 
ecclesiastical  rights  and  prerogatives  of  the  old  Salem  church. 

Since  its  removal  to  Hanna  City  the  church  has  taken  on  new  life  and  activity 
and  gives  good  promise  of  ministering  successfully  to  the  spiritual  and  social 
needs  of  its  community. 

The  Prospect  church  was  organized  by  the  Revs.  Addison,  Coflfee  and  R.  F. 
Breese  in  1850,  its  first  ruling  elder  being  Joseph  Yates.  "The  Prospectors" 
who  knew  the  meaning  of  the  family  altar  and  the  worth  of  worship  came  from 
West  Virginia,  near  Wheeling,  and  were  of  that  thrifty  sort  who  made  farming 
a  business  and  a  success,  and  they  built  their  first  "church  house"  on  a  hill  in 
the  year  1854,  near  what  is  now  Prospect  cemetery  on  "a  parcel  of  ground" 
belonging  to  Adam  Yates.  In  that  building  they  worshipped  until  the  church 
was  removed  to  Dunlap,  one  mile  east,  after  the  completion  of  the  Peoria  and 
Rock  Island  railroad,  where  they  dedicated  the  present  ijuilding  in   1877. 

Prospect  church  has  been  served  by  the  following  ministers  in  succession, 
viz. :  Revs.  Hervey,  Turbit,  F.  F.  Smith,  Cairns,  Simpson,  Gardiner,  Winn, 
Cooke,  Nevius,  H.  Smith,  Townsend,  Randall,  Thomas,  Jones,  Campbell,  and 
the  present,  the  Benjamin  of  the  band,  L.  H.  McCormick. 

Serving  as  ruling  elders  we  have  such  names  as  Yates,  White,  Dunlap,  Hervey, 
Jones,  Berry,  Hitchcock,  Harker,  Gray,  and  of  noble  women  not  a  few,  Kelly, 
Parks.  Dunlap,  and  such  church  workers  as  the  Keadys,  Parks  and  others. 
Prospect  gave  also  of  her  sons  to  the  Presbyterian  ministry — George  Dunlap, 
Thomas  C.  Winn,  William  Jones  and  Frank  F.  Brown. 

Prospect  celebrated  its  Jubilee  in  1900  with  fitting  services,  and  a  souvenir 
of  the  occasion  may  be  found  in  the  homes  of  many  of  the  older  members. 

FRENCH   GROVE   CHURCH 

French  Grove  church  was  organized  in  October,  1851,  by  the  minister  who 
performed  the  same  services  for  Prospect.  Its  early  ruling  elders  were  William 
Reed,  and  George  S.  Pursell,  and  after  them  came  the  Alwards,  McDonald, 
Warner,  Moore,  Coe,  Todd,  Slocum,  McRill,  McCune  and  the  Reeds,  either  as 
elders  or  as  church  workers — devoted,  self-sacrificing  and  efficient. 

The  ministers  serving  the  French  church  were  the  Revs.  McFarland,  Fraser, 
Smith,  Carruthers,  Boyd.  Hillman,  McClelland.  Butter,  Jones,  Sturm,  McCluer 
and  others.  The  days  of  its  early  history  were  days  of  prosperity  and  for  years 
it  gave  out  an  increasing  and  heljiful  influence  to  its  community  that  made  for 
its  moral  and  spiritual  betterment,  but  removals  westward  and  heavenward, 
coupled  with  the  changing  racial  and  religious  character  of  the  population  have 
depleted  this  old  church,  which  still  stands  a  silent  reminder  of  the  better  things, 
while  near  by  in  the  beautiful  little  cemetery,  so  well  kept  and  cared  for,  repose 
the  mortal  remains  of  former  ministers,  elders  and  members  of  the  French  Grove 
church. 

y\mong  the  churches  planted  in  the  county,  flourishing  for  a  time  but  now 
extinct,  are  New  Scotland,  Brimfield,  Valley  Ridge,  and  Elba  Center,  which  were 
in  their  time  once  the  soul  and  life  of  their  communities. 

SECOND  CHURCH,  PEORI.^ 

Upon  the  petition  of  parties  for  the  most  part  connected  with  the  First 
church,  and  evidently  with  the  concurrence  of  the  pastor  and  session  of  that 
church,  the  Presbytery  organized  the  Second  church  of  Peoria,  December  7, 
1853,  with  a  membership  of  twenty-eight,  and  John  L.  Griswold  and  John  C. 
Grier  were  elected  elders.  The  Rev.  Robert  P.  Farris  was  their  first  minister. 
Contrary  to  the  usual  order  here,  the  Second  church  was  first  and  the  Sabbath 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  157 

second,  in  point  of  organization.  The  first  house  of  worship  erected  by  this 
congregation  was  built  on  the  present  site,  corner  of  Madison  and  Jackson 
streets  and  dedicated  in  1855,  and  here  Mr.  Farris  was  installed.  He  continued 
to  serve  the  Second  cliurch  until  failing  health  compelled  him  to  relinquish  the 
charge  in  185S  and  the  remainder  of  the  life  of  this  devoted  servant  of  Christ 
and  the  church,  was  spent  in  educational  and  editorial  work,  largely  in  connection 
with  the  publications  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  the  United  States  (Southern 
Presbyterian),  of  which  body  he  was  from  its  beginning  till  his  death,  the  per- 
manent clerk  of  its  general  assembly  and  once  or  twice  its  moderator. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  Hibben  came  next,  succeeding  Dr.  Farris  in  1859  and  was 
installed  pastor  December  4th,  the  sermon  on  that  occasion  being  preached  by 
that  stalwart  and  versatile  scholar  and  eloquent  biblical  preacher,  the  famous 
Xathan  L.  Rice,  then  professor  of  theology  in  the  Seminary  of  the  Northwest 
(now  McCormick).  L'nder  his  leadership  the  church  prospered,  for  Mr.  Hibben 
was  an  exceptional  man  and  minister,  scholarly  and  saintly,  modest  and  frank, 
gentle  and  faithful.  1  lere  he  marrieiFMiss  Elizabeth  Grier,  the  daughter  of  that 
worthy  elder,  John  C.  Grier,  a  man  thrice  honored  by  the  Presbytery  of  Peoria 
with  a  commission  to  the  general  assembly.  To  this  worthy  couple  was  born  a 
son,  John  Grier  Hibben,  president  of  Princeton  University.  Declining  health  led 
Mr.  Hibben  to  resign  his  charge  and  in  the  hope  of  recruiting  it  by  outdoor  life, 
he  accepted  the  chaplaincy  of  the  Fourth  Illinois  Cavalry,  but  he  continued  to 
decline  and  returned  to  L'eoria,  where  he  died  in  1862.  His  successor  was  the 
Rev.  W.  E.  McLaren,  afterwards  bishop  of  the  Episcopal  church,  who  was  in- 
stalled pastor  May  8,  1864.  and  remained  in  this  pastorate  upwards  of  two  years. 

The  Rev.  Henry  \'an  Dyke  Nevius,  succeeded  Bishop  McLaren,  in  1867,  and 
served  this  charge  until  1872.  He  was  a  preacher  of  power  and  a  man  of  God. 
Of  him  one  has  written,  "Few  men  were  better  equipped  mentally  for  their 
work  and  hence  he  was  a  workman  that  needed  not  to  be  ashamed ;  few  men 
lived  more  in  sympathy  with  God's  word  and  Son — hence  his  spiritual  power." 
After  him  the  Rev.  William  L.  Green  came  to  this  pastorate  an(l  remained  until 
1875.  Mr.  Green,  like  his  jiredecessors.  was  a  well  furnished  man,  of  strong 
mental  calibre,  clear  in  his  conceptions  of  related  truth,  versatile  and  virile  in  his 
statement  of  it. 

He  was  followed  by  the  Rev.  Lewis  O.  Thompson,  who  was  pastor  from 
1876  to  1882.  Mr.  Thompson  was  an  able  man,  a  painstaking  scholar — a  his- 
torian of  no  mean  ability,  who  did  the  church  great  and  good  service  in  many 
ways  through  his  hooks,  "Nineteen  Christian  Centuries,"  "The  Prayer  Meeting," 
etc.  lie  met  a  tragic  death  by  drowning  at  Henry,  where  he  was  pastor  of  the 
F"irst   Presbyterian   church. 

The  Rev.  Tliomas  X.  ( )rr  came  to  this  pastorate  and  served  for  ten  years, 
when  impaired  health  led  him  to  seek  rest  for  a  season.  During  his  administra- 
tion the  present  unique,  churchly  and  commodious  house  of  worship  was  erected. 
Since  his  retirement  from  the  pastorate  of  the  Second  church,  Dr.  Orr  has 
resided  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  where  his  services  are  continually  called 
for,  he  being  always  an  acceptable  preacher,  a  genuine  man,  genial,  kindly,  oblig- 
ing, "a  man  greatly  beloved." 

Dr.  Orr  was  succeeded  for  a  brief  time  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  M.  Moore,  a  large 
man  in  many  ways  and  whose  pastorate,  though  brief,  was  not  unmarked  with 
interest. 

The  present  pastor  the  Rev.  Arthur  M.  Little,  Ph.  D.  D.  D.,  came  on  in  the 
apostolic  succession,  being  installed  in  ^May,  1900,  and  after  twelve  years  of 
service  continues  to  hold  the  afifection  of  his  people  of  the  Second  church  and 
is  named  among  the  progressive  men  of  the  city. 

This  church  has  been  served  through  the  over  half  century  of  its  life  by 
such  able  men  and  church  workers  as  the  Griers,  the  McCoys,  the  Ruggs,  the 
Clarkes,  the  McCullochs.  the  Rices,  and  by  noble  women,  not  a  few,  whose 
names  are  set  down  in  the  "Impartial  Record,"  kept  at  present  from  mortal  eyes. 


158  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

This  church  celebrated  with  appropriate  services  its  semi-centennial  in  1903. 
The  "Semi-Centennial"  of  the  Second  church  of  Peoria,  a  pamphlet  attractively 
arranged,  contains  matter  of  special  interest  to  all  connected  with  this  congrega- 
tion and  to  any  others  who  would  know  just  in  what  manner  the  Second  church 
has  been  used  of  God,  for  the  good  of  men,  and  it  may  be  found  in  the  homes 
of  the  members  of  the  Second  church  and  should  be  also  found  in  our  city 
library. 

ELMWOOD   CHURCH 

The  Elmwood  church  was  organized  June  5,  1856,  with  fourteen  members. 
John  Rodgers  served  as  its  first  elder.  Its  first  church  building  was  purchased 
from  the  Congregational  church  and  removed  from  its  then  country  site  to  the 
town  of  Elmwood.  During  the  ministry  of  the  Rev.  William  H.  Mason  the 
present  building  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  something  over  $6,000,  and  in  architec- 
tural efl'ect  and  adaptability  for  its  purposes  it  is  a  model. 

Among  the  men  who  have  served  in  the  eldership  of  this  church  we  find  the 
names  of  J.  B.  Stewart,  N.  B.  Love,  S.  M.  Coe,  Castor  Patterson,  and  after 
them  the  present  efficient  elders.  The  ministers  serving  Elmwood  church  have 
been  J-  A.  AIarc|uis,  J.  H.  Smith.  J.  R.  Reasoner,  Wilson.  Duncan,  and  the  present 
scholarly  and  able  pastor,  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Y.  George.  Messrs.  Reasoner, 
Mason  and  George  each  served  the  church  for  a  period  of  upwards  of  ten  years. 
The  present  incumbent  has  served  faithfully  and  acceptably  since  1895  in  this 
pastorate. 

LIMESTONE  CHURCH 

The  Limestone  church  was  founded  in  1S59  with  fifteen  members,  with  John 
Cameron  and  William  Jones  as  ruling  elders.  It  has  had  as  its  ministers  such 
men  as  Dr.  T.  G.  Scott  and  John  bleming,  and  is  at  present  served  by  one  of 
the  younger  men  of  the  Presbytery,  the  Rev.  H.  L.  Todd.  Names  appearing 
among  its  ruling  elders  are  C.  Greenwood,  William  Cameron  and  William  Taylor. 

This  church  has  stood  as  a  beacon  on  a  hill,  a  perpetual  invitation  to  worship 
the  Lord  God  Almighty,  and  a  constant  reminder  that  "It  is  not  the  whole  of 
Life  to  live,  nor  all  of  Death  to  die." 

CALV.XRY   CHURCH 

Calvary  church  was  organized  in  1867  and  had  as  its  first  minister  the  Rev. 
John  Weston,  D.  D.,  who  after  years  of  service  was  called  to  other  fields,  and 
again  recalled  to  the  pastorate  at  Calvary  church.  Its  successful  pastor,  whole- 
souled,  kind-hearted  and  helpful  preacher,  the  flexible,  sympathetic  and  generous 
friend  of  every  member  of  the  flock,  passed  from  the  scene  of  labor  to  his 
eternal  reward  while  still  pastor  of  Calvary  church.  Dr.  Weston  has  had  follow 
him  in  this  pastorate  such  men  as  Dr.  A.  Z.  McGogney,  Andrew  Christy  Brown, 
D.  D.,  and  after  the  latter's  death,  for  a  time,  Dr.  A.  L.  Howard.  The  church 
is  now  ministered  to  by  the  resourceful,  active  and  luodest  .Mexander  Lewis. 

Its  eldership  has  been  adorned  by  such  men  as  that  efficient  Sabbath  school 
worker,  William  R.  Reynolds,  William  Schroeder,  William  Guyer,  A.  Water- 
house,  T.  J.  Love,  Peter  Hulsibus,  James  McGill.  and  the  younger  men  who  now 
constitute  the  present   efficient  session. 

GR.\CE    CHURCH 

Grace  church  was  organized  in  1868.  with  George  H.  Mcllvaine  and  Theodore 
Higbie  ruling  elders.  Among  the  devoted  workers  in  this  church  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  enterprise  we  find  the  names  of  Bush,  Lyons,  Linsey,  Baldwin, 
Coe,  Voorhees,  Angier,  Andrews,  Isele,  and  Eakin. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  159 

Grace  cliurch  has  had  among  its  ministers  Levi  C.  Littell,  Dr.  Farris,  A. 
F.  Erwin,  and  the  sainted  James  Alvin  Sankey,  whose  successor,  Rev.  Walter 
M.  Elliott,  gives  promise  of  doing  a  great  and  good  work  in  its  congregation 
and  the  city  of  Peoria. 

BETHEL 

This  church  was  organized  September  29,  1887,  by  a  committee  of  Presby- 
tery, composed  of  Revs.  I.  A.  Cornelison,  Rev.  A.  F.  Irwin  and  Elder  David 
McKinney.  The  organization  started  with  fifty-nine  memliers  and  elected  Henry 
Marmine  and  Ireneus  E.  Wliite,  elders.  Mr.  White  has  remained  in  continuous 
service  ever  since  and  has  rendered  the  church  devoted  and  self-sacriticing  serv- 
ice in  almost  every  capacity,  in  which  one  might  serve  his  church.  The  church  has 
lieen  ministered  to  bv  the  Revs.  .Andrew  Christv  Brown,  D.  D..  C.  \\'.  Whorrall, 
George  A.  Phlug,  \\'.  W.  Tait,  D.  W.  :\IcMillan,  W.  E.  Edmonds,  but  is  at 
present  without  a  pastor.  The  church  has  always  maintained  an  interesting 
and  growing  Sabbath  school  and  has  been  of  great  help  to  many  in  its  vicinity. 
Being  situated  in  a  growing  part  of  the  city,  it  has  a  mission  to  perform  in  that 
neighborhood,  ministering  moral  and  spiritual  helj)  and  comfort  to  the  coming 
generation. 

.\RC.\DiA    .WExri-;    ciri'RCii 

The  Arcadia  Avenue  church  was  organized  October  6,  1896.  with  twenty- 
three  members,  with  Isaac   Kellar  and   Robert   E.    Lauren,   elders. 

This  church  grew  out  of  a  flourishing  mission  Sabbath  school  instituted  and 
conducted  largely  by  members  of  the  First  church,  and  in  1897  called  as  its 
pastor,  the  Rev.  James  Benson,  who  has  continued  to  serve  the  church  with 
signal  ability  and  devotion.  The  harmony  of  mind  and  action  in  this  congrega- 
tion is  witnessed  by  the  beautiful  and  serviceable  building  at  the  corner  of  Ar- 
cadia and  Piigelow.  by  the  flourishing  condition  of  both  Sabbath  school  and 
church  and  last  but  by  no  means  least,  the  growing  liberality  of  the  members 
shown  in  the  increased  ofiferings  to  the  boards  of  the  church  and  in  general 
lienevolence.  Situated  as  it  is,  in  a  beautiful  and  growing  residential  district 
of  the  city  and  meeting  as  it  does  the  religious  needs  of  its  vicinity,  Arcadia  church 
may  be  expected  to  grow  in  influence  as  well  as  in  numbers  and  continue  to  be 
an  important  factor  in  the  moral  and  social  life  of  the  city. 

WK.STMINSTER    CHURCH 

Out  of  W^estminster  chapel  and  the  Sabbath  school  meeting  there  grew  West- 
minster church.  It  was  organized  by  the  Presbytery  June  i,  1897,  with  twenty- 
four  members,  who  elected  Messrs.  P.  W.  Petrie,  Theodore  Higbie  and  C.  R. 
Kuhn,  elders.  The  Rev.  William  Parsons,  the  first  pastor,  has  been  followed 
by  Revs.  J.  B.  Farrell,  Theodore  H.  Allen,  D.  D..  and  the  present  minister  the 
Rev.  Clinton  J.  Greene,  a  young  man,  who  enters  upon  the  work  in  Westminster 
under  circumstances  that  augur  success.  While  still  in  the  active  service  of  this 
church.  Dr.  Allen  was  suddenly  called  to  higher  .service  in  the  Church  Trium- 
phant, leaving  behind  a  precious  legacy  to  his  children,  in  a  life  of  devoted  service, 
even  that  of  "a  good  minister  of  Jesus  Christ."  With  a  splendidly  equipped  and 
beautiful  house  of  worship,  situated  on  the  West  Bluff  on  Moss  avenue,  with  a 
growing  Sabbath  school  and  a  devoted  membership,  Westminster  shouUl  "make 
good"  to  its  constituency  and  do  excellent  work  for  God  and  men. 


160  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

TWO  KKATl'RES  OF  THE  GENERAL  WORK  OF  THE  PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH,  ACCREDITED 
TO    THE    CHURCH    IN    PEORIA    COUNTY 

The  first  of  these  was  the  meeting  of  the  general  assembly  in  the  First  church 
Peoria,  in  1863,  amid  the  stirring  and  critical  scenes  of  the  civil  strife.  This 
meeting  was  presided  over  by  that  justly  celebrated,  scholarly  and  devoted  pioneer 
missionary  to  India,  John  Hunter  Alorrison,  D.  D.,  of  the  Presbytery  of  Lodiana. 
The  assembly  listened  to  stirring  debate  and  united  in  earnest  prayer  over  the 
questions  that  were  uppermost  in  both  the  civil  and  religious  life  of  the  country 
and  besought  the  God  of  our  fathers  for  his  special  favor  in  those  trying  times 
and  that  he  would  most  graciously  bring  an  early  end  to  the  awful  strife  and 
send  peace  and  prosperity  throughout  all  our  borders.  In  many  respects  this 
was  a  most  remarkable  assembly  and  a  recital  of  some  of  its  deliberations  and 
conclusions  might  properly  be  made  here  did  space  admit  or  judicious  selection 
of  matter  out  of  such  a  mass  of  good  things  were  an  easy  task. 

The  second,  that  of  administration,  which  after  an  overture  sent  up  to  the 
general  assembly  from  the  Presbytery  of  Peoria,  relative  to  the  erection  of  the 
standing  committees  of  the  general  assembly,  was  adopted  and  known  as  "The 
Peoria  Plan." 

THE    PEORIA    PLAN 

To  that  worthy  Presbyterian  elder,  James  Alontgomery  Rice,  whose  connec- 
tion as  editor-in-chief  of  this  history  of  the  county  of  Peoria,  and  whose  sudden 
departure  for  "Home"  has  left  this  part  of  it  to  less  capable  hands  to  finish 
that  task,  together  with  the  justly  esteemed  Isaac  A.  Cornelison.  D.  D.,  pertains 
the  honor  of  the  conceiving  and  inaugurating  the  above  named  plan.  It  may  be 
said  that  the  plan  was  made  necessary  because  of  the  large  number  and  import- 
ance of  the  standing  committees  of  the  general  assembly,  which  the  new  moder- 
ator was  called  upon  to  appoint  immediately  after  taking  the  chair,  and  being 
neither  ubiquitous  nor  infallible,  could  not  by  any  possibility  have  personal  ac- 
quaintance with  or  knowledge  of  the  fitness  of  all  commissioners  for  the  tasks 
to  be  assigned  them ;  and  besides,  it  was  thought  the  principle  of  representation 
began  to  be  threatened  because  too  much  power  was  found  reposing  in  the  hands 
of  one  or  two  officers  of  the  general  assembly. 

To  avoid  the  danger  lurking  in  this  symptom  of  centralization  of  power ; 
to  avoid  being  "managed ;"  to  reconquer  from  custom  the  right  to  govern  them- 
selves out  of  the  hands  of  "Ecclesiastical  Bosses,"  this  plan  was  devised  and 
provides  a  method  at  once  simple,  just  and  clear  for  the  selection  of  the  standing 
committees  of  the  general  assembly  so  that  all  sections  and  interests  of  the 
church  may  be  fairly  represented. 

In  brief,  the  plan  conserves  the  fundamental  principle  of  Presbyterian  church 
government,  viz. :  an  equitable  distribution  of  administrative  power.  To  this 
end  the  church  is  geographically  divided  and  grouped  by  Presbyteries  or  Synods 
into  twenty  districts,  there  being  twenty-two  standing  committees  consisting  of 
twenty-two  members  each — the  commissioners  from  the  whole  church  make  up 
twenty-two  electing  sections,  which  are  numbered  consecutively  in  the  order  in 
which  the  standing  committees  are  numbered.  The  commissioners  constituting 
an  electing  section  assigned  to  it  from  a  certain  given  territory  assemble  at  the 
sitting  of  the  general  assembly,  elect  their  own  chairman  and  secretary,  vote 
directly  for  moderator,  and  choose  either  a  minister  or  an  elder,  as  may  be  its 
province ;  to  each  one  of  the  standing  committees,  from  their  own  number  such 
persons  as  may  be  thought  best  fitted  for  the  discharge  of  the  respective  duties 
required  of  them. 

The  plan  liriefly  stated  is  that  the  odd  numbered  sections  in  odd  numbered 
years  elect  a  minister  to  the  odd  numbered  conunittees,  and  an  elder  for  the 
even  numljered  committees.  The  even  numbered  sections  elect  the  other  com- 
mitteemen and   in   even  numbered  years  the   committees  are   reversed  and  the 


IU!ST    llAI'Tlsr    I  lUiaiJ 


III, I)    (  IIUISTIAX    Clirilfll 


UNION    CHAPEL 


IIAI.K   MKMOKIAI.   MKTIlllDIST 

KPiscoi'Ai,  (;Hn:ril 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  161 

sections  elect  reversely.  This  gives  each  district  a  member,  either  an  elder  or  a 
minister,  on  each  standing  committee,  each  year,  and  to  every  committee  its 
proper  number  of  members. 

This  plan  adopted  after  lengthened  discussion  and  amendment  became  what 
is  known  as  standing  rule  Xo.  5,  and  since  its  adoption  the  standing  committees 
of  the  general  assembly  have  been  named  by  the  commissioners  themselves,  as- 
sembled in  their  electing  sections  and  with  general  satisfaction  to  the  church. 

"women,   who  l.xpgred  with   I'S  " 

Much  credit  for  the  many  achievements  wrought  in  these  regions,  by  the 
church  is  justly  due  to  the  piety,  presistence  and  devotion  of  the  women,  who 
have  "manned"  the  various  aid  and  missionary  societies  in  the  churches  of 
Peoria  county. 

They  have  in  many  localities,  through  the  drouth  of  summer  and  the  biting 
cold  of  winter,  maintained  local  religious  interest,  kept  up  the  church  services, 
repaired  the  house  of  worship  and  at  the  same  time  have  been  large  factors  in 
promoting  the  work  of  the  church  in  other  fields  and  in  other  lands. 

By  mutual  counsel,  by  interchange  of  religious  ideas,  by  social  intercourse, 
by  consecrated  womanly  wa}-s,  by  practical  efforts  to  relieve  distress  among  the 
unfortunate  and  the  ill-circumstances,  they  have  succeeded  in  setting  forward 
the  kingdom  of  Christ. 

In  their  planning  and  their  doing,  they  have  furnished  a  stimulating  example 
to  the  "Presbyterian  Brotherhood,"  a  men's  organization,  for  which  there  is 
great  and  pressing  need  as  well  as  large  room. 

EDUCATION. \E 

It  is  a  peculiar  mark — one  of  the  signal  glories  of  the  Presbyterian  church — 
part  of  her  heritage  from  John  Calvin,  that  she  has  favored  and  fostered  liberal 
learning  and  wherever  she  has  gone  on  her  mission  to  men,  she  has  planted 
the  school  and  the  college  as  well  as  the  church  and  sought  to  provide  every 
educational  advantage  for  her  constituency. 

She  has  believed  in  popular  and  progressive  education.  She  has  never  sought 
to  supplant  but  rather  to  supplement  the  early  training  of  our  common  school, 
with  the  higher  and  more  advanced  forms  of  education. 

The  early  Peoria  county  Presbyterians  were  not  remiss  in  this  particular. 
In  the  early  'fifties,  they  planted  academies  at  Brunswick  and  Princeville,  pro- 
jected Peoria  University  in  1857.  Here  on  the  Bluff'  they  began  the  erection  of 
a  brick  building,  which  when  all  ready  for  the  roof,  was  wrecked  by  a  tornado 
in  1858.  Because  of  the  general  financial  depression  prevailing  throughout  the 
country  at  that  time,  the  stress  of  which  fell  heavily  on  the  west,  the  re-financing 
of  the  project  was  too  heavy  a  burden  for  the  limited  means  of  its  promoters,  the 
local  enterprise  was  therefore  abandoned  and  the  attention  and  the  means  of  the 
church  were  turned  to  the  larger  institutions,  like  Knox  College  and  which  ever 
since  have  had  a  fair  share  of  the  patronage  and  financial  support  of  Peoria 
county  Presbyterians.  In  the  west  as  in  the  east,  Presbyterians  have  sought  to 
bind  together  thorough  scholarshijj  and  practical  religion,  that  thus  they  might 
do  their  share  in  the  devcloimlent  of  the  moral  and  religious  character  of  men 
and  make  as  large  a  contribution  as  possible  to  humanity's  uplift.  That  in  this 
undertaking  they  have  made  a  creditable  showing,  is  witnessed  by  deeds  of  loving 
and  notal)le  service  to  men  and  a  loyal  allegiance  to  Jesus  Christ,  the  changeless, 
eternal  Head  of  the  church. 

FIRST  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH 

This  church  was  first  organized  as  a  Presbyterian  society  in  December. 
1834,  and  so  continued  until  1847,  at  which  time  it  dropped  its  connection  with 


162  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

the  Presbyterian  church,  adopted  the  congregational  form  of  government  and 
changed  its  name  to  that  of  the  Main  Street  Congregational  church.  Rev. 
William  H.  Starr  became  pastor  under  the  new  organization  and  ministered  to 
the  people  until  October,  1848.  In  November  of  that  year  Rev.  Levi  Spencer 
was  called  to  the  pastorate  and  so  continued  until  April  14,  1853,  when  his  death 
occurred.  During  his  pastorate  a  new  church  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $8,000. 
For  some  time  following  Rev.  Spencer's  death  there  was  considerable  dissension 
in  the  church  and  eventually  twenty-two  members  withdrew  to  form  a  new  con- 
gregation known  as  the  Union  Congregational  church.  This  was  consummated 
December  8,  1857,  and  was  organized  as  a  Presbyterian  church,  known  as  the 
Fulton  Street  Presbyterian  church,  identified  with  the  "New  School"  branch 
of  that  denomination.  Rev.  Isaac  E.  Cary  was  pastor  of  this  newly  organized 
society  from  the  time  it  came  into  existence  until  August  29,  i860,  and  his  suc- 
cessors were  Revs.  Wilber  McKaig,  November  2,  1860-June  2,  1862;  Samuel 
Wykoff,  November  24,  1862-October  3,  1864;  Asahel  H.  Brooks,  July  3,  1865- 
March  4,  1868;  Horace  C.  Hovey,  January  5,  1869-April  13,  1873;  Robert 
Condit,  October  27,   1873-November   10,   1874. 

The  two  branches  (Old  and  New  School)  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  having 
in  the  year  1870  become  united  under  the  name  of  The  Presbyterian  Church  of 
the  United  States,  and  there  being  at  least  four  churches  of  that  denomination 
in  the  city,  and  there  also  being  in  the  Fulton  street  church  a  large  element  in- 
clined to  the  Congregational  form  of  government,  a  movement  was  set  on  foot 
which  eventually  resulted  in  tlie  union  of  the  Fulton  street  church  and  the  Alain 
street  Congregational  church,  known  as  the  First  Congregational  Church  of 
Peoria.  This  was  consummated  January  31,  1875.  The  pastors  of  the  church 
as  it  was  originally  organized,  succeeding  Rev.  Levi  Spencer,  have  been :  Revs. 
J.  W.  Marsh,  January  2,  i853-.May  i,  1854;  Henry  Adams,  September,  1854- 
November,  1855;  J.  Steiner,  December,  1855-Julv,  1856;  A.  A.  Stevens,  Decem- 
ber. i8s6-June,  1866;  G.  W.  Phinny,  June,  i866-June,  1867;  J.  A.  .Mack, 
April  I,  1868-June  8,  1870.  In  September  of  the  latter  year.  Rev.  A.  A.  Stev- 
ens was  again  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  church  and  so  continued  until  Febru- 
ary I,  1882,  and  it  was  during  his  term  that  the  New  School,  or  Fulton  Street 
Presbyterian  church,  became  united  with  this  church,  and  that  the  commodious 
church  building  at  the  corner  of  Alonroe  an<l  Hamilton  streets  was  erected. 
Rev.  Stevens  resigned  in  February,  1882,  but  during  the  last  two  years  of  his 
service  here  he  had  had  an  assistant  in  the  person  of  Rev.  J.  Homer  Parker. 
The  present  magnificent  church  structure  was  completed  and  dedicated  September 
9,  1883,  at  a  cost  of  nearly  $90,000,  and  the  pipe  organ,  costing  more  than  $5,000 
was  donated  by  the  ladies  of  the  congregation  as  the  Stevens  Memorial.  The 
successors  of  Rev.  Stevens  have  been:  Revs.  E.  Frank  Howe,  1882-87;  D.  K. 
Nesbitt,  1888-92;  Caspar  Wistar  Hiatt,  1893-97;  \V.  C.  Haskell,  1898;  John 
Faville. 

Out  of  this  congregation  have  grown  the  Plymouth  church.  South  Peoria 
Congregational  church,  the  North  Peoria  Congregational  church,  the  Averyville 
church,  Pilgrim  .Mission  Sunday  school  and  Washington  Street  Mission  Sunday 
school. 

PLYMOUTH    CONGREG.'VTIONAL-  CHURCH 

In  the  spring  of  1869  the  First  Congregational  church  established  a  Sunday 
school  at  the  corner  of  Fourth  and  Spencer  streets.  This  was  given  the  name 
of  Plymouth  Mission.  Funds  were  at  once  secured  for  the  erection  of  a  house 
of  worship,  which  was  twenty-eight  by  fifty-six  feet  in  size,  and  cost  $2,000. 
From  time  to  time  the  question  of  organizing  a  church  was  raised  but  this  plan 
did  not  materialize  until  December,  1888,  and  it  was  not  until  June  2,  1889,  that 
a  society  was  duly  organized,  with  ninety-six  members.  The  pulpit  was  sup- 
plied Ijy  various  pastors  until  1889,  when,  on  the  13th  of  February  of  that  year, 


HISTORY  OF  TEORIA  COUNTY  163 

Rev.  C.  C.  Harrah  was  installed  as  the  first  regular  pastor.  Those  who  have 
served  the  church  since  that  time  are:  Revs.  D.  B.  Spencer,  1890-94;  S.  W.  Meek, 
1S94-98;  F.   G.   Smith,   189S-1900:  J.  W.  Nelson,  1900- 

In  the  summer  of  1896.  the  old  church  having  hecoiue  inadequate  to  the  needs 
of  the  congregation,  a  magnificent  brick  structure  was  erected  on  the  site  of  the 
old  church,  at  a  cost  of  $14,000. 

UNION    CONGKF.G.\TION.\L   CIIURCU 

July  20,  1884,  a  Union  Sunday  school  was  organized  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  city  of  Peoria  and  immediately  a  frame  church  was  erected  at  a  cost  of 
$2,000,  this  being  located  at  Pennsylvania  and  California  avenues.  January  i, 
1890,  a  church  society  was  organized,  first  as  a  Union  church,  but  in  1893  '^  was 
changed  to  the  Union  Congregational  church.  Jn  1894  a  new  church  was  built 
at  Illinois  and  Dechman  avenues.  This  structure  cost  $14,000  and  was  dedicated 
December  i,  1894.  The  list  of  pastors  who  have  served  the  church  are:  Revs. 
F.  S.  Chandler,  1890-92;  D.  G.  StoufTer,  1892-94;  Alexander  Monroe,  1894- 
1900;  W.  J.  Johnson,   1900- 

GERM.JiN  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH 

This  society  was  organized  December  6,  1895,  with  a  membership  of  si.xty, 
many  of  whom  withdrew  from  the  German  Reformed  church.  In  1896  a 
church  edifice  at,  a  cost  of  $8,000  was  erected  at  Reed  and  Maple  avenues.  The 
following  have  served  as  pastors:  Revs.  T.  H.  Schmidt,  1895-98;  William  Fritz- 
meier,  1898-1901  ;  William  F.  Essig,  1901- 
ST.     tail's     r.VKISII      (PROTESTANT     EPLSCOPAL) 

This  society  was  organized  in  1848  by  Rev.  J.  S.  Chamberlain,  minister  in 
charge.  In  1850  a  small  brick  church  was  erected  on  Main  street  and  in  1854 
this  building  was  enlarged  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  growing  congregation.  In 
1873  plans  were  procured  and  arrangements  made  for  the  erection  of  a  new 
church,  and  to  this  end  the  old  church  was  demolished  and  a  temporary  structure 
built  at  Xorth  Jel¥erson  and  Jackson  streets.  But  about  th.is  time  a  division  in 
the  congregation  occurred,  which  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  congregation 
of  the  Reformed  Episcopal  church,  and  this  rendered  it  impossible  to  carry  out 
the  proposed  plans.  The  temporary  building  was  then  removed  to  the  site  of  the 
old  church  and  was  occupied  until  the  present  house  of  worship  was  erected  at 
a  cost  of  $33,000. 

Prior  to  the  organization  of  the  Reformed  church,  St.  Paul's  jjarish  experi- 
enced many  difficulties,  resulting  mainly  from  difference  between  the  high  and 
low  church  elements,  .\lthough  there  was  an  organization  in  e.xistence  at  a  very 
early  day,  known  as  St.  Jude's  parish,  yet  it  seems  to  have  fallen  under  the  ban 
of  the  bishop,  after  which  only  a  mission  was  maintained  until  1848,  when  St. 
Paul's  was  regularly  organized.  Later  a  new  parish,  known  as  St.  John's  was 
formed  and  a  building  was  erected  at  the  corner  of  South  Jefferson  and  Liberty 
streets,  which  was  later  occupied  by  the  Jews,  but  this  parish  was  short  lived. 
St.  Paul's  is  now  in  a  prosperous  condition.  The  rectors  have  been :  Revs.  J.  S. 
Chamberlain,  1848-30;  John  \V.  Cracraft,  1850-S7:  Henry  N.  Strong,  1857-60; 
Joseph  M.  Wait,  i8r.o-65;  Warren  IT.  Roberts.  1865-69;  J.  W.  Coe,  1869-70;  J. 
W.  Bonham,  1870-72;  L.  Townsend,  1S72-75;  William  Bryce  Morrow,  1875-81  ; 
Robert  Ritchie,   1881-89;   Sidney  G.  Jeffords,   1889 — . 

ST.  Andrew's  parish 

This  society  is  the  outgrowth  of  a  donation  of  land  made  by  John  Birket 
many  years  prior  to  his  death.    On  the  7th  of  November,  1857,  Mr.  Birket  con- 


164  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

veyed  to  Henry  J.  Whitehouse,  bishop  of  Illinois,  and  to  his  successors,  in  office, 
certain  lots,  including  those  upon  which  St.  Andrew's  church  now  stands.  The 
organization  of  this  society  was  effected  July  lo,  1897,  with  thirty  members.  A 
hanilsonie  stone  church  was  erected  in  the  fall  of  1897,  at  a  cost  of  $20,000,  and 
a  rectory  was  built,  at  a  cost  of  $10,000,  the  property  being  located  at  North 
Madison  avenue  and  Mary  street.  Rev.  Samuel  G.  Wells  became  the  first  rector 
of  the  cliurch,  assuming  charge  November  22,  1897.  His  successor  was  Rev. 
Webster  Hakes,  who  took  charge  June  15,  1900.  The  present  rector  is  Rev. 
Thomas  Hines. 

CHRIST  CHURCH    (REFORMED  EPISCOPAL) 

The  contest  between  the  high  and  low  church  elements  in  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  church,  which  led  to  the  separation  of  one  party  from  the  other  and 
the  formation  of  the  Reformed  Episcopal  church,  was  waged  W'ith  vigor  in  the 
diocese  of  Illinois.  The  bishop  was  uncompromising  in  his  high  church  pro- 
clivities, while  among  the  laity  there  was  a  tendency  toward  a  more  liberal 
church  government.  When  news  was  received  of  the  organization  of  the  Re- 
formed Episcopal  church  in  New  York,  December  2,  1873,  the  movement  was 
regarded  with  favor  not  only  by  the  low  church  element  but  by  members  of 
other  churches.  An  invitation  was  extended  to  Bishop  George  D.  Cummings 
of  the  Reformed  church,  to  visit  Peoria  to  look  over  this  field,  with  a  view  to 
establishing  a  church.  The  members  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  church  ofifered 
the  use  of  their  church  that  the  Episcopalians  might  hold  a  meeting,  and  this 
offer  was  accepted.  A  meeting  was  held  December  16,  1873,  at  which  time  an 
organization  was  effected.  Subscriptions  were  solicited  for  the  support  of  a 
rector  and  so  liberal  was  the  response  that  Bishop  Cummings  was  authorized 
to  secure  a  rector.  At  the  time  of  the  organization  there  were  fifty  members 
but  this  number  was  soon  increased  to  one  hundred.  Rev.  'Mason  Gallagher,  of 
Brooklyn,  New  York,  delivered  the  first  sermon  on  the  first  Sunday  in  January, 
1874.  A  call  was  extended  to  Rev.  Joseph  D.  Wilson,  of  Pittsburg,  and  on  the 
17th  of  February,  that  year,  he  began  his  labors.  Steps  were  at  once  taken  to 
erect  a  church  and  in  July,  1874,  the  building  was  completed,  at  a  cost  of  $13,000. 
The  congregation  also  owns  a  rectory  on  Perry  avenue,  which  was  built  at  a 
cost  of  $5,700.  Rev.  Wilson  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  E.  B.  England,  who  re- 
mained with  the  church  about  six  years,  his  successor  being  Rev.  J.  W.  Fairly, 
who  remained  ten  years.  Rt.  Rev.  B.  B.  Ussher  then  came  and  remained  two 
vears,  and  was  followed  by  Rev.  Henry  I-".  Milligan. 

B.\C0N    MEMORIAL    MISSION 

This  mission  grew  out  of  a  mission  Sunday  school,  organized  on  Thanksgiving 
day,  November  29,  1888,  under  the  auspices  of  Christ  (Reformed  Episcopal) 
church,  by  Rev.  J.  W.  Fairly,  who  was  at  that  time  the  rector,  and  members 
of  the  church.  Meetings  were  first  held  in  a  store  building  at  No.  206  Bridge 
street,  and  later  at  No.  602  South  Adams  street,  until  October  9,  1892,  at  which 
time  the  new  church,  erected  at  a  cost  of  $8,000.  on  Chestnut  street,  between 
Adams  and  Warner  avenues,  was  completed  and  occupied.  It  is  named  in  mem- 
ory of  Charles  F.  Bacon,  a  prominent  member  of  Christ  church,  who  was  called 
from  this  life  in  the  midst  of  his  useful  labors.  His  wife,  j\Irs.  Elizabeth  Bacon, 
later  went  to  India  as  a  missionary  but  was  soon  called  from  this  life  and  an 
orphanage  and  chapel  at  Lalipur,  India,  have  been  established  as  a  monument  to 
her  memory.  Rev.  Edward  T.  Munns,  assumed  charge  of  the  congregation, 
'  September  9,  1891,  and  has  been  with  the  church  to  the  present  time. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  165 

FIRST    BAPTIST    CHURCH 

The  Baptists  were  among  the  first  to  organize  a  society  in  Peoria  and  the 
First  church  congregation  built  a  house  of  worship,  which  was  dedicated  October 
17,  1846.  On  the  14th  of  November  following.  Rev.  Henry  G.  Weston  was 
called  to  the  pastorate  and  continued  with  the  congregation  for  twelve  years. 
During  his  term  of  service  the  church  became  self  supporting,  it  having  formerly 
received  aid  from  the  American  IJaptist  Home  Missionary  Society.  June  10, 
1859,  about  twenty-five  members  withdrew  and  formed  themselves  into  a  society 
known  as  the  Tabernacle  church,  but  after  four  years  the  two  congregations 
were  reunited.  A  number  of  years  later,  however,  twenty-four  others  withdrew 
and  organized  what  became  known  as  the  Peoria  Baptist  church.  July  27,  1864, 
the  I*"irst  church  congregation  exchanged  their  property  on  Hamilton  street  for 
a  lot  and  church  building  at  the  corner  of  Madison  avenue  and  Fayette  street, 
where  the  Women's  Club  building  is  now  located.  In  1890  an  elegant  and  com- 
modious building  was  erected  at  Hamilton  boulevard  and  Glen  Oak  aveiuie,  the 
cost  being  $65,000.  Out  of  this  church  have  grown  the  Bethany  church  and 
Olive  Street  ^fission.  Those  who  have  served  as  pastors  of  the  church  since 
Rev.  Weston,  who  was  the  first  regular  pastor,  are :  Revs.  D.  E.  Holmes,  1862- 
63;  A.  Jones,  1864-66;  A.  H.  Stowell,  1866;  J.  D.  Page,  1867;  S.  A.  Kingsbury, 
1869;  Alexander  McArthur,  1872-74;  C.  J.  Thompson,  1874-80;  C.  E.  Heath, 
1880-90:  D.  D.  Odell,  1890-93;  L.  Kirtley,  1894-1900;  George  H.  Simmons,  1900- 

BETHANY    BAPTIST    CHURCH 

This  society  is  the  outgrowth  of  a  mission  Sunday  school,  organized  in  1877, 
by  W.  C.  Tapping.  In  1882  a  chapel  was  erected  on  North  Jefiferson  street, 
between  Hay  ward  and  Abingdon,  at  a  cost  of  $1,600.  A  church  society  was  not 
organized,  however,  until  May  10,  1891,  with  thirty-eight  members.  In  the 
following  year,  1892,  the  church  building  was  removed  to  its  present  site,  North 
Madison  avenue  and  iriayward  street,  and  greatly  enlarged,  at  a  cost  of  $7,000. 
Rev.  E.  O.  I.ovett  was  the  first  regularly  installed  pastor,  who  served  the  church 
from  its  organization  until  December  i,  1895.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  R.  S. 
Sargent,  who  assumed  charge  IMay  11,  1896,  and  remained  until  November  i, 
1897.  Rev.  J.  W.  Bayles  took  charge  July  10,  1898,  and  remained  until  March 
4,  1899,  and  on  the  ist  of  May  of  that  year  Rev.  T.  K.  Reynolds  took  charge. 

GERMAN   BAPTIST   CHURCH 

This  society  was  organized  .August  24,  1853.  by  Rev.  John  H.  Krueger.  who 
had  been  engaged  as  a  missionary  of  the  Baptist  Home  Missionary  Society,  and 
held  services  sometimes  in  the  courthouse,  while  at  other  times  services  were 
held  in  his  own  home.  He  was  chosen  as  the  first  regular  pastor,  remaining  until 
November,  i860,  when,  on  account  of  his  health,  he  was  forced  to  resign.  The 
membership  gradually  increased  and  worshipped  in  the  basement  of  the  First 
church  until  1862,  when  a  lot  was  leased  on  the  corner  of  South  Jefferson  (now 
Warner  avenue)  and  Maple  streets,  where  a  small  frame  church  and  parsonage 
were  erected.  In  1875  they  purchased  a  brick  Iniilding  on  Monson  street,  be- 
tween Fourth  and  Fifth,  which  had  been  erected  by  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terians. This  building  was  remodeled  and  built  to,  at  a  cost  of  $3,200.  In  1897 
a  new  structure  was  erected  at  Fourth  and  Fisher  streets,  at  a  cost  of  $3,000 
and  the  congregation  still  occupies  the  same  as  a  house  of  worship.  The  pastors 
who  have  served  this  church  since  i860,  at  which  time  Rev.  Krueger  resigned, 
are:  Revs.  C.  D.  Menger,  1862-66;  J.  Merz.  1866-69;  S.  H.  Downer,  1869-78; 
H.  S.  Deitz,  1878-81;  J.  Albert,  1882-86;  F.  Frederick,  1887-90;  A.  Vogel,  1891- 
96;  A.  Jansen,  1897-igoi  ; 


166  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

MOUNT    ZION     BAPTIST     CHURCH      (aFRICAN) 

This  societ}'  was  organized  in  April,  1876,  with  a  membership  of  twelve. 
In  1879  a  neat  house  of  worship  was  erected  at  Seventh  avenue  and  State 
street,  at  a  cost  of  $5,600.     Rev.  ISenjamin  N.  Murrell  is  the  present  pastor. 

THE    C.ICRMAN    EVANGELICAL    ALLIANCE    TRINITY    CHURCH 

The  denomination  to  which  this  church  belongs  is  not  of  foreign  origin  as 
might  be  supposed,  but  was  founded  in  Pennsylvania  nearly  a  century  ago,  by 
German  speaking  people.  It  was  originated  by  Jacob  Albright,  a  devout  man,  of 
Methodist  proclivities,  after  whom  it  was  sometimes  called  the  "Albright  church." 
The  official  designation  appears  to  be  the  Evangelical  Alliance,  or  the  Evangelical 
Association  of  North  America.  In  all  essential  points  it  follows  tlie  organization 
and  polity  of  the  I\Iethodist  Episcopal  church. 

The  church  has  a  general  conference,  annual  conferences,  bishops  and  pre- 
siding elders,  and  also  an  order  of  deaconnesses  similar  to  the  .Methodist  Epis- 
copal church.  The  main  difl'erence  seems  to  be  in  the  fact  that  their  bishops  and 
presiding  elders  are  elected  for  specific  terms  of  four  years  each,  and  then  must 
abide  by  the  decision  of  new  elections.  The  bishops  have  coordinate  general 
supervision.  They  have  twenty-two  conferences  in  the  United  States  and  all 
bishops  reside  in  this  country.  They  also  have  a  conference  in  Canada,  two  in 
Germany,  one  in  Switzerland,  and  one  in  Japan,  and  missions  in  China  and 
Russia.  They  have  publishing  houses  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  in  Stuttgart,  Ger- 
many; also  colleges  in  Schuylkill,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ruetlingen,  Germany,  and 
seminaries  in  Tokio,  Japan,  and  Naperville,  Illinois ;  also  a  Deaconess  Home 
and  Hospital  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  This  church  has  the  itinerant  system,  the 
pastors  being  assigned  to  the  various  churches  by  the  conferences. 

The  church  in  Peoria  was  organized  in  1843,  with  fifteen  members,  Bishop 
John  Seybert  preaching  the  first  sermon.  However,  they  had  no  fixed  place  of 
worship  until  1847,  when  they  erected  a  small  church  building  on  Chestnut 
street,  between  Prairie  street  and  Warner  avenue,  costing  $600.  In  1853  they 
built  a  church  at  the  corner  of  First  and  State  streets,  at  a  cost  of  $2,500,  which 
was  occupied  until  1873,  when  the  present  frame  building  was  erected  at  a  cost 
of  $5,700.  This  building  is  now  for  sale  and  the  congregation  contemplates 
the  erection  of  a  modern  church  building.  On  account  of  the  frequent  changes 
of  pastors,  it  is  not  deemed  advisable  to  enumerate  here  all  who  have  served 
this  people  in  nearly  seventy  years.  The  presiding  elder  of  this  district  at  the 
present  time  is  Rev.  H.  J.  Kiekhoefer,  there  being  four  districts  in  Illinois.  The 
present  pastor  of  Trinity  church  is  Rev.  G.  W.  Engelter.  Mrs.  Mary  S.  Harsch 
is  Sunday  school  superintendent.  The  board  of  trustees  consists  of  George 
Koerner,  C.  P.  Schlenker,  John  Rudell,  J.  W.  Green  and  H.  J.  Kopp.  The 
Sunday  school  enrollment  is  100,  organized  into  classes,  home  department  and 
cradle  roll.  The  Young  People's  Alliance,  with  B.  F.  Shirer  as  president,  has 
about  120  members.  The  denomination  maintains  old  people's  homes  at  Buf- 
falo, New  York,  and  Cedar  Falls,  Iowa,  and  an  orphanage  at  Flat  Rock,  Ohio. 
We  have  been  thus  specific  about  this  church  because  probably  very  few  Ameri- 
can church  people  know  anything  concerning  it. 

There  is  a  second  church  of  this  denomination  in  the  city  known  as 

GRACE    CHURCH 

This  church  is  located  at  the  corner  of  Stanley  and  Humboldt  streets.  Regular 
preaching  services  and  Sunday  school  are  maintained.  Rev.  G.  J.  Degenkolb  is 
the  present  pastor. 

This  church  was  commenced  as  a  mission  German  Sunday  school  in  1896, 
in  the  South  Peoria  town  hall,  by  Rev.  M.  G.  Hallwachs.     Under  G.  C.  Gasser, 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  167 

a  small  church  ^Yas  built  and  dedicated  January  i,  1905,  and  all  services  were 
changed  into  the  English  language.  This  church  was  served  in  connection  with 
Trinity  church  until  April,  191 1,  when  the  present  pastor  was  assigned  in 
charge.  There  is  now  a  church  membership  of  twenty.  They  have  a  Sunday 
school  of  150  members,  also  two  young  people's  societies  with  sixty  members, 
and  a  Ladies'  Aid  Society  of  thirty.  George  Koerner  is  Sunday  school  superin- 
tendent, Miss  Nettie  Sturm,  president  of  Young  People's  Alliance,  Clarence 
Powers,  president  of  Junior  Alliance  and  Mrs.  H.  Allowby  is  president  of  the 
Ladies'  Aid  Society. 

The  board  of  control  consists  of  G.  J.  Degenkolb,  pastor;  George  Koerner, 
president;  Miss  Nettie  Sturm,  secretary;  J.  Harry  Kopp,  treasurer;  C.  E.  Lott- 
man  and  George  Umdenstock,  stewards ;  also  r^Irs.  C.  E.  Lottman  and  .Mrs. 
George  L'mdenstock. 

GERM.\N    EV.\NGELIC.\L   LUTHER.VN    (ST.   P.\UL's)    CHURCH 

This  society  dates  its  organization  from  December  i,  1853,  with  twelve  mem- 
bers. In  the  following  year,  1854,  a  church  building  was  erected  on  Sanford 
street  but  in  1863  a  lot  was  purchased  on  the  corner  of  First  and  Goodwin 
streets  and  the  building  removed  thereto.  In  1883  the  church  v.as  rebuilt  at 
a  cost  of  $1,500  and  in  1888  this  was  replaced  by  a  new  and  commodious  struc- 
ture, at  a  cost  of  $14,500.  This  church  has  been  instrumental  in  founding  sev- 
eral missions  in  this  county  and  elsewhere.  There  is  also  a  school  and  kinder- 
garten in  connection  with  the  churcli,  a  new  building  having  been  erected  in  1898, 
to  replace  the  old  one,  which  was  built  in  1863.  The  present  building  cost 
$6,200.  From  the  time  the  society  was  organized  to  1877  seven  pastors  served 
the  congregation  and  from  that  time  to  the  present.  Rev.  Frederick  B.  Bess  has 
served  as  pastor. 

GERM.\N    EV.\NGEUC.\L   LUTHER.\N    TRINITY    CHURCH 

This  congregation  was  organized  June  17,  1857,  with  thirteen  charter  mem- 
bers. The  following  year  a  small  church  at  a  cost  of  $2,000  was  erected  at  the 
corner  of  Warner  avenue  and  Maple  street,  where  the  parochial  school  is  still 
located.  In  1875  the  old  church  gave  way  to  a  new  structure,  which  was  erected 
opposite  the  old  structure  on  Maple  street,  at  a  cost  of  $8,000.  This  is  one  of 
the  largest  congregations  of  this  denomination  in  the  city.  The  first  to  serve  as 
pastor  of  this  congregation  was  Rev.  I->ed  Boeling,  who  was  installed  June  17, 
1858.  and  after  two  years  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Paulus  Heid.  who  came  in 
[anuary,  1861,  and  remained  until  1878,  his  successor  being  Rev.  Gottlieb  Traub, 
who  remained  until  January  i,  1892,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Otto  L.  Hoen- 
stein,  who  remained  "for  a  long  period.    The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  Ernest  Flach. 

CHRIST    EV.\NGELICAL    LUTHERAN    CHURCH 

This  society  was  formerly  a  mission  of  Trinity  church  but  was  organized  as 
an  independent  congregation' December  9.  1894,  with  thirty-si.x  charter  members. 
In  the  summer  of  1892  Trinity  church  erected  a  building  for  the  use  of  the 
mission  in  the  southern  part  of  'the  city,  on  Malone  avenue  and  Chandler  street, 
at  a  cost  of  $5,000.  This  building  was  destroyed  by  fire  June  25,  1895.  This 
was  immediately  replaced  bv  a  new  structure,  at  a  cost  of  $8,000,  together  with 
a  parochial  school  building,'  at  a  cost  of  $2,000.  Rev.  Frederick  W.  Jass  has 
served  as  pastor  from  the  time  of  its  organization  to  the  present. 

SWEDISH     EVANGELICAL    LUTHERAN    SALEM    CHURCH 

This  church  was  organized  August  4,  1883,  with  thirty-four  members.  The 
first  church  was  located  on  Easton  street  near  the  Vienna  Mills.     In  the  spring 


168  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

of  1888  the  building  was  removed  to  Glendale  avenue  near  Hamilton  street. 
This  building  was  sold  in  1896  for  $2,800,  and  the  present  church,  built  of  brick 
and  stone,  at  a  cost  of  $10,000,  was  erected  at  Bluff  street  and  Hamilton  boule- 
vard. The  pastors  who  have  served  the  church  are:  Revs.  August  Xorrbom, 
1887-90;  E.  C.  Jessup,  1891-93;  Alfred  Appell,   1893 — . 

MISCELLANEOUS    CHURCHES 

The  Universalist  church  was  organized  May  6,  1843,  and  among  the  first 
members  were  Orin  Hamlin,  Dennis  Blakeley,  Aaron  Oakford,  Moses  M.  Webb, 
J.  P.  Dennis,  John  King,  Caleb  Whittemore,  and  Norman  Howe  and  wife.  At 
first  meetings  were  held  in  the  courthouse.  Rev.  F.  J.  Briggs  became  the  first 
pastor  and  his  successor  was  Rev.  W.  B.  Lindell,  who  remained  about  two  years. 
The  society  eventually  purchased  the  building  which  was  located  on  F"ulton 
street  and  had  formerly  been  used  by  the  First  Presbyterian  church.  This  con- 
tinued to  be  their  place  of  worship  until  1863.  Rev.  William  Rounseville  was 
pastor  from  1853  until  1858  and  was  succedeed  in  the  latter  year  by  Rev.  D.  M. 
Reed,  during  whose  pastorate  the  church  was  reorganized  as  the  Church  of  the 
Redeemer,  with  eighty-three  members.  Subsequently  they  held  services  in  various 
buildings  until  1867,  when  a  new  church  was  erected  and  dedicated  January  i, 
1868,  and  named  the  Church  of  the  Messiah.  Rev.  Reed  was  succeeded  in  1865 
by  Rev.  H.  R.  Nye,  and  when  the  new  church  was  completed  Rev.  Royal  H. 
Pullman  was  installed  as  pastor.  His  successors  have  been:  Revs.  H.  B.  Smith, 
J.  Murray  Bailey,  S.  A.  Gardner,  G.  W.  Kent,  W.  S.  Ralph,  George  B.  Stocking, 
R.  B.  :Marsh,  Frank  McAlpine,  T.  B.  T.  Fisher  and  Barlow  Carpenter,  who  is  the 
present  pastor.  About  1885  the  name  of  the  church  was  changed  to  Bradley 
Memorial  First  Universalist  church,  in  memory  of  Tobias  S.  Bradley,  who  had 
been  a  devoted  member  and  liberal  contributor  to  the  church,  and  whose  death 
occurred  in  1867.  The  present  church  was  erected  about  1902  and  stands  on 
Hamilton  boulevard. 

THE     NEW    CHURCH     (SWEDENBORGIAN ) 

The  First  Society  of  the  New  Jerusalem  church  of  the  city  of  Peoria  was 
formed  a  corporate  body  in  January,  1846.  The  first  church  building  was  erected 
on  Jefiferson  street,  near  Hamilton,  about  1846.  In  1855  this  building  was  re- 
placed by  a  brick  structure  on  Hamilton  street,  between  Madison  and  Jefferson. 
In  1896  this  building  was  condemned  by  the  city  inspector  and  the  furnishings 
were  sold.  Since  then  no  regular  services  have  been  held  but  the  society  still  exists 
as  an  organization.  The  pastors  who  have  served  the  congregation  are :  Revs. 
John  Randolph  Hibbard,  Nelson  C.  Burnham,  Thomas  S.  Storey,  Jabez  Fox, 
George  H.  Marsten,  A.  J.  Bartels,  George  F.  Stearns,  George  Nelson  Smith, 
George  Hardon,  J.  R.  Hibbard,  W.  H.  Schliffer  and  Samuel  C.  Eby. 

FIRST  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  (SCIENTIST) 

On  the  29th  day  of  August,  1892,  seven  persons  met  together,  taking  the 
initial  step  in  forming  a  church  which  would  inculcate  Christian  Science,  as 
taught  by  Rev.  Mary  Baker  G.  Eddy.  A  board  of  three  directors,  a  treasurer 
and  a  clerk  were  elected,  and  the  name — Church  of  Christ,  Scientist,  of  Peoria, 
Illinois,  was  adopted.  On  the  6th  of  October,  1894,  the  church  was  incorporated, 
and  the  name  changed  to  First  Church  of  Christ,  Scientist,  of  Peoria,  Illinois. 

Beginning  the  year  1898,  with  eighty-seven  members,  efforts  were  directed 
towards  building  a  church  edifice  on  the  lot  on  Hamilton  boulevard,  corner  of 
Bluff  street,  which  had  been  purchased  the  previous  year.  The  building  was 
erected  during  the  latter  part  of  the  year  at  a  cost,  including  the  lot.  of  nearly 
$30,000.  The  first  services,  dedicating  the  building,  were  held  on  the  15th  of 
January,   1899. 


FIRST  CHURCH    OF   CHRIST   SCIENTIST 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  169 

CHRISTIAN   CHURCHES  OF  PEORIA 

The  organization  of  the  Christian  church,  or  Disciples  of  Christ,  was  effected 
in  1S45,  with  twelve  charter  members,  the  last  of  whom,  Mrs.  Eliza  Wadsworth 
Smith,  died  in   1904. 

William  Tilford  was  the  first  elder  and  Sampson  Schockley  (grandfather  of 
Mrs.  John  L.  Miller)  the  first  deacon.  For  a  brief  period  the  congregation  met 
from  house  to  house,  and  later  in  the  engine  house  in  the  200  block,  North 
Adams  street.  Subsequently  the  old  courthouse  was  used  for  their  religious 
purposes. 

The  first  church  building  was  erected  at  the  corner  of  Seventh  avenue  and 
Franklin  street  in  1855,  the  building  which  still  stands  being  converted  into  a 
dwelling  some  time  later.  The  trustees  of  this  building  were  James  Maxwell, 
P.  C.  Reding  (father  of  ]\Irs.  William  Ford,  Jr.),  and  Elias  Randall.  The 
present  location  at  the  corner  of  Monroe  and  Fulton  streets  containing  an  obsolete 
building  was  purchased  from  the  New  School  Presbyterians  and  first  occupied 
in  May,  1875.  The  former  location  on  Seventh  avenue  was  thereupon  rented 
and  later  sold  to  a  congregation  of  Jews. 

In  the  year  1894,  the  present  edifice  of  the  Central  congregation  was  erected 
the  entire  property  costing  approximately  $25,000.  Some  of  the  early  preacher 
who  came  with  infrequent  regularity  were  William  Davenport,  William  Brow ., 
Barton  W.  Stone,  Mr.  Young  and  Milton  P.  King,  and  often  when  withou?  a 
preacher.  Deacon  Schockley  spoke. 

The  first  pastor  of  the  congregation  after  the  completion  of  the  Seventh 
avenue  building  was  John  Lindsay,  ]\larch  15,  1855  to  August  17,  1856.  He  was 
followed  by  I.  N.  Carman,  1857;  Elder  Howe,  1861  ;  John  Miller,  1863;  John 
O'Kane,  1864;  William  Thompson,  1866.  Student  preachers  from  the  college 
at  Eureka  served  the  congregation  from  1867  to  1872,  among  them  Messrs. 
Wagner,  Hart,  Crow  and  lirunner.  The  next  regular  pastor  was  Ira  J.  Chase, 
1872.  later  Governor  of  Indiana.  Barton  O.  Aylsworth,  now  president  of  Colo- 
rado .Agricultural  college,  followed  in  1880;  T.  B.  Mayfield,  1882;  N.  S.  Haines, 
1885:  J.  M.  Kersey,  1892;  J.  P.  McKnight,  1896;  G.  B.  VanArsdall,  1900;  H.  F. 
Burns.  1905;  and  W.  F.  Turner,   1909. 

The  longest  continuous  memberships  are  today  held  by  Miss  Paulina  White 
1854,  Mrs.  Naomi  Mounts,  Mrs.  Wm.  Ford,  Jr.  (then 'Miss  Reding),  1865; 
William  Ford,  Jr.,   1867.     The  present  number  of  communicants   is  625. 

The  chapel  at  224  Howett  street,  now  the  Howett  Street  Christian  church 
is  the  outgrowth  of  a  mission  established  by  Alexander  G.  Tyng,  Sr.,  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  who  conducted  for  six  or  eight  years  what  was  known  as 
the  "Tyng  Mission"  at  the  corner  of  Cedar  and  15rotherson  streets.  This  effort 
was  abandoned  and  was  later  taken  up  by  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union,  assisted  by  a  few  of  our  people  who  conducted  what  was  known  as  a 
temperance  Sunday  school.  This  likewise  was  abandoned  after  about  three 
years'  effort,  the  Disciples  following  in  1885.  The  superintendents  of  the  Sunday 
school  at  the  chapel  and  church  have  been  F.  M.  Barrett — but  recently  deceased — 
Samuel  Cunningham,  Joseph  Ray.  William  Reichel,  J.  A.  Martin,  G.  W.  Rey- 
nolds, Lewis  Lawson,  J.  C.  Murray,  C.  A.  Brown  and  .M.  W.  Rotchford.  For 
twenty-three  years  Miss  Lorena  Simonson  has  been  continuouslv  a  teacher  at 
the  Howett  street  church  and  its  predecessor,  the  Tyng  Mission.  Regular  ])reach- 
ing  services  (evenings)  began  in  1900,  with  B.  C.  Piatt,  minister,  followed  by 
H.  II.  Jenner,  C.  A.  Marsh,  L.  P.  Schooling,  and  William  Price.  The  present 
building  was  erected  in  1890,  the  plant  costing  al)out  $2,500. 

Present  number  of  communicants  is    180. 

The  West  Bluff  Christian  chapel  the  "church  built  in  a  day"  was  constructed 
May  30,  1910,  by  the  brotherhoods  of  the  Howett  street  Christian  and  the  Central 
Christian  churches,  assisted  voluntarily  by  about  sixty  members  of  the  Local 
Carpenters  Union,  No.  183.    Williani  Price,  minister  of  the  Howett  street  church, 


170  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

laid  the  foundation.  Earl  D.  Stout,  superintended  the  construction  of  the  build- 
ing. Ashley  J.  Elliott  fathered  the  idea  of  building  the  church  in  a  day  and  A. 
J.  Buckwalter  and  A.  W.  Lew  were  presidents  of  the  two  brotherhoods.  The 
building  was  dedicated  June  lo,  1910,  by  Dr.  Arthur  Holmes.  A  school  was 
immediately  organized  and  has  continued  since.  The  superintendents  thereof 
have  been  E.  J.  Haney,  A.  J.  Elliott  and  A.  I.  Buckwalter.  A  two  weeks'  preach- 
ing service  was  held  in  February,  191 1,  by  W.  E.  Harlow.  The  building  is  lo- 
cated at  the  corner  of  Underbill  and  Main  streets. 

The  Christian  church  in  Peoria  has  had  a  slow  but  steady  growth.  The 
principal  plea  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ  is  "The  Restoration  of  Primitive  New 
Testament  Christianity  and  the  Union  of  God's  People  on  that  Basis." 


CHAPTER  XIX 
CHURCH  HISTORY  CONTINUED 

CONTINUATION    OF    CHURCH     HISTORV EARLY     METHODISM     IN    PEORIA    COUNTY — 

THE  "shack"  OR  LOG  CABIN    HOME  OF  THE  EARLY  SETTLER  THE  MEETING  PLACE 
FOR  THE   CIRCUIT  RIDER   AND    HIS   FLOCK 

At  the  meeting  of  the  General  Conference  of  the  Alethodist  Episcopal  church, 
in  May,  1824,  the  territory  included  in  the  states  of  Illinois,  Indiana  and  Wis- 
consin, as  indicated  in  Stephen  R.  Begg's  "Early  History  of  the  West  and  North- 
west," which  had  been  included  in  the  Missouri  conference,  was  separated  there- 
from and  designated  "The  Illinois  Conference." 

In  the  fall  the  Illinois  conference,  and  the  .Missouri  conference  both  met  at 
the  same  place — Padtields,  twenty  miles  east  of  St.  Louis.  At  this  session  of 
the  Illinois  conference,  Peter  Cartwright  and  Andrew  Monroe,  elders  of  the 
Kentucky  conference,  were  received  by  transfer. 

When  the  assignments  were  made,  Jesse  Walker  was  appointed  to  the  circuit 
which  included  Peoria,  or  Fort  Clark,  as  it  was  then  called. 

When  Jesse  Walker  arrived  at  the  settlement,  he  found  a  few  persons  of  the 
Methodist  faith  and  formed  the  first  class,  consisting  of  sixteen  members.  Beggs, 
who  was  on  the  work  in  1830  gives  the  names  of  the  original  si.xteen  members  as 
Jesse  Walker  and  wife;  James  Walker  and  wife;  Mrs.  Abner  Eads ;  Sister 
Dixon,  wife  of  the  proprietor  of  Dixontown,  on  Rock  river;  Sister  Hamlin, 
mother  of  John  Hamlin  and  another  sister,  converts  that  winter ;  William  Holland 
and  wife:  William  Eads  and  wife;  William  Blanchard ;  Rev.  Reeves  McCormick. 
and  Mary  Clark. 

The  next  summer  \\'alker,  assisted  by  his  son  James  and  others,  one  of  whom 
was  Rev.  Reeves  McCormick,  who  appears  to  have  been  a  located  preacher,  held 
a  camp  meeting  on  the  west  side  of  the  lake  about  a  mile  above  the  village,  which 
was  probably  either  just  above  the  Galena  road,  now  North  Adams  street,  or 
in  a  lieautiful  grove  on  Plum  Point,  down  on  the  bank  of  the  lake. 

William  .See  travelled  the  Peoria  circuit  in  1827,  and  S.  L.  Robertson  in  1828. 
The  circuit  then  covered  a  very  large  territory.  During  the  summer  of  1828  a 
camp  meeting  was  held  at  a  place  about  three  miles  east  of  Peoria,  in  Tazewell 
county,  probably,  in  the  Farm  Creek  bottoms  about  where  Farmdale  is  located. 
Samuel  P.  Thompson  was  presiding  elder,  and  Robertson,  Jesse  Walker,  and 
probably  See  assisted.  At  this  camp  meeting.  Governor  Edwards,  the  first  gover- 
nor of  Illinois,  was  present. 

From  the  conference  held  at  Edwardsville,  Illinois,  September  18,  1829, 
Stephen  R.  P.eggs  was  sent  to  the  Logansport  Mission,  embracing  Logansport, 
Delphi  and  I.aFayette.  Indiana,  .\fter  the  first  quarterly  meeting,  his  presiding 
elder  transferred  him  to  the  llloomington  circuit  and  at  the  next  conference, 
which  was  held  at  \'incennes,  Indiana,  he  was  sent  to  the  Tazewell  circuit,  which, 
from  his  description,  would  appear  to  be  the  same  as  the  Bloomington  circuit, 
barring  some  possible  cliiuiges  in  preaching  points.  He  describes  the  most 
prominent  preaching  places  as  Peoria,  Holland's  Grove,  now  Washington ;  Mud 
Creek;  Walnut  Grove;  Alackinaw  Town;  Stout's  Grove;  Dry  Grove;  Blooming 

171 


172  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

Grove,  now  Bloomington ;  Randolph's  Grove;  Big  Grove;  Cherry  Grove;  from' 
thence  down  Salt  Creek  to  the  Falling  Timber  country;  Brother  Beck's  on  Sugar 
creek;  Ilittlc's  Grove,  and  Dillon's,  where  there  were  two  appointments;  from 
there  I  went  to  Grand  Prairie ;  from  thence  to  several  neighborhoods  and  back 
to  Peoria.'"  So  it  appears  that  he  served  the  iMethodist  people  at  Peoria  three- 
fourths  of  the  conference  year  1830  and  all  of  the  year  1831.  He  was  united  in 
marriage  with  a  daughter  of  William  Pleath,  September,  1831.  He  was  succeeded 
in  1832  by  William  Royal,  and  he  by  Z.  Hall  in  1833.  At  this  time  it  seems 
the  assignment  was  called  Fort  Clark  Mission,  the  boundaries  of  which  are  de- 
scribed as  follows :  Peoria,  Lancaster,  or  LaSalle  I'rairie ;  Brother  Jones'  on 
Snack  River;  Princeville,  Essex  schoolhouse;  Fraker's  Grove,  now  Lafayette; 
thence  to  Princeton,  some  thirty  miles  distant ;  to  Troy  Grove  twenty-five  miles 
farther;  to  Brother  Long's  near  LaSalle;  down  the  river  to  Aliller's  school- 
house,  five  miles  below  I'eru,  then  on  to  John  Hall's  one  hundred  fifty  miles 
around.  In  the  spring  of  1833  there  appears  to  be  the  added  names  of  Sister  A. 
Hale,  a  Sister  Waters,  David  Spencer  and  some  others.  At  this  time  John  Sin- 
clair was  presiding  elder.  The  Sister  Hale  mentioned  was  the  wife  of  Asahel 
Hale,  who  afterwards  donated  the  lot  at  the  corner  of  Madison  and  P'ulton 
streets  for  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  the  property  at  Maiir 
and  High  streets  for  Hale  Memorial  church. 

Hall  was  succeeded  in  1834  by  Joel  Arrington,  who  seems  to  have  re-vivified 
the  membership  and  was  by  some  given  the  credit  of  having  established  the 
first  class,  when  in  fact  Jesse  Walker  was  ahead  of  him  by  nine  years.  More- 
over, the  forming  of  a  class  by  Arrington  would  be  no  evidence  that  the  former 
organization  or  class  had  lapsed  or  that  there  was  no  previous  church,  as  under 
the  system  established  by  John  Wesley,  a  Methodist  church  might  consist  of 
one  class  or  an  aggregation  of  classes.  In  each  case  the  class  had  a  leader  and 
in  early  days  these  classes  often  met  week  day  evenings  at  the  homes  of  the 
leaders,  when  the  members  spoke  of  their  religious  experience  and  the  leader 
advised  or  exhorted. 

The  quarterly  meeting  service  was  always  accompanied  by  the  love  feast,  or 
general  class  meeting.  To  be  admitted  to  the  love  feast  was  considered  a  great 
privilege,  and  for  a  time  during  early  times  in  Peoria,  admission  was  only  ob- 
tained upon  ticket,  which  ticket  was  only  given  to  faithful  attendants  upon 
class  meetings  and  religious  services. 

Copies  of  love  feast  tickets : 


"Blessed  are  the  meek  for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth." — Matthew  V-5. 
The  Lord  hath  spoken  good  to  me. 

His  word  my  hope  secures ; 
He  will  my  shield  and  portion  be, 
As  long  as  life  endures. 
Peoria  Station.  (Signed)   C.  Hobart  S.  P.   (Station  Preacher). 

3d  Quarter.  1843. 

James  Hazzard 
"Blessed  be  the  Lord:  for  He  hath  showed  me  His  marvelous  kindness  in 
a  strong  city."     Psa.  XXXII-21. 
3  Qr.  April  20,   1845. 
(Signed)    J.   Chandler. 

The  tickets  referred  to  are  now  in  the  possession  of  J.  F.  Hazzard  of  this  city. 

Beggs  says  that  upon  one  such  occasion,  feeling  in  good  spirits  while  he  was 
attending  the  door  and  being  in  a  liberal  mood  he  admitted  several  who  had  not 
the  proper  credentials.  Good  Brother  K.  came  to  him  and  said :  "Brother  Beggs, 
what  do  you  mean  by  admitting  so  many  to  our  love  feast,  you  have  even  let  in 
old  man  H."     At  the  close  of  the   service  Beggs  says  he  called   for  any  who 


HISTORY  OF  TEORIA  COUNTY  173 

might  desire  to  join  the  church  to  present  themselves  and  old  man  II.  was  the 
first  to  come. 

Referring  to  the  original  class  formed  in  1825,  McCulloch,  in  his  history  of 
Peoria  city  and  county  gives  the  name  of  Rivers  Cormack  instead  of  Rev.  Reeves 
McCormick  as  Beggs  gives  it.  As  Beggs  was  on  the  ground  a  few  years  after- 
ward he  has  proljal:>ly  given  the  correct  name.  McCulloch  says  H.  H.  Farkington 
travelled  the  Peoria  circuit  in  1820  and  also  gives  the  name  of  Isaac  Scarrett 
for  the  same  work  the  same  year.  By  the  conference  of  September,  1829,  James 
Latta  was  assigned  to  the  circuit  in  which  Peoria  was  included,  and  as  Stephen 
R.  Beggs  was  transferred  to  the  circuit  from  the  Logansport  mission  about  Janu- 
ary, 1830,  it  is  probable  that  Latta  was  transferred  also,  but  to  what  work  we 
are  not  informed. 

At  this  time  Peter  Cartwright  was  ]iresiding  elder,  and  his  district  extended 
from  Chicago  to  Peoria,  and  from  the  Illinois  river  to  the  Mississippi. 

The  same  author  gives  the  name  of  Zadoc  Hall,  as  the  preacher  on  tlie  circuit 
in  1S32  and  1833.  He.  finding  that  several  of  the  class  formed  by  Walker  had 
removed,  re-organized  the  class  and  from  that  time  the  organization  became  per- 
manent. Joel  Arrington  came  in  1833.  By  the  conference  of  the  fall  of  1834, 
Rev.  L.  S.  Walker  was  sent  to  this  work,  and  by  that  of  1835  W.  C.  Cumming, 
who  was  the  father  of  the  venerable  Rev.  J.  S.  Cumming,  now  assigned  to  the 
Second  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  Moline,  Illinois.  While  here  Rev.  William 
C.  Cumming  lived  in  the  cottage  on  Washington  street  which  belonged  to  Daniel 
Brestel.  I'eoria  was  made  a  station  in  1836  and  that  fall  the  conference  assigned 
James  W.  Dunahy  to  the  work.  He  remained  about  six  months,  and  N.  G. 
Berryman  was  sent  to  supply  the  place.  Beggs  says  John  Sinclair  also  was  here 
in  1836.  It  is  jjrobable  he  did  his  work  on  the  circuit.  It  was  in  the  year  1837 
that  Asahel  Hale  and  Mark  M.  Aiken  donated  part  of  a  lot,  71  feet  by  72  feet 
at  the  corner  of  Fulton  and  Madison  streets,  as  a  site  for  a  church. 

Beggs.  who  was  assigned  to  the  Peoria  church  by  the  conference  of  1839, 
says  A.  E.  Phelps,  was  his  predecessor  and  says  he  was  a  powerful  preacher, 
and  on  account  of  Ijeing  fully  able  in  debate,  to  protect  his  faith  and  creed,  became 
very  ])o]3ular.  McCulloch  says  Phelps  was  assigned  here  in  1837  and  William  !•'. 
Williams  and  William  Cundilt  in  1838.  The  dates  have  probably  been  reversed, 
and  one  of  the  latter  was  on  the  circuit  work. 

EARLY    HISTORY 

In  the  summer  of  1835  there  came  to  Peoria,  from  Ilarrisburg,  Pennsylvania, 
a  young  man.  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and  a  local  Methodist  preacher,  Daniel  lirestel 
by  name,  who,  with  his  family  consisting  of  his  wife  and  four  young  daughters 
had  sought  a  home  in  the  west,  and  had  made  choice  of  Peoria  for  such  a  home. 
He  came  well  recommended  and  a  letter,  commending  him  as  a  man  of  high 
moral  character  and  a  competent  mechanic  dated  Harrisburg.  Pennsylvania,  April 
25,  1835.  and  signed  by  sixteen  business  and  professional  men,  who  are  desig- 
nated by  marginal  notes  as  "State  Clerk."  "Congressman,"  "Station  Preacher" 
and  ".Merchants"  with  several  "Gentlemen"  is  still  in  existence  and  in  the  pos- 
session of  one  of  his  descendants.  Upon  the  arrival  of  the  family  in  Peoria,  the 
onlv  place  of  shelter  they  could  get,  was  one  or  two  rooms  in  Hunt's  Row,  a 
long  frame,  one-story  building  containing  four  or  five  tenements,  located  at  tfte 
west  corner  of  Adams  and  Fulton  streets,  where  the  B.  &  M.  clothing  store  now 
stands.  There  was  no  chimney,  or  fire  place  in  this  tenement,  only  a  hole  in  the 
floor  and  another  in  the  roof ;  and  with  such  accommodations,  or  rather  lack 
of  accommodations,  they  were  compelled  to  get  along  until  more  suitable  quarters 
could  be  found.  Mr.  Brestel  having  brought  some  means  with  him,  purchased 
for  $1,000  a  lot  72  feet  front  on  the  northwest  side  of  Washington  street,  by  171 
feet  deep  toward  Adams  street,  on  which  was  a  small  cottage  of  four  or  five 
rooms. 


174  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

The  next  year,  perhaps,  in  1836,  he  built  a  good,  substantial  carpenter  shop; 
and  a  substantial  two-story  frame  building  on  the  front  of  the  lot  and  on  the  line 
of  sidewalk.  This  building  contained  a  larg£  storeroom  on  the  first  floor  and 
two  large  living  rooms  above,  which  were  reached  by  a  stairway  on  the  outside 
of  the  building.  The  carpenter's  shop  was  situated  on  the  alley  between  Wash- 
ington and  Adams  streets  and  immediately  in  the  rear  of  what  is  now  the  Schnel- 
bacher  building,  but  across  the  alley,  being  between  Main  and  l-'ulton  streets.  This 
property  is  now  covered  with  business  houses  and  worth,  probably  $75,000. 

Daniel  Brestel  and  his  family  came  from  Pennsylvania  by  wagon  most  of  the 
way,  and  were  from  five  to  six  weeks  making  the  trip.  Upon  their  arrival,  being 
Methodists,  they  naturally  fell  in  with  that  people,  whom  they  found  at  that  time 
worshiping  in  the  old  log  court  house  on  the  bank  of  the  river  near  wdiere  the 
electric  light  plant  now  stands.  Stephen  R.  Beggs  tells  us  in  his  "Early  History 
of  the  West  and  Northwest,"  that  at  times  preachers  of  other  denominations 
occupied  the  court  house,  and  consequently  the  Methodists  were  compelled  to 
hold  services  in  the  houses  of  some  of  the  members.  After  Daniel  Brestel  built 
his  carpenter  shop  they  had  the  use  of  it  for  services,  and  it  was  there  and  not 
in  a  shop  on  the  alley  between  Washington  and  Water  street,  as  stated  in 
McCulloch's  history,  where  their  services  were  held. 

Samuel  Markley  was  also  a  carpenter  and  a  partner  of  Daniel  Brestel,  later 
Markley  built  a  house  and  lived  on  North  Adams  street,  about  where  number 
407  now  is.  A  front  part  was  built  on  since  his  death,  and  the  old  house  remains 
there  yet.     It  probably  belongs  to  a  grandson,  C.  M.  Comegys. 

Daniel  Brestel's  house  was  always  open  to  the  circuit  riders  and  Methodist 
preachers,  and  Peter  Cartwright,  Stephen  R.  Beggs,  Richard  Haney,  Henry 
Summers,  Jacoby,  of  Cincinnati,  and  Winebrenner,  of  Pennsylvania,  were  among 
his  guests. 

Born  and  raised  in  Pennsylvania  of  French  and  German  lineage,  Brestel 
was  able  to  read,  write  and  speak  English  and  German  equally  well,  and  was 
always  in  demand  to  serve  in  preaching  and  marriage  services,  especially  among 
the  Germans,  who  had  no  church  organization  of  any  kind  when  he  first  arrived. 
He  was  not  averse  to  preaching  the  gospel  to  the  colored  people  and  frequently 
rendered  such  services  for  them  in  a  schoolhouse  which  then  stood  on  Walnut 
street,  between  Adams  and  Washington  streets.  As  the  German  Methodists 
had  no  organization  here  then,  he  took  great  interest  in  them,  and  was  to  a 
large  degree  instrumental  in  organizing  the  German  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
and  was  a  member  of  their  first  board  of  trustees,  though  himself  a  member  of 
the  English  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  was  a  zealous  student  of  the  scrip- 
tures and  was  able  to  c|uote  almost  any  passage  he  might  be  asked  for,  or  if  he 
heard  a  quotation,  to  locate  the  book,  chapter  and  verse.  However,  not  content, 
and  desiring  to  lietter  understand  the  Bible,  he  studied  Greek  and  Hebrew  after 
he  was  fifty  years  of  age. 

In  184D,  about  which  time  Peoria  was  considered  a  thrifty  and  promising 
young  place,  there  came  from  Philadelphia  a  young  bricklayer,  James  Hazzard, 
by  name,  seeking  employment  at  his  trade  and  a  place  to  locate.  Being  a  Metho- 
dist he  became  acquainted  with  the  Brestel  family,  and  in  1842  was  married  to 
IMargaret,  the  second  daughter,  the  service  being  read  by  Rev.  Chauncey  Hobart, 
the  then  preacher  in  charge,  and  who  but  recently  died  in  Red  Wing,  ^linnesota, 
after  nearing  the  century  mark  in  years. 

An  interesting  fact  in  connection  with  this  family  and  the  Methodist  church 
is,  that  from  the  coming  of  Daniel  Brestel  in  1835,  when  he  became  connected 
with  the  church,  to  the  present  time,  there  has  been  continuous  service  upon  the 
official  board  of  some  Methodist  church,  by  some  member  of  the  family.  Daniel 
Brestel,  by  virtue  of  his  being  an  ordained  minister;  his  son-in-law  becoming  a 
member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  First  ^lethodisf  Episcopal  church;  a 
granflson,  first  for  about  three  years  a  steward  of  the  Second  church,  from 
which  he  transferred  to  Hale  Chapel  in  1868,  becoming  one  of  the  first  trustees, 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  175 

in  which  capacity  he  has  continued  ever  since ;  while  a  great  grandson  is  now, 
and  has  been  for  a  number  of  years  a  steward  and  treasurer  of  Hale  Memorial 
church,  a  continuous  period  of  more  than  seventy-six  years. 

In  1839,  the  lUinois  conference  held  its  session  at  I'.loomington,  and  at  that 
session,  Stephen  R.  Beggs  was  appointed  to  the  church  at  Peoria,  by  Bishop 
Morris.  .As  some  of  the  members  of  the  church  had  set  their  hearts  on  securing 
another  preacher,  a  relative  of  one  of  the  then  prominent  members,  Beggs'  recep- 
tion on  the  part  of  some  was  not  very  cordial,  in  fact  rather  discouraging,  but 
being  a  man  determined  to  do  his  duty  as  he  saw  it,  he  went  to  work  vigorously. 
He  made  his  first  appearance  Sabbath  morning.  He  says:  "Our  only  place  of 
worship  was  Brestel's"  (Beggs  incorrectly  spells  the  name  Bristol)  "carpenter 
shop,  and  there  I  preached  among  jackplanes  and  chisels."  He  took  his  first 
dinner  in  Peoria  with  Brestel's  family.  It  soon  became  so  that  the  carpenter 
shop  would  not  hold  the  people  who  came  to  the  services,  so  one  evening  Beggs 
pro|)osed  that  they  start  in  and  build  a  church.  As  is  always  the  case,  there 
were  doubtful  ones,  and  they  began  to  object.  The  period,  the  winter  of  1839-40, 
was  a  season  of  gloomy  aspect ;  money  was  hard  to  get,  and  so  the  prospect  was 
not  very  encouraging.  Furthermore,  it  seems  that  about  two  years  before,  an 
attempt  had  been  made  to  build  a  frame  church,  and  some  material  collected, 
but  a  reverend  brother  thinking  that  a  frame  church  would  be  out  of  keeping 
with  certain  ideas  of  dignity,  and,  possibly  pride,  discouraged  the  project,  insist- 
ing on  a  brick  church  or  none,  and  the  materials  collected  had  been  sold  and  the 
little  money  received  for  it  had  been  pocketed  by  a  Mr.  A. 

In  si)ite  of  all  the  discouraging  circumstances  and  conditions  and  in  face  of 
all  objections.  Beggs  insisted  that  a  frame  building  would  he  better  than  none 
and  carried  his  point.  .\  place  for  the  building  having  been  secured,  he  per- 
suaded some  of  the  men  to  take  their  axes  and  sleds,  go  into  the  timber  and  fell 
trees  and  haul  them  in  on  the  snow,  score  and  hew  the  timbers  for  sills  and  plates. 

Quite  a  number  fell  in  with  his  plans,  and  by  the  spring  of  1840  they  had  the 
hewn  timbers  ready,  r)eggs  having  made  a  "bee"  for  that  purpose.  He  went 
to  the  sawmills  and  begged  other  necessary  lumber  and  also  secured  bricks  in  the 
same  way.  One  Sabbath  he  invited  the  men,  as  many  as  would  assist,  to  be  on 
the  ground  the  next  morning  to  frame  the  timbers  so  that  they  might  have  the 
frame  raised  by  the  next  Saturday  evening.  Monday  morning  he  appointed 
Daniel  Brestel,  foreman,  and  the  men  who  came  were  set  to  work.  About  noon, 
however,  the  foreman  was  taken  sick  and  the  preacher  had  to  secure  another, 
which  he  did,  presumably  Samuel  Markley,  also  a  member  of  the  church.  At  the 
time  there  was  great  stagnation  and  work  was  scarce,  so  Beggs  went  about  the 
village  and  solicited  every  idle  man  he  met  to  go  and  assist,  which  many  did  will- 
ingly. He  found  some  masons  who  went  at  once  and  laid  the  foundation  walls, 
and  by  Saturday  evening  the  frame  of  the  first  Methodist  church  building  was 
raised.  Even  then  the  croakers  were  not  tiuieted  and  predicted  that  it  would  never 
go  any  farther ;  but  Beggs  was  of  a  diflierent  mind.  He  took  his  horse  and  buggy, 
and  started  out.  soliciting  one  dollar  or  more  from  every  man  he  met.  He  went 
as  far  as  .Alton,  St.  Louis  and  Belleville,  and  secured  sixty-five  dollars  in  all ;  his 
largest  subscription  being  twenty-five  dollars.  On  his  return,  he  again  went 
among  the  sawmills,  and  secured  donations  of  sheathing  and  flooring,  and 
Josiah  Fulton  having  given  a  large  oak  tree  which  was  made  up  into  shingles, 
he  soon  had  the  building  ready  for  plastering.  This  work  Leonard  L.  Loomis 
kindly  agreed  to  do  if  some  one  would  do  the  lathing.  Lathing  in  those  days  was 
done  by  taking  thin  sawed  boards,  generally  of  oak,  nailing  one  edge ;  then  split- 
ting with  a  hatchet  and  spreading,  and  nailing  again,  s])litting  and  s])reading 
and  nailing  until  the  board  covered  all  the  space  it  would,  and  then  repeating  the 
operation  until  all  the  walls  were  covered.  This  work  Beggs  found  men  to  do, 
and  Loomis  plastered  the  building. 

The  doors  and  winflows  were  gotten,  presumably,  with  the  money  raised  on 
the  southern  trip ;  and  with  temporary  seats  and  pulpit,  the  building  was  ready 


176  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

for  services,  with  less  than  ten  dollars  indebtedness,  the  total  money  cost  being 
something  over  $70.  This  building  was  erected  on  a  part  of  lot  ten,  block  thirty, 
original  town  of  Peoria,  being  72  feet  on  Madison  street  by  71  feet  on  Fulton 
street  at  the  west  corner,  opposite  the  present  city  hall. 

It  has  been  said  and  written  that  this  lot  was  donated  by  Asahel  Hale  and 
Alark  \l.  Aiken,  the  latter  a  member  of  the  church  at  that  time,  and  the  former 
becoming  so  later.  An  examination  of  the  records  of  deeds,  however,  does  not 
exactly  bear  this  out.  On  page  515,  Book  G  of  Transcribed  Record  of  Deeds 
in  Peoria  county,  is  the  transcript  of  the  deed  which  transfers  the  above  described 
part  of  lot  10  to  Mark  M.  Aiken  and  Asahel  Hale,  trustees,  which  explicitly  pre- 
scribes the  uses  and  purposes  for  which  it  is  to  be  used,  and  directs  that  it  shall 
descend  to  their  successors  in  office,  trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
This  deed  was  made  and  executed  by  one  William  Pierce,  and  the  consideration 
named  was  $500  in  coin.  This  amount  was  probably  fictitious,  as  the  lot  then 
was  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  and  lots  on  Adams  street  were  valued  less, 
many  years  later.  This  deed  is  dated  March  2,  1837,  acknowledged  before 
William  Mitchell,  notary  public  and  filed  for  record  March  3,  1837.  At  the  same 
time  Pierce  transferred  to  Hale  and  Aiken,  in  fee  simple,  the  balance  of  lot  10, 
block  30,  being  29  feet  on  Fulton  street  by  72  feet  on  the  alley,  consideration  $400. 

The  whole  transaction  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  plat  yz  feet  by  71  feet 
may  have  been  donated  to  the  church  by  William  Pierce,  probably  at  the  solicita- 
tion of  Asahel  Hale  and  Mark  M.  Aiken,  and  in  consideration  of  the  sale  of  the 
other  part  of  the  lot  to  them. 

There  is  no  deed  on  record  from  Mark  M.  Aiken  conveying  any  part  of  said 
lot  to  the  church,  but  he  conveyed  his  interest  in  the  other  part  of  lot  10  to  Asahel 
Hale,  and  on  page  six  hundred  and  twenty-three.  Book  Y  of  Record  of  Deeds, 
is  the  transcript  of  a  deed  from  Asahel  Hale  and  Laura  Hale,  his  wife,  to  George 
Wilkenson,  James  R.  Hazzard,  Samuel  B.  King.  Asahel  Hale,  Jesse  L.  Knowl- 
ton,  Joseph  J.  Thomas  and  John  Easton,  trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  transferring  part  of  lot  10,  being  50  feet  on  Fulton  street  by  71  feet  deep, 
commencing  71  feet  from  Madison  street,  for  a  consideration  of  $200.  This 
deed  is  dated  April  20,  1847,  and  was  acknowledged  before  William  H.  Fessen- 
den.  Justice  Peace.  April  30,  1847,  but  not  filed  for  record  until  June  23,  1851. 
The  provisions  in  this  deed  are  the  same  as  those  in  the  deed  from  Pierce  in  1837 
and  this  plat  was,  no  doubt,  donated  by  Asahel  Hale  and  Laura  Hale,  his  wife. 

Some  nine  years  after  the  erection  of  the  first  building,  which  had  been 
enlarged  in  the  meantime,  it  was  moved  to  one  side  to  make  way  for  the  erection 
of  a  large  brick  church ;  later  the  old  frame  building  was  moved  to  the  corner  of 
Harrison  and  Water  streets,  immediately  in  the  rear  of  the  board  of  trade  build- 
ing site,  and  became  part  of  a  hotel  owned  and  operated  by  James  AfcFadden; 
which  was  afterward  known  as  the  Central  House  and  operated  under  that  name 
many  years  by  John  Phillips.  Of  late  years  it  has  given  way  to  a  large  business 
establishment. 

Daniel  Brestel  died  in  November,  1859,  aged  sixty-six  years  and  his  remains 
lie  in  Springdale  cemetery.  Of  his  descendants  there  are  now  living,  one  daugh- 
ter, Mrs.  Elizabeth  Bowman,  living  at  Los  Gatos,  California,  aged  about  eighty- 
one  years;  seven  grand  children,  six  of  whom  live  in  Peoria  and  one  in  Lincoln, 
Nebraska ;  eighteen  great  grandchildren  and  about  as  many  great  great  grand- 
children.    The  late  Rev.  David  G.  Stouflr'er  was  a  nephew  of  Samuel  .Markley. 

When  Stephen  R.  Beggs  arrived  with  his  family  in  Peoria  in  the  fall  of  1839, 
the  only  house  he  could  obtain  was  an  old,  dilapidated  dwelling,  long  tenanted 
by  rats  and  vermin,  which  vigorously  contested  the  intrusion  for  several  months. 
One  time,  while  the  preacher  was  away,  Judge  George  B.  Parker,  not  then  a 
church  member  nor  even  a  professor  of  religion,  found  and  rented  a  good  com- 
fortable dwelling  and  moved  the  preacher's  family  in  before  he  returned. 

That  Daniel  Brestel  was  an  ordained  minister  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  he 
performed  many  marriage  ceremonies,  especially  for  German  couples.     W'e  have 


^si>^'' 'Vlii,,^  i\^^ii,\ 


1!K\'.    STKl'llKX     1!.    Hl-XJGS, 
Will)  as  |i:i>tiir  nl  tlii'  Mrtlioilist  Episcdpiil 
Cluiii'li    nt     I'mria.    Iiiiilt    tlie    first    ■'Metli- 
iiilisl     liu'i'lilif;    lliillsc." 


1;KV.   DANIKI.   I'.ltKSIKI, 
Came  to  I'enria  in  is:!.')  from  T'ciin- 
sylvaiiia.     First   prcaclicr  assigned  to 
preaeli     to     (icrmaii-spealiiiif.'     Mrtli 
odists,   1S4:i. 


KK\'.   ISAAC   KELLAR 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  177 

no  record  of  just  when  lie  was  ordained,  but  there  are  persons  living  who  know 
of  the  fact,  one  of  whom  is  Johnson  L.  Cole.  Joseph  F.  Hazzard  remembers 
of  his  performing  marriage  ceremonies.  Ira  E.  Benton  records  that  at  the 
quarterly  meeting  held  on  the  camp  ground  at  Ten-i\[ile  Creek,  in  Tazewell 
county,  August  19,  1843,  Daniel  lirestel  resigned  as  member  of  the  official  board 
to  begin  work  as  preacher  to  the  Ciermans  in  Tazewell  county. 

The  writer  had  the  privilege  of  meeting  and  entertaining  Stephen  R.  Beggs 
in  1868  and  at  that  time  obtained  from  him  a  copy  of  his  "Early  History"  just 
then  published. 

With  an  interest  engendered  by  family  connections  with  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church,  extending  into  three  centuries,  and  more  than  sixty  years  of  personal 
recollections ;  with  associations  and  memories  of  nearly  all  of  the  persons  and 
events,  it  has  been  the  intent  of  the  writer  to  give  in  a  concise  form,  historic 
facts  without  diversions  but  surely  the  names  of  such  arduous,  energetic,  self- 
sacrificing  men  as  Jesse  Walker,  Stephen  R.  Beggs,  Peter  Cartwright,  Henry 
Summers,  Richard  Haney,  John  Chandler,  the  generous,  far-sighted  .\sahel 
Hale,  the  willing,  ever-ready  carpenter-preacher,  Daniel  Brestel,  and  Samuel 
Tart,  for  many  years  a  class  leader,  with  many  others  mentioned,  ought  to  be 
known  and  held  in  reverence  by  all  'Methodists  in  the  city  and  county  of  Peoria. 

It  is  said  that  in  1840  Bishop  Beverly  Waugh  preached  in  the  new  church  and 
wrote  to  the  New  York  Christian  Advocate,  "The  Alethodists  of  Peoria  have  a 
new  church  building,  but  it  is  half  a  mile  from  the  village." 

FIRST    METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH 

The  building  erected  by  the  zeal  and  energy  of  Stephen  R.  Beggs  and  his 
willing  supporters  in  1840,  was  31  feet  by  40  feet  in  size.  In  1843,  the  work 
having  prospered  greatly  and  congregations  necessitating  more  room,  the  build- 
ing was  lengthened  by  the  addition  of  16  feet  to  the  rear.  In  1841  and  1842 
Rev.  Nathaniel  P.  Cunningham  was  pastor.  Rev.  Cuimingham  was  the  father 
of  Mrs.  J.  D.  ]\IcClure.  By  the  general  conference  of  1840  the  Illinois  conference 
w^as  again  divided  and  the  Rock  River  conference  formed.  According  to  assign- 
ments of  ministers  as  given  by  S.  R.  Beggs,  this  conference  included  a  large 
part  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  and  the  states  of  Iowa,  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota, 
and  enough  territory  was  included  in  one  presiding  elder's  district  to  form  two 
conferences  now. 

In  the  fall  of  1842  N.  P.  Cunningham  transferred  to  Chicago  and  was  as- 
signed to  the  church  there.  By  the  same  conference  Chauncey  Hol^art  was  sent 
to  the  church  at  Peoria  and  served  until  the  following  fall,  when  Richard  Haney 
succeeded  him.  Haney  was  a  giant  in  stature,  and  a  powerful  preacher,  who 
was  well  known  in  Peoria  by  many  of  the  present  generation.  John  Chandler 
was  the  pastor  in  1845-46.  In  the  latter  year,  the  congregation  was  incorporated 
and  James  Hazzard,  George  Wilkinson,  Samuel  B.  King,  Jesse  P.  Knowlton, 
Joseph  J.  Thomas,  John  Easton  and  Asahel  Hale  were  the  members  of  the  first 
board  of  trustees. 

In  the  fall  of  1846  Rev.  F.  A.  McNeal  was  appointed  to  the  church  and  in 
1847  N.  P.  Heath ;  Init  he  being  sent  oflf  on  a  financial  mission,  Rev.  McNeal  again 
served  the  people.  In  1848  and  1849  Silas  IjoIIcs  was  preacher  in  charge,  and 
it  was  under  his  administration  that  the  second  church  building  was  erected. 

The  little  frame  church  erected  by  S.  R.  Beggs,  after  having  been  enlarged 
had  again  been  outgrown,  and  the  congregations  demanded  more  room,  con- 
sequently, a  new  brick  building  60x90  feet  was  erected,  with  an  audience  room, 
which,  with  a  lobby,  covered  the  entire  second  floor,  a  lecture  room,  42x60  feet, 
and  several  class  rooms  in  the  basement.  This  building  was  very  plain.  The 
brickwork  was  done  by  Card  and  Hazzard,  and  it  is  thought  the  carpenter  work 
was  done  by  Thomas  &  Bain,  and  the  plastering  by  Loomis  &  Brown.  Finances 
being  short,  no  more  than  a  base  for  a  spire  was  ever  built,  and  so  remained 


178  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

until  May  13,  1858,  when  a  severe  hurricane,  which  passed  over  the  city,  partly 
unroofed  the  church  while  it  blew  the  spires  off  almost  every  other  church  in 
the  city. 

This  building  was  dedicated  in  September,  1849,  Bishop  Edmund  S.  Janes 
preaching  the  sermon.  The  building  had  a  gallery  over  the  lobby  so  that  the 
seating  capacity  was  the  entire  interior  size  of  the  building.  However,  with  the 
entering  into  the  new  building  an  innovation  was  introduced  and  musical  instru- 
ments, and  singers  were  installed  in  the  gallery.  The  instruments  were  a  bass 
viol  and  a  flute,  the  latter  of  which  was  played  by  Edgar  M.  Banvard,  and  the 
former  by  George  Thorpe,  as  near  as  can  be  ascertained. 

Of  the  members  of  the  choir,  the  following  names  have  been  obtained. 
Stark  R.  Reed.  Joseph  Brown,  Joseph  C.  Parker,  Edward  Story,  Mrs.  Louise 
Reed  and  Miss  Marie  Banvard,  sisters  of  E.  M.  Banvard;  Miss  Mary  Reed, 
daughter  of  S.  R.  Reed,  and  Miss  Mary  Brown,  daughter  of  Joseph  Brown ; 
and  Airs.  Leah  Benton.  Of  these  Edward  Story  is  the  only  one  of  whom  we 
have  any  information  at  present  time.  He  resides  with  his  wife  and  daughter 
at  212  West  Armstrong  avenue,  Peoria.  One  rather  comical  feature,  was  that 
when  the  congregation  arose  for  the  singing,  all  turned  their  backs  to  the  pulpit 
and  "faced  the  music." 

The  Rev.  Peter  Cartwright  was  a  rough,  uncouth,  plain-spoken  man  and  a 
powerful  preacher.  One  of  his  antagonisms  was  to  instrumental  music  in  the 
church.  It  is  said  that  at  one  time  when  about  to  open  services,  he  announced 
the  hymn,  and  read  it  as  was  customary,  and  casting  his  eyes  up,  he  saw  the 
bass  viol  and  said,  "You  will  now  please  fiddle  and  sing  the  hymn  as  announced." 

Edgar  M.  Banvard  was  about  this  time  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school, 
but  not  many  years  afterwards  left  for  California,  and  was  succeeded  by  Joseph 
Brown. 

In  1850  J.  C.  Parks  was  assigned  to  this  church,  and  he  was  followed  by 
C.  C.  Best,  who  also  was  reappointed  the  next  year. 

About  this  time  "The  Wesleyan  Seminary  of  Peoria"  was  started  and  a  lease 
secured  on  the  "Alitchell  House,"  which  had  been  built  by  William  Mitchell, 
former  county  clerk,  for  a  hotel,  but  which  was  not  a  success  in  that  capacity  and 
had  been  closed.  It  was  located  on  the  corner  of  Jefferson  avenue  and  Fulton 
street,  where  the  "Star"  office  and  two  or  three  other  business  buildings  are  now 
situated.  The  seminary  was  not  a  success,  and  the  building  was  afterward 
remodeled  and  opened  as  a  hotel,  under  the  name  of  "The  Massasoit  House," 
and  did  quite  a  business  for  some  time. 

About  this  time  William  Jones  taught  a  school  in  the  basement  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church.  Some  of  the  names,  remembered  of  scholars  who 
attended  that  school  are :  Henry  B.  Rouse.  Walter  P.  Colburn,  Edward  S.  Easton, 
Charles  Easton,  Edwin  C.  Ely.  Selby  Whittlesy,  a  cousin  of  Ely's,  Joseph  F. 
Hazzard,  Miss  Alice  Hill,  Emeline  Shelly,  now  the  widow  of  the  late  'Martin 
Kingman,  Mary  Mossman,  and  Virginia  Cunningham,  now  widow  of  Colonel  J.  D. 
McClure,  cousins. 

In  1852  and  1853,  J.  W.  Flower  was  pastor  and  during  his  pastorate  a  small 
mission  church,  known  as  Aloft'att  church,  was  built  on  lower  Adams  street, 
about  opposite  where  the  Barrett  Manufacturing  Company's  plant  is  now  located. 
This  was  used  as  a  mission  church  by  the  First  church  for  a  few  years  and  then 
discontinued.     In  1855  Caleb  Foster  was  appointed  to  the  church. 

The  general  conference  of  1856  having  divided  the  Rock  River  conference 
and  formed  the  Central  Illinois  conference  the  new  conference  held  its  first  ses- 
sion in  the  ]\Iethodist  Episcopal  church  in  Peoria,  beginning  September  19,  1856, 
being  presided  over  by  Bishop  Edmund  S.  Janes.  Since  that  time  six  other 
sessions  of  the  annual  conference  have  been  held  in  Peoria,  to-wit :  1871,  1886, 
1895.  igoo.  1905  and  the  last  session  held  in  Hale  ^Memorial  church,  commencing 
September  6,  191 1. 

By  the  conference  of   1856,  Rev.  William  H.  Hunter,  who  had  transferred 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  179 

from  the  Erie  conference  of  Pennsylvania,  was  appointed  to  the  Peoria  church. 
At  first  he  was  strongly  objected  to  by  some  on  account  of  his  pronounced  anti- 
slavery  proclivities,  but  the  events  of  the  next  few  years  wi])ed  out  all  such  objec- 
tions, and  \\'illiam  H.  Hunter  liecame  a  tower  of  strength  to  Methodism,  not 
only  in  Peoria  and  the  Central  Illinois  conference,  but  in  the  nation.  He  was 
several  times  elected  a  delegate  to  the  general  conference.  He  was  also  a  good 
business  man  and  financial  manager,  and  by  husbanding  the  very  small  allowances 
of  his  earlier  days  and  the  somewhat  more  liberal  income  of  later  years,  he 
accumulated  quite  an  amount  of  property.  He  was,  nevertheless,  of  a  liberal 
turn  of  mind,  and  quite  often  assisted  his  less  fortunate,  or  more  improvident, 
brethren  in  the  ministry,  as  well  as  giving  of  his  means  to  worthy  causes.  Almost 
at  the  commencement  of  Rev.  Hunter's  ministrations  to  the  church  here,  a  mis- 
sion Sunday  school  was  started  in  a  small  brick  building  on  North  Jefferson 
street,  which  stood  where  the  three-story  Ijrick  building,  the  "Annex"  to  the 
"liailie,"  now  stands.  This  building  was  formerly  the  Swedenborgian  church. 
It  had  also  been  used  for  a  private  school.  In  1857  George  R.  Parker  was  super- 
intendent, C.  Dunham,  secretary  and  James  Hazzard,  librarian  of  this  Sunday 
school.  Joseph  F.  Hazzard  has  in  his  possession  several  certificates  of  member- 
ship in  this  school,  issued  to  members  of  his  family  in  April,  1837.  However, 
prior  to  this,  proljably  in  1855  and  1856,  there  was  a  Sunday  school,  largely 
under  the  auspices  of  Methodist  people,  conducted  in  an  old  frame  building  which 
was  originally  a  foundry  and  had  afterwards  been  used  as  a  schoolhouse,  located 
on  the  northwest  side  of  Perry  avenue,  between  Fayette  and  Jackson  streets, 
and  which  belonged  to  George  C.  Greenwood.  In  this  Sunday  school,  Mrs.  Mary 
E.  Phenix  was  a  teacher,  and  Joseph  F.  Plazzard  and  the  girl  who  is  now  his  wife 
were  attendants.  About  the  time  of  the  opening  of  the  Sunday  school  in  the 
building  on  Jefferson  street,  the  school  on  Perry  avenue  ceased  to  exist,  and  a 
number  of  the  attendants  transferred  to  the  new  location.  A  feature  about  this 
new  .Sunday  school  was  that  the  library  books,  which  were  mostly  for  the 
younger  grade  of  children  were  kept  in  a  carpenter's  tool  chest,  loaned  by  Wil- 
liam Comegys.  ]\lilton  L.  Haney,  a  brother  of  Richard  Haney,  was  assigned  to 
Peoria  mission,  and  this  Sunday  school  formed  a  nucleus  from  which  he  or- 
ganized the  Second  Alethodist  Episcopal  cliurch,  whose  successor  is  Madison 
.Avenue  ]\Iethodist  Episcopal  church. 

In  1857,  R.  C.  Bolles  was  appointed  to  succeed  W.  H.  Hunter  and  he  in  turn 
was  succeeded  by  R.  C.  Rowley.  In  1859,  S.  G.  J.  Worthington,  one  of  the  grand 
old  men  of  the  Central  Illinois  conference,  and  father  of  Judge  Nicholas  E. 
Worthington.  was  appointed  to  the  First  church,  in  Peoria,  and  remained  till 
1862,  when  Rev.  J.  S.  Gumming,  a  son  of  Rev.  William  C.  Gumming,  who  was 
on  the  Peoria  circuit  in  1836,  followed.  It  is  said  that  it  was  during  Cumming'.s. 
time  that  the  first  organ,  what  was  known  as  a  parlor  organ,  was  installed  in  the 
church.  Also  at  this  time  the  first  camp  meeting  was  held  at  Oak  Hill,  and  a 
camp  meeting  has  been  held  there  annually  ever  since.  Rev.  Gumming  remained 
until  the  conference  of  1863  again  assigned  Rev.  Richard  Haney  to  the  charge, 
and  the  next  year  Rev.  G.  G.  Knowlton.  Rev.  Knowlton  was  re-appointed  but 
resigned  in  Fel^ruary,  1866.  and  James  Tubbs  supplied  until  the  conference  of 
1866.  which  appointed  -Andrew  Magee. 

I'.v  the  conference  of  1868.  J.  P.  Brooks  was  sent  and  in  the  fall  of  i86g,  J.  S. 
Gumming  again  was  assigned  to  the  work,  and  continued  tliis  time  for  three  years. 
In  1872  E.  Wasmuth  was  appointed.  He  remained  three  years.  In  1875  ''^^  ^• 
Morgan  came  for  a  three  years'  term,  and  was  followed  in  1878  by  Selah  W. 
Brown  for  two  years.  By  the  conference  of  1880  James  T.  McFarland,  now  in 
charge  of  the  Sunday  school  publication  of  the  jMethodist  Episcopal  church,  was 
assigned  as  pastor,  William  Hunter  as  assistant,  and  they  remained  two  years. 
This  brings  us  to  the  end  of  the  chapter  so  far  as  the  brick  church  building  of 
1849  is  concerned,  for  in  1S82  it  was  sold  and  the  next  year  aliandoned  for  church 
services. 


180  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

The  writer  has  thought  it  might  be  interesting  to  many  to  recall  the  names  of 
many  well  remembered  as  being  connected  with  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  and  its  activities  at  the  time  of,  and  immediately  following  its  dedication 
in  1849.  Among  those  best  remembered  are:  Daniel  Brestel  and  wife,  and  Eliza- 
beth Bowman,  their  daughter,  now  living  in  California,  where  she  has  been  since 
1853:  I'eter  S.  Shelly  and  wife;  Enoch  I'.  Sloan,  L.  Keyon,  Nathaniel  Curtiss 
and  family;  Leonard  L.  Loomis  and  wife;  James  llazzard  and  wife,  the  latter 
a  daughter  of  Daniel  Brestel;  Joseph  J.  Thomas  and  wife,  and  daughters,  Mrs. 
Leah  Benton  and  Miss  Mary  Thomas;  Samuel  B.  King  and  wife;  Samuel  Tart 
and  wife  and  daughter,  the  latter  afterwards  the  wife  of  Colonel  Chas.  H.  Deane ; 
Ira  E.  Benton  and  Caroline  Chandler,  who  afterwards  became  his  wife;  Jesse  L. 
Knowlton  and  wife;  Edward  D.  Shutts  and  wife;  I'ather  Bowen  and  wife; 
Father  Bunn  and  wife  and  J.  H.  Bunn ;  Wm.  Comegys  and  wife;  Mother  .]Mark- 
ley ;  Mother  Slough;  Dr.  J\Iossman;  Dr.  McNeal  and  wife;  Edgar  AI.  I'anvard 
and  wife;  Mother  Banvard  and  Mrs.  Lizzie  Sloan;  Mrs.  Louise  Reed  and  Miss 
Maria  Banvard,  her  daughters;  Nathan  Giles;  Wm.  Giles;  Columbus  Dunham; 
Asahel  Hale  and  wife,  the  latter  of  the  class  formed  in  1832 ;  Wm.  Hale,  the 
first  mayor  of  Peoria,  and  his  wife;  Henry  Story  and  wife,  parents  of  Edward 
and  F.  M.  Story  of  this  city;  Levi  B.  Gibson;  James  M.  Woodbury  and  wife; 
Mrs.  Cunningham,  widow  of  the  Rev.  N.  P.  Cunningham,  and  mother  of  Mrs. 
Colonel  J.  D.  AlcClure;  Stark  R.  Reed  and  family;  and  Clark  B.  Stebbins,  for 
many  years  a  justice  of  the  peace. 

By  the  conference  of  1882,  Rev.  J.  E.  Keene  was  appointed  to  the  First 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  during  his  incumbency  the  present  church  edifice 
at  the  junction  of  Fulton,  Franklin  and  Sixth  avenue  was  built.  Mr.  Keene 
was  quite  a  young  man,  at  that  time  being  only  twenty-eight  years  of  age.  He 
was  transferred  from  the  church  at  Kewanee.  When  he  arrived  here,  he  found 
that  the  old  church  building  had  been  sold,  and  the  congregation  was  worshiping 
in  what  was  known  as  "The  Old  Armory,"  at  the  east  corner  of  Madison  avenue 
and  Liberty  street.  This  latter  was  in  fact  built  as  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church  and  known  as  the  Glover  church  but  not  used  long  as  such.  Glover  was 
the  name  of  the  pastor  when  it  was  built. 

Mr.  Keene  found  that  the  lot  for  the  new  church  building  had  been  purchased, 
and  that  his  predecessor,  Rev.  James  T.  McFarland,  had  memoranda  of  some 
persons  who  had  promised  to  make  subscriptions.  Plans  had  also  been  prepared 
and  accepted,  so  that  he  started  in  at  once  to  get  the  subscription  in  more  tangible 
form,  and  of  sufficient  amount,  which  he  found  to  be  a  most  arduous  task.  In  the 
meantime  a  most  efficient  building  committee,  consisting  of  Isaac  Brown,  J.  H. 
Bunn,  and  H.  C.  Lines,  now  all  passed  to  their  reward,  proceeded  with  the  con- 
struction of  the  building,  with  James  P.ramble,  as  contractor.  But  the  building 
was  not  completed  until  the  fall  of  1884.  Mr.  Keene  preached  the  first  sermon 
in  the  unfinished  building  in  May,  1884,  but  it  was  not  dedicated,  according  to 
Ira  E.  Benton,  until  1S88,  when  Rev.  Peter  A.  Cool,  had  taken  charge.  The 
dedication  services  were  held  October  18,  1888,  the  dedicatory  sermon  being 
delivered  by  Bishop  Charles  H.  Fowler.  The  cost  of  the  building  including  site 
was  al)out  $35,000.  Several  years  after  the  building  was  completed  finding  that 
there  was  not  enough  seating  capacity,  it  was  remodeled  by  tearing  out  the  end 
walls  of  the  wings  of  the  transe])t,  and  extending  them  and  putting  in  galleries 
over  them. 

Rev.  George  W.  Gue  was  appointed  in  18S-I  and  served  the  church  three 
years,  being  succeeded  in  1887  by  Rev.  George  C.  Wilding,  who  remained  one 
year.  By  the  conference  of  1888  Rev.  P.  A.  Cool  was  appointed  to  the  church, 
and  reappointed  for  the  second  year,  being  followed  in  1890  by  Rev.  H.  D.  Clark, 
who  served  three  years. 

In  the  fall  of  1893  T.  W.  McYety  was  appointed  pastor  and  remained  three 
years;  Rev.  Nelson  G.  Lyons  coming  in  1897  and  serving  three  years,  being  fol- 
lowed in   1900  by  R.  E.  Buckey.     Since  that  time  the  pastors  have  been  Rev. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  181 

R.  Crewes,  Rev.  O.  T.  Dwinell,  Rev.  R.  A.  Brown  and  Rev.  W.  E  Shaw,  who  is 
now  serving  his  second  year. 

The  church  has  a  very  line  parsonage  property,  located  on  Hamilton  street 
between  Perry  and  Glendale  avenues.  The  building  is  a  substantial  brick,  built 
about  two  years  ago. 

The  report  to  the  last  ainiual  conference  gives  a  total  membership  in  the 
church  of  six  hundred  twenty-four;  in  the  Sunday  school  of  forty-three  officers 
and  teachers  and  five  hundred  twenty-two  scholars,  including  cradle  roll  and 
hon)e  department,  with  seventy-seven  members  of  the  Epworth  League. 

M.SDISON   .WENUE  CHURCH 

l!y  the  .session  of  the  Central  Illinois  conference  which  was  held  in  the  First 
.Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  i85(j,  .Milton  L.  Haney  was  appointed  to  "'Peoria 
Mission."  With  the  Sunday  school  which  had  been  started  in  the  old  Sweden- 
borgian  church  on  Jefferson  street,  where  the  ".Annex"  to  the  "Bailie"  now  stands, 
as  a  nucleus,  Haney  started  in  to  form  and  organize  a  church.  With  such  object 
in  view  he  proceeded  to  collect  funds,  and  leased  a  lot  from  William  E.  Robin- 
son, on  .Monroe  street,  near  what  was  then  called  Eaton  street,  but  now  Bryan 
street,  and  in  the  summer  of  1857  erected  thereon  a  plain  frame  building.  liaving 
secured  a  building  he  proceeded  to  organize  the  Second  Methodist  church,  with 
a  board  of  trustees  composed  of  Samuel  Tart,  William  Goklsborough,  Hugh  B. 
-McFall.  William  Thompson  and  Xelson  Green.  The  building  was  quite  primitive, 
heated  by  stoves,  and  lighted  at  first  by  lardoil  lamps,  which  were  later  super- 
seded b\-  camphene  bracket  lamps,  until  one  of  the  members,  |ohn  Lane,  a  year 
or  two  later,  installed  lamps  in  which  it  was  attempted  to  i)urn  a  dark,  foul  smell- 
ing Huid,  which  was  the  first  kerosene  oil  introduced,  and  so  poor  was  it,  that 
frequently  the  lights  would  go  out  and  leave  the  place  in  darkness.  Rev.  Daniel 
r.restel  and  Rev.  John  Borland  occasionally  preached  in  this  church. 

This  church  building  was  removed  in  1864  to  a  triangular  lot  at  the  west 
corner  of  Perry  and  Eaton  streets  which  adjoined  the  ^lasonic  cemetery  and 
again  removed  to  a  site  on  Jefferson  street,  on  the  north  corner  opposite  the 
Greeley  school  building,  b'rom  there  it  was  transferred  to  Madison  street,  near 
the  present  site  of  the  Aladison  avenue  church  and  is  now  retained  as  the  annex 
to  the  newer  building. 

Among  the  well  remembered  earlier  members  of  this  church  are  Rev.  James 
Hitchcock  and  wife;  Chas.  McFall,  wife  and  daughter;  Mrs.  William  Hughes; 
Miss  Mary  Hughes,  her  daughter,  now  Mrs.  Dr.  L.  B.  ^Martin;  Mrs.  Dr.  J.  W. 
Martin ;  George  C.  Babcock  and  wife  and  two  daughters,  one  of  whom  is  now 
Mrs.  Jennie  E.  Stouft'er,  the  very  efficient  truant  officer  of  the  school  board ; 
Mrs.  Mary  E.  Phenix  and  two  daughters;  Judge  George  B.  Parker  and  wife; 
Mrs.  Mary  .Stewardson ;  leather  and  r}iIother  Borland,  the  parents  of  James  and 
Robert  liorland  and  Mrs.  Janet  .Apple;  Joseph  (liles,  wife  and  two  daughters; 
and  a  little  later  Joseph  F.  Hazzard ;  John  Schleigh  and  wife;  Joshua  S.  Onstott ; 
Martha  Stewardson ;  and  Stephen  Martin.  Nelson  Green  and  his  wife,  Han- 
nah, and  Mother  Sturgis.  who  became  a  noted  army  nurse,  must  not  be  forgotten. 
Of  the  early  pastors  M.  L.  Haney.  who  was  appointed  to  the  Peoria  mission 
by  the  conference  of  1856,  was  appointed  to  the  Second  church  in  the  fall  of 
1857,  also  serving  a  church  in  South  Limestone  at  the  same  time. 

By  the  conference  of  1858,  R.  N.  Morse  was  appointed  to  this  charge  in 
Peoria  and  was  succeeded  by  George  R.  Palmer  in  the  fall  of  1859.  N.  C.  Lewis 
succeeded  George  R.  l^almer  and  remained  one  year.  By  the  conference  of  1861 
a  young  man  named  T.  W.  Stewart  was  assigned  to  this  church,  but  remained 
but  part  of  the  year,  when  he  raised  a  company  and  enlisted  in  the  army,  and 
Henry  Apple  was  secured  to  supply  the  place  and  reappointed  by  the  conference 
of  1862.  He  was  succeeded  by  Benjamin  .Applebee.  It  was  Rev.  .Applebee,  who, 
recognizing  the   folly  of  continuing  to  pay   rent   for  the  lot   on   Monroe   street 


182  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

went  energetically  to  work,  raised  money  and  purchased  a  triangular  lot  on  the 
west  corner  of  I'erry  and  Eaton  streets,  had  the  church  building  moved  onto  it 
and  put  in  repair. 

At  this  time  the  male  membership  of  the  church  was  greatly  decimated  by 
enlistments  in  the  army  and  there  were  but  few  left;  consequently  the  question 
of  finances  for  the  undertaking  was  quite  problematical ;  but  the  pastor  was 
equal  to  the  solving  of  it.  He  went  out  among  the  business  men  and  solicited 
funds,  even  going  to  saloon  keepers,  to  some  of  whom  he  said:  "Here,  you 
fellows  are  the  cause  of  the  necessity  of  churches  to  a  great  extent  and  it  is  no 
more  than  right  that  you  should  help  pay  the  expenses;  I  want  some  of  your 
money  for  this  work,"  and  he  usually  got  it.  Our  best  information  is  the  cost 
was  about  $i,ooo.  Benjamin  Applebee  died  February  22,  1897,  aged  nearly 
seventy-seven  years.  Rev.  John  Chandler,  one  of  the  staunch  old  time  ministers 
of  the  Methodist  church,  whose  home  was  in  Peoria,  succeeded  Applebee, 
remaining  in  charge  two  years. 

The  conference  of  i86b  assigned  Rev.  P.  A.  Crist  to  this  church  and  he  was 
succeeded  in  the  fall  of  1867  by  Rev.  H.  I.  Brown,  who  is  now  and  has  for  many 
years  been  a  resident  of  this  city.  By  the  conference  of  1868,  no  assignment  was 
made  to  the  Perry  street  church,  as  it  was  often  called,  but  Hale  Chapel  being 
then  in  the  course  of  construction.  Rev.  William  A.  Spencer  was  appointed  to 
Hale  Chapel,  which  was  as  yet  not  organized,  with  instructions  to  fill  the  pulpit 
at  the  Perry  street  church  until  the  organization  of  a  church  at  Hale  Chapel.  This 
he  did  and  when  later  his  work  was  transferred  to  Hale,  a  supply  for  the  Second 
church  was  found  by  the  presiding  elder. 

Henry  Apple  was  again  appointed  to  this  church  by  the  conference  of  1869. 
He  was  followed  by  Rev.  W.  B.  Frazelle,  for  one  year;  P.  A.  Crist  again,  for 
one  year.  The  latter  afterwards  removed  to  Washington  City  and  was  con- 
nected with  the  agriculture  and  other  departments  of  the  government  for  a 
number  of  years.  H.  J\I.  Laney  followed  for  one  year;  then  P.  A.  Cool,  who 
remained  two  years ;  then  George  F.  Merideth,  who  remained  three  years.  iMere- 
dith  was  a  young  man,  very  sensational,  and  drew  very  large  congregations,  but 
lasting  results  for  good,  from  his  pastorate,  have  not  been  very  apparent. 

In  1878  Frank  H.  Cumming,  a  son  of  the  venerable  and  revered  Rev.  Joseph 
S.  Cumming,  was  assigned  to  this  church  and  remained  three  years.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  J.  A.  Riason,  who  remained  one  year  and  in  the  fall  of  1882 
J.  W.  Frizelle,  the  present  district  superintendent  of  the  Kankakee  district,  was 
appointed  pastor  and  remained  three  years.  About  the  time  of  the  pastorate  of 
W.  B.  Frazelle,  the  church  building  was  moved  from  the  corner  af  Perry  and 
Eaton  streets  to  North  Jefferson  street  and  about  the  time  of  P.  A.  Cool's 
pastorate  the  building  was  transferred  to  the  present  location  of  the  ^Madison 
Avenue  church.  Captain  Wm.  A.  Hall,  became  a  member  of  the  church,  and 
Dr.  j.  H.  Wilkinson  took  a  great  interest  in  it.    They  were  strong  financial  backers. 

Succeeding  Rev.  J.  W.  Frizelle  came  Alexander  Smith  in  the  fall  of  1885, 
remaining  three  years.  It  was  Alexander  Smith  who  took  up  the  work  of  build- 
ing a  new  church  and  amid  many  discouragements  and  much  adverse  criticism 
pushed  the  project  to  completion,  which  resulted  in  the  present  building,  of  which 
the  original,  constructed  under  M.  L.  Haney  in  1857,  and  known  as  the  "church 
on  wheels."  is  a  part.  Alexander  Smith  is  the  present  district  superintendent 
of  Rock  Island  district. 

Following  Alexander  Smith  came  C.  W.  Ayling  in  the  fall  of  1888:  then 
Laughlin  McLean,  one  year;  then  D.  S.  McCown,  two  years;  A.  M.  Lumkin  in 
1892  for  one  year.  In  1893,  C.  W.  Green  supplied  the  church  three  months. 
About  January  i,  1894,  Rev.  E.  R.  Fulkerson,  a  missionary,  home  on  furlough 
from  Japan,  took  charge  of  the  church  and  remained  five  months.  He  was  a 
brother  of  the  wife  of  Rev.  J.  R.  Wolf,  then  pastor  of  Hale  Chapel,  and  it  was 
through  this  connection  that  he  came  to  Peoria.  He  returned  to  Japan,  in  the 
service  of  the  board  of  foreign  missions. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  183 

Wlien  E.  R.  Fulkeison  departed,  Rev.  D.  T.  Black,  a  local  preacher,  a  mem- 
ber of  Hale  Chapel,  and  a  very  successful  revivalist,  took  charge  for  the  remain- 
ing four  months,  till  the  meeting  of  the  conference  of  1894.  By  that  conference. 
Rev.  V.  Hunter  Brink  was  appointed  to  Madison  avenue,  and  then  reappointed, 
but  deciding  to  remove  from  the  jurisdiction  of  Central  Illinois  conference,  he 
only  served  one  half  of  the  conference  year,  and  was  followed  by  Rev.  W.  R. 
Watson,  who  remained  till  the  conference  of  1897,  appointed  Rev.  J.  A.  Chapman 
to  tile  charge.  Chapman  was  a  tine  preacher  and  very  popular  and  remained 
pastor  of  Aladison  Avenue  church  five  years.  After  Chapman  came  Douglas  for 
one  year;  W.  J.  Leach,  two  years;  Gilbert,  two  years;  J.  B.  Rutter,  one  year; 
J.  N.  Brown,  one  year,  and  the  present  pastor  Rev.  W.  D.  Evans,  for  two  years. 

In  the  early  days,  during  the  revival  meeting  it  was  not  considered  out  of 
place  for  the  worshippers  to  shout,  if  they  felt  like  it,  and  sometimes  quite  a 
good  many  felt  like  it,  and  indicated  it  pretty  loudly,  so  that  the  rough  element 
nicknamed  them  "The  Ranters,"  but  some  of  this  same  element  became  convinced 
of  the  error  of  their  ways  and  joined  these  same  "Ranters."  So  strong  were 
the  convictions  sometimes  that  persons  now  living  have  seen  some  fall  upon  tlie 
church  floor  as  in  a  trance  and  remain  so  for  a  long  time. 

The  report  to  the  last  session  of  the  Central  Illinois  conference  shows  this 
church  to  have  a  membership  of  two  hundred  fifty,  with  a  Sunday  school  of 
twenty-five  officers  and  teachers  and  two  hundred  sixty-six  scholars,  with  an 
F.pworth  League  of  sixty  members  and  with  church  property  valued  at  $8,000. 

HALE  CH.VPEL 

.-\sahel  Hale,  the  founder  of  Hale  Chapel,  was  born  in  Vermont,  December 
10,  1791.  He  and  his  wife,  Laura,  came  to  Peoria  in  1831.  and  she  being  a  Meth- 
odist, became  a  member  of  the  class  formed  by  Zadoc  Flail,  or  Joel  Arrington, 
in  1832  or  1833,  while  he  joined  the  Alethodist  Episcopal  church  in  1840.  He 
invested  in  a  large  body  of  land  lying  along  the  top  of  the  bluff,  practically 
extending  from  High  street  to  Elizabeth  street  and  from  Elizabeth  street  along 
High  street  and  Xorth  street,  as  they  are  now,  to  Chambers  avenue.  November 
26,  1861,  Asahel  Ilalc  made  his  will,  and  with  a  wisdom  and  foresight  quite  sur- 
prisin.g,  he  provided  for  the  erection  of  a  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  what 
was  destined  in  coming  years  to  be  one  of  the  best  parts  of  the  city  of  Peoria, 
and  upon  one  of  the  most  sightly  locations.  By  his  will  he  left  one  half  of  his 
estate  for  such  purposes,  and  at  his  death  which  occurred  March  23,  1864,  there 
was  turned  over  to  the  three  trustees  he  had  selected,  $11,530.54  to  carry  out 
his  wishes  in  this  regard.  The  trustees  whom  he  had  selected  were  William 
(iiles,  Ira  E.  Benton  and  Columbus  Dunham.  And  here  again  I\Ir.  Hale  dis]ilaved 
his  wisdom  and  sagacity,  for  three  more  upright,  conscientious  and  honorable 
men  could  not  have  been  chosen.  This  writer  was  personally  acquainted  with 
all  of  them.  They  were  all  members  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
as  was  also  Jesse  L.  Knowlton,  who  with  Laura  Flale,  the  wife  of  the  testator, 
were  executor  and  e.xecutrix,  respectively. 

The  moneys  left  for  the  church  were  partly  loaned,  so  that  not  until  the 
winter  of  1867-68,  did  the  trustees  of  the  will  decide  that  it  was  time  to  proceed 
with  the  building.  They  then  consulted  with  Joseph  F.  Hazzard,  junior  member 
of  the  building  firm  of  James  Hazzard  &  Son,  and  he  having  spent  some  time  in 
the  office  of  an  architect  in  Brooklyn,  New  York,  as  well  as  being  a  practical 
builder,  they  employed  him  to  make  plans  and  draw  up  specifications  for  the 
liroposed  Iniilding.  In  doing  this  he  was  guided  and  controlled  by  the  provisions 
of  the  will ;  for  Mr.  Hale  had  so  thoroughly  digested  the  matter  that  he  had  pro- 
vided that  the  building  should  be  a  plain,  substantial  brick  structure,  with  a 
basement,  Sunday  school  and  classrooms,  and  an  audience  room  above,  also 
that  the  church  should  be  provided  with  a  belfry  and  bell.  All  of  these  direc- 
tions were  explicitly  carried  out  and  a  very  neat,  substantial  and  commodious 
building,  40  by  70  feet,  erected. 


184  TTISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

At  that  time,  Henry  Grove,  a  very  eccentric  and  atheistic  lawyer,  owned  a 
large  tract  of  land  directly  across  Main  street  and  lived  there  in  a  one-story 
frame  cottage  which  remained  until  a  few  years  ago,  when  it  was  removed  to 
make  way  for  the  two  very  neat  brick  residences  now  occupying  the  site.  When 
the  drawings  for  the  church  were  completed  it  was  suggested  that,  as  a  matter  of 
courtesw  they  be  taken  and  shown  to  Henry  Grove,  which  was  done.  Grove 
looked  the  tloor  plans  and  elevations  over,  and  then  said:  "Well,  boys,  I've  always 
been  opposed  to  putting  a  church  on  that  corner,  but  I  guess  it  will  be  a  d — 
sight  better  for  old  Grove's  property  than  a  saloon ;  go  ahead." 

The  contract  for  the  building  was  let  to  James  Hazzard  &  Son  in  May,  1868, 
for  $11,500.  The  corner  stone  was  laid  June  22,  1868,  and  the  building  was  so 
far  completed  that  the  first  service  was  held  in  the  basement,  November  ist  of 
that  year. 

Some  two  years  previous  to  the  organization  of  Hale  Chapel,  D.  B.  Allen  had 
organized  a  Sunday  school  in  an  old  shop  on  Elizabeth  street  lietween  High  and 
Main  street,  which  had  grown  to  a  membership  of  about  on«  hundred  twenty- 
five,  and  this  school  was  at  once  transferred  to  the  new  church.  D.  B.  Allen, 
superintendent. 

The  building  was  dedicated  January  15,  1869.  Rev.  R.  M.  Hatfield,  then  of 
Chicago,  preaching  the  dedicatory  sermon.  The  church  was  organized  November 
8.  1868.  Among  the  first  members  were  Daniel  B.  Allen  and  wife;  Isaac  Evans 
and  wife;  Joseph  F.  Hazzard  and  wife;  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Phenix  and  Laura  E. 
Phenix;  Miss  .Mary  Cooper,  afterward  Mrs.  H.  N.  Frederick,  Mrs.  Laura  Hale, 
J.  G.  Sanson!  and 'wife;  H.  M.  Behymer  and  wife,  and  others,  of  whom  but 
three,  Isaac  Evans  and  J.  F.  Hazzard  and  wife  now  remain. 

The  first  board  of  trustees  consisted  of  Daniel  B.  Allen,  J.  G.  Sansom,  R.  B. 
\an  Petten,  Joseph  F.  Hazzard,  Isaac  Evans,  Jonathan  Haley,  and  H.  M.  Behy- 
mer, members  of  the  church;  and  as  the  polity  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
allowed  the  election  of  a  minority  of  the  board  from  non-members,  Henry  Grove 
and  Augustine  Greenwood  were  so  elected.  Greenwood  shortly  after  with  his 
wife,  became  a  member  of  the  church  but  Grove,  while  he  would  attend  the 
official  meetings  and  take  part  in  the  business  proceedings,  would  never  enter 
the  church  to  attend  a  religious  service,  though  his  wife  became  a  faithful  and 
useful  member.  And  withall.  Grove  was  a  very  useful  member  of  the  board  of 
trustees,  and  a  liberal  contributor  to  the  financial  necessities.  At  the  time  of 
the  dedication,  the  cost  of  furnishings,  bell,  etc.,  over  and  above  the  building 
contract,  necessitated  the  raising  of  some  money.  Previous  to  the  commence- 
ment of  the  services,  J.  F.  Hazzard  was  on  the  walk  in  front  of  the  church,  and 
Henry  Grove  coming  across  the  street  said:  "See  here,  young  fellow,  how  much 
money  is  needed  to  pay  up?"  The  reply  was:  "About  eighteen  hundred  dollars." 
Grove  said:  "Well,  you  tell  them  up  there,  that  old  Grove  thinks  he  ought  to 
pay  ten  per  cent  of  that."  So  one  hundred  eighty  dollars  was  subscribed  for 
Grove  and  he  paid  it.     William  Reynolds  and  wife  were  also  liberal  donors. 

The  Central  Illinois  conference'  at  its  session  in  1868  appointed  as  pastor  to 
Hale  Chapel,  William  A.  Spencer,  a  man  who  became  very  prominent  in  the 
church,  and  who  would,  had  he  lived,  no  doubt  have  been  one  of  the  bishops  ere 
this.  He  was  Hale  Chapel's  first  pastor,  and  Hale  Chapel  was  his  first  charge, 
and  he  remained  three  years,  the  full  limit  of  time  then  permitted  by  the  rules  of 
the  church.  He  became  very  popular  and  was  greatly  in  demand  for  exchanging 
with  other  pastors  of  the  city.  Henry  Grove  Ijecame  fond  of  him  personally,  and 
was  a  liberal  contributor  to  his  support,  but  not  through  the  church  treasury. 
Rev.  Spencer  was  married  just  as  he  came  to  take  charge  of  the  church,  and 
arriving  several  weeks  before  the  building  was  far  enough  along  to  hold  service 
in,  he  officiated  at  the  Second  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  to  which  no  pastor 
had  been  assigned  bv  the  conference,  until  Hale  Chapel  could  be  occupied.  To 
Rev.  and  Mrs.  Spencer  a  daughter  was  born  while  they  were  at  the  Hale  Chapel, 
and  was  named  Clarissa  Hale"  Spencer.     She  is  now  world's  general  secretary  of 


ASAHEL  HALE 
FouncU'i-  of  Hale  Chapel  and  doiiDi-  i.f  (iixf 
lot  for  First  .Aletliodist  Episcopal  i  liiiivli   in 
is:i7. 


-MliS.   LAIKA   HALE 
Wife    ,.f    Asalicd    Hale,    and    nii'inlier   of    the 
lirst     licimancril     .lass     of     (lie     Methodist 
Episcojial   (  liiiirh    ill    is:i2. 


OHICIXAL  HALE  CHAl'Ef. 

Uiidt    in    ISGS— Rennncd    in    HlOO — I'ar^nna^c   Iniill    in    1S72 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  185 

the  Young  Woman's  Christian  Association,  with  heack|uarters  in  London,  Eng- 
land.    She  served  a  number  of  years  as  a  missionary  in  Japan. 

Rev.  WilHam  A.  Spencer's  term  of  service  ended  in  the  fall  of  1871.  He 
afterwards  transferred  to  the  Rock  River  conference,  served  several  churches 
in  Chicago  and  became  presiding  elder  of  one  of  the  districts  of  that  conference. 
He  finally  removed  to  Philadelphia  and  became  general  secretary  of  the  Church 
Extension  Society,  which  position  he  held  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  a 
tine  singer  and  loved  to  sing,  "The  Ninety  and  Nine"  and  "Help  a  Little,"  playing 
iiis  own  accompaniment.     The  latter  hymn  was  his  own  composition. 

By  the  conference  of  1871,  Rev.  W.  C.  Knapp  was  appointed  to  Hale  Chapel, 
which,  under  the  administrations  of  William  A.  Spencer,  had  become  accounted 
as  one  of  the  best  appointments  in  the  conference. 

Quite  a  large  number  of  ]:)eople  had  come  into  the  church,  including  Patrick 
Galbraith  and  family,  A.  J.  White  and  wife.  H.  M.  Summers,  D.  C.  Holcomb  and 
wife,  Mrs.  Jane  Craig  and  her  daughter,  now  Mrs.  Eliza  S.  Bennett,  and  very 
many  more,  so  that  the  church  was  in  a  prosperous  condition.  About  the  time 
the  church  was  being  completed,  a  bell  having  been  purchased,  many  people 
living  in  that  part  of  the  city  began  to  ask  for  a  city  clock  in  the  belfry  of  Hale 
Chapel,  and  Daniel  B.  Allen.  Patrick  Galbraith  and  possibly  another  one  or  two 
soon  raised  the  money  and  purchased  and  installed  a  Howard  tower  clock  costing 
about  $600,  which  was  a  landmark  and  convenience  as  long  as  the  old  building 
remained.     It  was  during  Knapp's  pastorate  that  the  parsonage  was  built. 

Henry  Lirove  still  remained  on  the  board  of  trustees,  and  at  one  of  the 
meetings  he  said,  "Mr.  Hale's  will,  which  I  drew  up,  provided  that  if  the  church 
should  want  the  triangular  lot  on  the  south  side  of  the  church,  you  should  have 
it  for  four  hundred  dollars.  Better  take  it ;  I  will  pay  one  hundred  dollars  on 
it."  So  the  lot  was  purchased,  and  Rev.  Knapp  raised  the  means  to  build  a  six 
room  house,  which  was  done  w'hile  he  was  pastor.  Later  another  pastor  came 
with  more  of  a  family  and  D.  C.  Holcoinb  added  another  room  by  raising  the 
south  wing.  Still  later  other  additions  were  made  until  it  became  a  nine  room 
house.  Rev.  Knapp  remained  as  pastor  three  years.  Lie  is  still  living  and 
resides  at  Xornial,  Illinois. 

Rev.  C.  C.  Knowlton  was  assigned  to  Hale  Chapel  in  1874  and  served  two 
years.  He  was  followed  by  C.  W.  Ayling.  two  years.  R.  G.  Pearce,  one  year. 
His  health  failing  he  was  compelled  to  take  a  superannuate  relation,  and  has 
been  for  a  number  of  years  custom  officer  at  Rock  Island,  Illinois.  William 
McPheeters  succeeded  R.  G.  Pearce  and  remained  one  year. 

James  Haney,  son  of  the  veteran  Richard  Haney  was  appointed  in  1880  and 
he  was  succeeded  in  the  fall  of  1881  by  Rev.  C.  O.  McCulloch,  who  was  pastor 
two  years.  Rev.  W.  I"".  Wilson  came  next  and  was  well  liked  by  the  church 
people.     Rev.  M.  A.  Head  w'as  appointed  in  1885  and  served  two  years. 

h'or  several  years,  a  (|uartette,  consisting  of  Walter  L.  Cleveland,  Mary 
Cleveland,  his  sister,  William  J.  Steube  and  Emma  Steube,  his  sister,  had  charge 
of  the  singing,  .-\bout  three  years  later,  Walter  Cleveland  and  W.  J.  Steube  and 
wife,  who  had  been  Mary  Cleveland,  removed  to  Los  Angeles,  California.  Mrs. 
Steube  died  there,  and  \\'alter  L.  Cleveland  is  a  very  prominent  and  influential 
member  of  Boyle  Heights  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  Los  Angeles. 

Rev.  TuUis  succeeded  Rev.  Head  and  he  and  his  wife  were  very  popular, 
especially  witli  the  young  people,  a  great  many  of  the  latter  becoming  members 
of  the  church  during  his  pastorate,  which  lasted  four  years. 

John  R.  Wolf  succeeded  A.  K.  Tullis,  and  served  four  years  and  was  followed 
by  Rev.  D.  N.  Stafford.  About  a  year  and  a  half  later,  Stafford  went  to  New 
Jersey  and  Rev.  J.  H.  Batten  from  that  conference  took  his  place.  He  remained 
until  the  fall  of  1899.  He  has  since  gained  quite  a  reputation  in  the  northwest 
on  the  lecture  platform.  His  home  now  is  in  Grand  Forks,  North  Dakota.  His 
successor  was  Rev.  A.  Wirt  Lowther,  who  at  once  took  steps  toward  the  pro- 
curement of  a  new  church  building.     It  was  found  that  the  lot  to  the  south  of 


186  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

the  church,  wliicli  had  been  purchased  and  used  for  parsonage  purposes,  could 
be  sold  and  that  sufficient  room  for  the  residence  building  could  be  found  on  the 
church  lot,  west  of  the  church  building.  Consequently,  the  old  parsonage  was 
moved,  and  entirely  remodelled  and  the  lot  disposed  of  to  Dr.  J.  C.  Roberts. 
The  remodeling  of  the  house  cost  about  $1,900.  In  the  meantime  a  building 
committee  was  selected  which  proceeded  to  secure  plans  for  a  new  church  build- 
ing. The  contract  for  the  erection  of  the  same  was  let  to  Harrison  Johns,  of 
Ohio,  in  the  spring  of  1900,  and  gave  satisfaction  to  all.  The  farewell  service  in 
the  old  chapel  was  held  April  i,  1900,  attended  by  several  former  pastors  and 
many  former  members  of  the  church. 

H.\LE   MEMORI.\L    METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

The  contractor  for  the  erection  of  the  new  building  purchased  the. old  one, 
and  at  once  commenced  to  wreck  it.  This  accomplished,  he  immediately  pro- 
ceeded with  the  erection  of  the  new  church  building.  The  corner  stone  was 
laid  September  20,  1900,  by  Bishop  Ninde,  assisted  by  Bishop  Hartzell  and  Rev. 
W.  A.  Spencer.  Mr.  Johns  had  the  building  ready  for  the  decorative  work 
early  in  the  spring  of  1901.  The  decorating  (art  glass  work,  painting  and  fres- 
coing) was  done  by  U.  C.  Grooms,  then  a  member  of  the  church.  The  building 
was  completed  and  dedicated  June  13,  1901,  Bishop  Charles  H.  Fowler  preach- 
ing the  dedicatory  sermon,  J.  \V.  Powell,  of  Buffalo,  New  York,  had  charge  of 
the  finances.  The  amount  subscribed  at  that  time  was  something  over  $11,000. 
The  total  cost  of  church  and  furnishings  was  about  $43,000. 

The  pastors  who  have  served  Hale  Memorial  church  are :  A.  Wirt  Lowther, 
till  the  fall  of  1903:  Rev.  A.  M.  Stocking,  fall  of  1903  to  the  fall  of  1906;  then 
Rev.  W.  B.  Shoop  for  three  years.  Up  until  the  time  of  Rev.  Shoop's  pastor.^te 
the  only  organ  in  the  church  was  a  reed  organ,  and  in  the  Sunday  school  a  piano, 
the  gift  of  Mark  D.  Bachelder,  was  in  use.  In  the  second  year  of  Rev.  Shoop's 
pastorate  he  got  into  correspondence  with  the  secretary  of  Andrew  Carnegie, 
which  resulted  in  the  placing  in  the  church  of  the  very  sweet-toned  organ  now  in 
use,  Mr.  Carnegie  paying  one-half  the  net  cost  of  the  instrument,  while  the 
church  membership  paid  the  other  half  and  also  for  the  necessary  changes  in  the 
organ  loft  and  rostrum.  The  cost  of  the  instrument  was  about  $1,875  ^"d  the 
total  cost  about  $2,200. 

The  present  pastor,  Rev.  Sanford  P.  Archer  was  assigned  to  the  church  by 
the  conference  of  1909. 

It  was  the  privilege  of  Hale  Memorial  church  to  entertain  the  fifty-sixth 
session  of  the  Central  Illinois  conference  held  September  6  to  11,  1911.  The 
program  and  entertainment  were  pronounced  as  never  excelled  in  the  history  of 
the  conference. 

The  body  of  Asahel  Hale,  the  founder  of  Hale  chapel  and  for  whom  Hale 
church  is  a  memorial,  lies  buried  in  a  little  cemetery  in  Kickapoo  township,  just 
above  Pottstown,  where  he  and  his  brother  had  donated  land  and  built  a  little 
church,  when  they,  with  George  G.  Greenwood,  operated  a  mill  there,  which  is 
still  remembered  as  Hale's  Mill. 

WESLEY    CHURCH 

In  the  summer  of  1870  Jesse  L.  Knowlton,  a  merchant,  whose  place  of  busi- 
ness was  near  the  corner  of  Water  and  Liberty  streets,  opposite  where  the 
Chicago,  Rock  Island  and  Peoria  station  now  stands,  a  member  of  the  First 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  recognizing  the  need  for  a  Protestant  Sunday  school 
in  the  then  extreme  lower  end  of  the  city,  purchased  two  lots,  numbers  11  and 
12,  in  block  18  of  Curtenius  &  Griswold's  subdivision,  and  at  once  erected 
thereon  a  small  building. 

The  Rev.  Joseph  S.  Gumming  was  appointed  by  the  session  of  the  Central 


1!K\'.   WIIJ.IA.M    A.   SI'KXCKK 
First     l':is|()i-    1,1     Ihili'    (  li:i|icl.    Mctlioilist     lOpisnijial    Clnin-li.     I'cciriii,    in     IsiiS-im-TI) 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  187 

Illinois  conference,  in  the  fall  of  1870,  to  the  pastorate  of  the  First  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  On  the  4th  day  of  December  of  that  year  he,  accompanied 
by  a  number  of  members  of  the  First  church  and  some  Presbyterians,  among 
whom  was  the  late  William  Reynolds,  went  to  Knowlton's  little  church,  which 
he  had  called  Wesley  Mission,  and  dedicated  it.  The  next  Sunday  a  school  was 
organized  with  Jesse  L.  Knowlton  as  superintendent.  Rev.  Gumming  attended 
at  three  o'clock  Sabbath  afternoons  and  often  preached.  In  1871  he  held  meet- 
ings every  evening  for  three  weeks,  having  about  twenty-five  conversions.  With 
these  and  about  ten  members  of  the  First  church,  a  society  was  organized  which 
.was  the  origin  of  \\'esley  church. 

The  building  erected  by  Knowlton  was  a  low,  L-shape  building,  built  with 
the  idea  of  accommodating  a  mission  Sunday  school.  July  24,  1878,  the  lots 
were  deeded  to  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  church  by  M.  Griswold. '  In  1883 
Rev.  George  J.  Luckey,  then  presiding  elder  of  the  Peoria  district,  secured  John 
W.  Dieffendorf,  a  local  preacher,  then  living  on  a  farm,  to  come  to  Peoria  and 
undertake  the  task  of  raising  the  means  and  building  a  more  commodious  church 
building. 

DietYendorf  made  a  success  of  the  church  enterprise  and  was  in  charge 
a  little  less  than  three  years.  Succeeding  Dieffendorf,  the  following  pastors 
have  served  this  church:  David  Tasker,  two  years;  W.  P.  Ferguson,  one  year; 
W.  W.  Carr,  two  years;  James  Johnson,  about  one  and  a  half  years;  and  G. 
M.  Webber,  six  months  as  a  supply.  In  the  fall  of  1893  David  B.  Johnson  was 
assigned  to  this  church  and  remained  three  years.  He  was  succeeded  by  the 
late  Rev.  J.  P..  Dille  for  about  one  year;  and  then  came  G.  M.  Boswell,  who  re- 
mained two  years;  Rev.  E.  H.  Alford  followed  and  served  three  years;  A.  C. 
Kelly,  one  year;  Alfred  Dixon,  three  years.  Rev.  R.  li.  Figgins  two  years; 
Charles  Fitzhenry  as  a  supply  less  than  a  year;  Henry  T.  Shook  two  months. 
Commencing  September,  1909,  Isaac  Woodrow,  two  years  and  he  was  succeeded 
by  the  present  pastor,  F.  E.  Ball,  who  also  serves  the  Mossville  church. 

The  report  of  the  conference  of  191 1  showed  that  these  churches  were  quite 
prosperous.  Membership,  including  thirteen  probationers,  two  hundred  sixty- 
five  ;  Sunday  school  officers  and  teachers,  twenty-five ;  scholars,  three  hundred 
fifty-nine;  an  Epworth  League  of  fifty-six  members  and  a  Junior  League  of 
forty-three.  Two  churches  were  reported  valued  at  $9,200  and  one  parsonage 
valued  at  $1,600,  which  belongs  to  the  congregation  of  Wesley  church. 

GRACE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

In  1896  some  of  the  members  of  the  Hale  Memorial  church  who  lived  in 
what  is  now  the  extreme  northwest  corner  of  the  city  near  the  corner  of  Uni- 
versity street  and  Knoxville  road,  believing  that  a  Methodist  church  could  be 
maintained  in  that  neighborhood,  being  joined  by  a  few  from  the  First  Methodist 
E])iscopal  church,  on  the  evening  of  the  nth  of  December  of  that  year,  formed  an 
organization  by  electing  as  trustees,  Henry  Apple,  J.  E.  Sherwood,  James  Flan- 
agan, W.  E.  Hack  and  Mr.  Miller,  and  as  stewards  Sisters  Sherwood,  Hack, 
Apple,  Flanagan,  Peters,  Neff  and  Mable  Nelson,  and  J.  E.  Sherwood  as  super- 
intendent of  the  Sunday  school.  Rev.  W.  F.  Merrill  was  presiding  elder  and 
lie  secured  J.  F.  Bliss  to  act  as  pastor. 

At  the  present  time  O.  T.  Dwinel!  is  district  superintendent  and  Rev.  Black- 
man,  pastor.  This  church  reported  to  the  conference  of  191 1:  Membershi]i. 
sixty-nine ;  Sunday  school,  teachers  and  officers,  sixteen ;  scholars,  one  hundred 
sixty-three ;  church  property,  $3,000. 

The  church  is  now  prosperous,  with  everything  paid  up  to  date  and  money 
in  the  treasury  and  its  members  are  contemplating  improvements  in  the  way  of 
a  basement  and  an  extension  of  the  wing  to  better  accommodate  their  increasing 
Sunday  school. 


188  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

FIRST    GERMAN     METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH 

On  August  19,  1843,  Daniel  Brestel  resigned  his  membership  on  the  official 
l)oard  of  the  First  RIcthodist  Episcopal  church  to  accept  the  appointment  as 
preacher  to  the  German  people,  principally  in  Tazewell  county,  a  German  mission 
having  been  formed.  The  assignment  was  probably  made  by  the  conference 
of  1843,  the  session  of  which  was  then  at  hand.  He  probably  preached  the  first 
sermons  in  the  German  language  in  Peoria  and  Tazewell  counties. 

In  September,  185 1,  several  German  Methodist  families  moving  from  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio,  to  Peoria,  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  a  German  Methodist 
Fpiscopal  church  here,  H.  F.  Koeneke  being  pastor.  Especially  active  in  this 
direction  were  the  Oechsle,  Venneman  and  lluehner  families,  all  of  whom  the 
present  writer  remembers  well.  The  initial  meetings  were  lield  in  a  schoolhouse 
on  the  west  side  of  Monson  street,  just  south  of  Fifth  (the  Hinman  schoolhouse, 
where  Bob  Burdette  was  a  scholar).  A  German  Methodist  Episcopal  Sunday 
school  was  organized  here,  and  as  a  result  of  this,  and  preaching  services,  Casper 
Westemeyer,  Herman  Albrecht,  H.  Ludwig  and  others  were  brought  under  the 
influence  of  the  gospel,  and  became  pillars  in  the  church.  After  little  more  than 
two  years  of  successful  laljor  the  first  church  building  was  erected  at  the  corner 
of  Fifth  and  Monson  streets,  which  was  completed  in  1854,  Frederich  Fiegen- 
baum  and  F.  M.  Winkler  being  each  a  part  of  the  time  pastor.  The  dedicatory 
sermon  was  delivered  by  Rev.  G.  L.  Mulfinger.  The  site  is  now  occupied  by 
the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Several  years  later,  during  the  pas- 
torate of  William  Zuppan,  this  first  church  was  sold  and  the  congregation  leased, 
temporarily,  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  building,  located  at  the  east 
corner  of  Madison  and  Liberty  streets.  Here  the  centennial  jubilee  of  ]\Iethodism 
was  celebrated  in  1866.  A  short  time  later  the  congregation  purchased  a  lot 
at  the  corner  of  South  Adams  and  Chestnut  streets  for  $3,500,  and  erected 
thereon  a  two-story  frame  church  building,  at  a  cost  of- $7,000,  under  the  pastor- 
ate of  Rev.  C.  Schneider.  This  building  is  still  standing,  being  used  at  present 
by  the  Salvation  Army,  and  formerly  by  a  German  singing  society.  A  stirring 
revival  took  place  in  this  church,  during  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  M.  Roeder.  Under 
Rev.  Chas.  Becker  a  mission  chapel  was  built  on  the  triangular  plot  at  the  head 
of  Cedar  street  near  the  Webster  school,  where  Sunday  school  and  preaching 
were  held  for  a  tuimber  of  years ;  the  property  then  being  sold,  and  the  proceeds 
applied  on  a  new  Mission  church  on  the  corner  of  Sanger  street  and  Oakland 
avenue,  wdiere  is  now  an  active  congregation.  The  old  mission  church  at  the 
head  of  Cedar  street  was  transformed  into  a  dwelling  which  still  stands  in  the 
same  location. 

During  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  W.  H.  Traeger,  another  notable  revival  oc- 
curred in  the  Chestnut  street  church.  A  frame  parsonage,  fronting  on  Adams 
street,  and  costing  $1,700,  was  erected  on  the  church  property  during  his  term 
of  service.  The  congregation  having  outgrown  the  capacity  of  this  building, 
plans  were  made  for  obtaining  larger  quarters  m  a  more  suitable  location  and, 
in  the  following  pastorate  of  Rev.  E.  E.  Hertzler,  the  property  corner  of  Fifth 
and  Sanford  streets  was  purchased  and  the  present  church  edifice  erected,  repre- 
senting an  outlay  of  $20,000.  Previous  to  this  mission,  .Sunday  schools  were 
conducted  for  a  time,  one  in  the  north  end  of  the  city  by  Herman  Albrecht,  and 
another  in  the  lower  end,  on  Garden  street,  l)y  Brethren  George  E.  Green  and 
Jacob  Hoffmann. 

During  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  C.  A.  C.  Achard,  a  sweeping  revival  took  place, 
conducted  by   Evangelist   Flilmer. 

In  May,  1903,  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  church  was  celebrated  with  an 
apjiropriate  series  of  meetings,  concluding  with  the  dual  celebration  of  the  two- 
hunrlrcdth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  John  Wesley  and  the  semi-centennial 
of  the  foumling  of  the  congregation,  by  a  union  service  in  the  I-'irst  'Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  corner  Sixth  and  Franklin  streets,  on  Sunday  evening.   May 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  189 

10.  1903,  which  was  addressed  (in  English)  by  Dr.  George  R.  Addicks  (now 
deceased),  then  president  of  Central  Wesleyan  College,  VVarrenton,  Alissouri, 
his  theme  lieing  "John  Wesley  and  his  times." 

The  following  pastors  have  served  this  church : 

Henry  F.  Koeneke,  1851  to  1852;  Christian  Koeller,  1852  to  1853;  Friederich 
Fiegenbaum,  1853  ^'^  i'^54;  F-  ^I-  Winkler,  1854  to  1855;  R.  Fickenscher,  asst., 
1855  to  1856:  Christian  Holl.  1856  to  1857;  H.  F.  Koeneke,  1857  to  1858;  John 
Haas,  185S  to  1859;  Jacob  Young,  1839  to  1861 ;  A.  F.  Korfhage.  1861  to  1862; 
Chas.  Holtkanip,  1862  to  1865;  Wilhelm  Zuppan,  1865  to  1866;  Karl  Schneider, 
1866  to  i8fi8;  Heinrick  Thomas,  1868  to  1871  ;  Fleinrick  Lahrmann,  1871  to  1872; 
Tulius  Franz.  1872  to  1874;  Gerhard  Tinken,  1874  to  1877;  Michael  Roeder, 
"1877  to  1880;  Phillipp  Kuhl.  1880  to  1881;  Chas.  G.  Becker,  1881  to  1884; 
William  H.  Traeger.  1884  to  1887 ;  E.  E.  Hertzler,  1887  to  1891 ;  C.  A.  C.  Achard. 
1891  to  1894:  Wilhelm  Balcke,  1894  to  1897;  J.  L.  J.  Earth,  1897  to  1900 ;  William 
H.  Schwiering,  1900  to  1904;  E.  C.  Margaret,  1904  to  1909;  William  H.  Schwier- 
ing,   1909  to  1910:  E.  H.  Muelder,  1910  and  the  present  pastor. 

Church  membership  about  one  hundred  sixty;  Sundav  school,  fifteen  officers 
and  teachers,  and  one  hundred  twenty  scholars.  This  church  owns  a  parsonage 
property  adjoining  the  church,  valued  at  about  $4,000. 

The  German  churches  are  not  connected  with  the  Central  Illinois  conference, 
but  are  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  St.  Louis  conference  of  the  German  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church. 

The  mission  church  heretofore  referred  to  at  the  corner  of  Sanger  street 
and  Oakland  avenue  is  known  as  the  Sanger  Street  German  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  The  organization  dates  from  February  3,  1889.  The  church  edifice  is 
a  very  neat,  tasty,  little  building  and  there  also  is  a  very  comfortable  parsonage 
on  the  same  lot,  tiie  whole  being  worth,  probably  $8,000  to  $10,000. 

The  pastors  have  been :  G.  Schuch,  C.  W.  Hertzler,  L.  Hermann  Kosiski,  G. 
L.  Zocher,  Karl  Buch  and  II.  Schlueter,  the  present  pastor.  This  pastor  also 
serves  a  mission  church  in  Jubilee. 

TlIK   .\FRIC.\N    METHODIST    EPISCGP.XL    CHLIRCH W.ARD    CH.\PEL 

Thus  church  was  organized  in  the  year  1846  by  Rev.  Philip  Ward,  of  Bloom- 
ington,  with  ten  memiiers.  William  Gray  (commonly  known  as  "Uncle  Billy''), 
was  local  preacher,  class  leader,  steward  and  a  great  deal  of  the  time  janitor,  all 
in  one.  "Uncle  Billy"  was  a  good  man,  and  quite  a  gentleman.  He  was  also 
very  industrious.  At  first  these  people,  like  others  of  their  day,  held  their 
meetings  in  the  homes  of  the  members  and  friends ;  then  they  rented  a  small 
schoolhouse  on  Walnut  street  below  Adams,  where  their  meetings  were  held 
until  1848,  when  they  transferred  to  the  schoolhouse  on  Monson  street  between 
Fourth  and  Fifth  streets,  known  as  the  Hinman  school.  This  school  was  on  the 
site  now  occupied  by  the   Heneberry   Apartment   building. 

In  1850  they  were  compelled  to  find  new  ciuarters.  and  for  some  time  again 
held  their  meetings  at  the  homes  of  their  members.  About  this  time  a  circuit 
was  organized,  composed  of  the  churches  of  Peoria,  I'llooniingtonand  Galesburg, 
with  Rev.  William  Brooks  as  pastor,  William  Gray  still  being  local  preacher  and 
class  leader. 

In  1853,  Rev.  William  J.  Davis  was  appointed  to  this  charge  and  proved  to  be 
quite  an  energetic  and  acceptable  pastor :  a  small  frame  church  on  Chestnut 
street,  above  .\dams,  was  bought,  and  answered  their  purposes  until  i8(56,  when 
they  purchased  the  little  brick,  at  the  corner  of  l-'ifth  and  .Monson  streets,  from 
the  German  Methodists. 

In  the  early  days  of  their  e.xistence,  it  sometiiues  happened  that  these  people 
could  not  at  all  times  secure  the  services  of  a  preacher  of  their  own  people, 
and  under  such  circumstances,  Daniel  Brestel,  the  carpenter-preacher  of  the 
First  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  would  fretiuently  preach  to  them. 


190  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

This  congregation  purchased  the  Httle  brick  church  on  Fifth  and  Monson 
streets  for  $2,600.  In  1889  the  old  building  was  torn  down  and  a  more  modern 
and  commodious  building  erected.  The  building  is  still  in  use  by  them.  The 
following  pastors  have  served  them.  In  1856,  Rev.  A.  T.  Hall;  1857,  Rev.  J. 
Mitcheni;  1858.  Rev.  William  J.  Done;  Rev.  Mitchem  reappointed  for  1859. 
In  1866,  when  the  little  church  was  purchased  from  the  German  ^lethodists  Rev. 
Alyers  was  pastor.  The  following  are  without  dates:  A.  T.  Hall,  Nathan  Mitchem, 
T.  I'erkins,  James  Semis,  1.  M.  Perkins,  H.  Brown,  M.  M.  Becklev,  George  H. 
Hand,  A.  W.  White,  J.  W.  Daneson,  Henry  Simmons,  T.  A.  Clark,  A.  J.  Mc- 
Cracken,  Jesse  Woods,  B.  M.  Lewis,  J.  W.  Wilkerson,  Charles  Sheen,  S.  J. 
Johnson,  S.  A.  Hardison  and  H.  W.  Jamieson  the  immediate  predecessor  of  the 
present  pastor  Rev.  J.  T.  Morrow. 

Number  of  members,  one  hundred  thirty-four.  Sunday  school  officers,  seven; 
teachers  seven  and  scholars  one  hundred  twelve. 

THE    FREE    METHODIST    CHURCH 

In  the  fall  of  1880,  William  A.  Huston  and  his  wife  Mary,  members  of  the 
Free  Methodist  church  of  Paxton,  Illinois,  removed  to  Peoria,  at  which  time 
there  was  no  organization  of  that  church  here,  and  they  were  the  only  members. 
They  commenced  holding  neighborhood  prayer  meetings  in  the  home  of  the 
people  and  seeing  good  results,  and  securing  a  number  of  conversions,  they 
were  encouraged  to  send  for  Rev.  William  Manley,  chairman  of  the  Galva  dis- 
trict of  the  Illinois  conference  of  their  church,  who  came  in  the  month  of 
December,  1881,  and  held  a  ten  days'  revival  meeting,  which  resulted  in  the 
organization  of  the  Peoria  society  in  the  building  known  as  the  Olivet  Mission, 
on  Walnut  street,  between  Washington  and  Adams  street,  which  had  formerly 
been  Calvary  Presbyterian  mission,  and  at  which  place  the  late  William  Reynolds 
had  for  many  years  conducted  a  Sunday  school.  The  society  was  organized 
December  29,  1881,  with  the  following  six  charter  members:  \Vm.  A.  Huston, 
Mary  E.  Huston,  Jonathan  Haley,  Belle  Orr,  Eliza  Ward  and  Cynthia  ^Morris. 

In  1882,  Revs.  W.  G.  Hanmer,  William  Kelsey  and  P.  C.  Hanna,  held  a 
series  of  revival  meetings  in  the  Mission  building  on  Walnut  street,  which  re- 
sulted in  an  addition  of  fifty  members.  William  A.  Huston  was  the  first  class 
leader,  and  has  served  continuously  in  that  capacity  to  the  present  date, — a  period 
of  more  than  thirty  years. 

Rev.  Manle}',  who  organized  the  church,  has  passed  away.  William  Kelsey 
is  now  pastor  of  the  Englewood  Episcopal  -Methodist  church,  Chicago,  and  P.  C. 
Hanna  is  the  United  States  minister  plenipotentiary  to  the  Republic  of  Mexico. 

The  organization  of  the  Free  Methodist  church  is  very  similar  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  including  the  itineracy;  consequently, 
pastoral  changes  are  frecjuent. 

The  following  pastors  have  served  this  church:  Rev.  J.  D.  ]\Iarsh,  1882-84; 
G.  W.  Whittington,  1884-85;  F.  A.  Arnold,  1885-86;  Jaiiies  Sprague,  1886-87; 
].  T.  Taylor  and  John  Harvev,  1887-89;  J.  D.  Marsh,  1889-92;  D.  M.  Smahey, 
'1892-93;  J.  T.  Taylor,  1893-95;  B.  D.  Fay,  1895-98;  W.  H.  Winter  and  Lizzie 
Haist,  1898-1901;  Henry  Lenz,  1901-03;  W.  C.  Willing,  1903-06;  John  Harvey, 
1906-07;  W.  J.  Bone,  1907-08;  R.  G.  Wilkin,  1908-10;  H.  J.  IMcKinnell,  present 
pastor  since  1910. 

The  society  worshiped  in  the  Ijuilding  on  ^\'alnut  street  ten  years.  The 
church  building  on  the  corner  of  South  Underbill  and  Windom  streets.  West 
Bluff,  was  built  during  the  second  pastorate  of  Rev.  J.  D.  Marsh  and  was  dedi- 
cated by  General  Superintendent  (Bishop)  B.  T.  Robberts,  December  6,  1891. 
The  parsonage  on  Windom  street  was  built  during  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  B.  D. 
Fay  in  1897.  The  society  has  a  mission  church  at  the  corner  of  Broadway  and 
Nebraska  streets,  built  by  members  of  the  parent  society.  A  district  parsonage 
has  recently  been  built  on  Underbill  street,  under  the  charge  of  District  Elder 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  191 

E.  G.  Cryer.  The  number  of  members  at  the  present  time,  February,  1912,  is 
forty-six.  The  Sabbath  school  at  Underhill  and  Windom  streets  numbers  thirty, 
while  the  school  at  Broadway  and  Nebraska  streets  numbers  eighty.  This  so- 
ciety is  also  conducting  a  Sabbath  school  at  2021  South  Washington  street, 
which  has  a  membership  of  forty. 

They  have  an  active  Women's  Foreign  Missionary  society,  which  raised  and 
paid  for  foreign  missions  last  year  $156. 

CHILLICOTIIE     METHODIST     EPISCOP.\L     CHURCH 

Some  of  the  records  of  this  church  having  been  destroyed  it  is  not  possible 
to  ascertain  to  a  certainty  the  earliest  date  at  which  Methodist  ministers  preached 
at  Chillicothe.  but  September  29,  i85i,John  Chandler  was  appointed  presiding 
elder  and  R.  H.  JMoffitt  pastor  of  the  circuit  to  which  Chillicothe  was  attached 
and  it  is  said  there  was  then  quite  a  flourishing  class,  and  that  the  church  organ- 
ization was  formed  about  1850  with  about  twenty  members.  .Services  were  at 
first  held  in  a  schoolhouse.  In  1852  the  congregation  purchased  a  lot  on  the 
corner  of  Beech  and  l-'ourth  streets  upon  which  a  parsonage  was  at  once  erected. 
Later  they  erected  a  church,  which  was  dedicated  December  28,  1856,  Rev. 
Milton  L.  Haney  preaching  the  dedicatory  sermon.  The  parsonage  continued 
to  be  used  in  its  original  form  until  1892,  when  it  was  remodeled.  The  first 
church  building  continued  in  use  until  1898,  when  during  the  pastorate  of  Rev. 
D.  B.  [ohnson,  the  ])resent  church  was  built  on  the  corner  of  Chestnut  and  Sixth 
streets,  at  a  cost  of  about  $8,000  and  at  the  time  of  building,  was  the  largest 
and  finest  church  in  the  cit)'. 

While  it  is  uncertain  as  to  just  when  the  earliest  services  were  held,  and 
consequently  the  names  of  pastors  prior  to  September,  1851,  cannot  be  ascer- 
tained, since  that  time  the  following  have  served  in  that  capacity :  R.  H.  Moffitt, 
William  Atchison,  I.  B.  Craig,  James  Cowden,  A.  J.  Jones,  J.  S.  Millsap,  D.  S. 
Main,  S.  L.  Hamilton.  Benjamin  Applebee,  J.  A.  Windsor,  J.  C.  Price,  W.  B. 
Frazelle,  M.  H.  Shepherd.  G.  I.  Bailev,  T.  H.  Sanders,  H.  I.  Brown,  J-  A. 
Windsor,  Thos.  Chipperfield,  E.  N.  Bentley,  G.  M.  Webber,  R.  W.  Ames,  Wm. 
Crapp,  A.  R.  Jones,  A.  M.  Limikin,  O.  AI.  Dunlevy,  B.  E.  Kaufman,  D.  B. 
Johnson.  T.  A.  Beal.  John  Rogers,  B.  F.  Eckly  and  the  present  pastor  W.  D. 
Benjamin,  who  is  now,  January,   1912,  serving  his  second  year. 

The  church  is  in  a  prosperous  condition,  the  number  of  members  reported 
to  the  conference  of  191 1  being  one  hundred  eighty-five;  Sunday  school  officers 
and  teachers  si.xteen  and  scholars,  two  hundred  seventy-eight,  with  an  Epworth 
League  of  fifty  members,  and  a  Junior  League  of  fifty  members. 

In  connection  with  the  Chillicothe  church  and  served  by  the  same  pastor  is  the 

IIALLOCK   TOWNSHIP,    BUH!   RIDGE    METHODLST    EPISCOP.'VL    CHURCH 

This  is  probably  the  most  peculiar  church  in  the  Central  Illinois  conference. 
To  the  conference  session  of  191 1,  it  was  reported  as  having  eight  members 
with  a  Sunday  school  consisting  of  ten  officers  and  teachers  and  forty  scholars. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  an  old  organization  which  has  been  maintained  for  more  than 
seventy  years.  In  1841,  a  schoolhouse  was  built  in  the  north  part  of  Hallock 
township,  a  short  distance  southeast  of  Lawn  Ridge,  and  a  revival  service  was 
held  in  it,  which  resulted  in  forming  a  Methodist  class,  and  Blue  Ridge  has  been 
an  appointment  in  the  conference  ever  since. 

On  April  14,  1849,  John  Ferguson.  Isaiah  Nurse,  Jacob  Booth,  George  Nurse 
and  William  R.  W'ill  were  elected  trustees  and  empowered  to  secure  funds  and 
build  a  church.  They  secured  in  cash  and  labor  $787.80  and  the  church  was 
enclosed  and  used  for  worship,  but  was  not  completed  and  dedicated  until  1856, 
when  it  was  dedicated  by  John  Chandler,  P.  E.  This  structure  served  the  people 
more  than  forty  years  when  on  February  22,  1898,  a  farewell  service  was  held 


192  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

and  the  time  worn  and  weather  beaten  old  building  was  torn  down.  A  new 
structure  was  built  by  the  combined  energy  of  Rev.  D.  C.  Martin  and  the  loyal 
people  and  was  dedicated  September  4th,  1898,  by  F.  W.  Merrill,  P.  E.,  now  of 
the  Rock  River  conference.  John  Chandler  was  the  first  preacher  and  W.  D. 
Benjamin  the  present  pastor. 

In  the  summer  of  1856,  a  church  was  built  on  the  land  of  David  Shane,  Sr., 
about  three  miles  south  of  Lawn  Ridge,  and  was  dedicated  under  the  name  of 
Mount  Hedding  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  by  Rev.  Henry  Summers.  The 
principal  movers  in  this  project  were,  David  Shane,  Sr.,  Isaac  Weidman,  and 
John  Ferguson.  Some  years  later  it  was  decided  to  move  the  building  to  Lawn 
Ridge,  which  was  done  in  the  spring  of  187 1,  and  it  was  re-dedicated  July  226 
of  that  year,  and  was  afterward  known  as  the  Lawn  Ridge  Methodist  church. 
For  some  reason  this  church  seems  to  have  ceased  to  exist,  as  no  mention  is  now 
made  of  it  in  the  conference  minutes. 

NORTn.\MPTON     METHODIST     EPISCOP.XL     CHURCH 

This  church  is  in  Hallock  township  at  the  village  of  Northampton  a  few 
miles  west  of  north  from  the  city  of  Chillicothe.  A  Methodist  class  was  organ- 
ized here  in  1851  and  services  held  in  a  schoolhouse  until  1871,  when  a  church 
was  built.  The  circuit  relations  of  the  church  were  changed  quite  often  and  no 
records  are  available. 

Services  are  not  now  held  in  the  church  building,  which  is  controlled  bv  the 
trustees  of  Chillicothe  church,  and  the  people  probably  worship  with  the  mem- 
bers of  that  church. 

PRINCEVILLE  TOWNSHIP 

PRINCEVILLE    METHODIST    EPISCOP.XL    CHURCH 

hrom  the  days  of  the  early  '30s  Princeville  had  the  preaching  of  the  circuit 
riders.  In  those  days,  known  as  Prince's  Grove,  it  was  on  the  Peoria  circuit, 
which  extended  to  Lafayette,  Princeton,  and  near  to  La  Salle  and  back  to  Peoria. 

Stephen  R.  Beggs  states  that  the  first  preaching  service  was  in  1833  by  T. 
Hall.  However,  there  must  be  an  error  in  the  name  and  it  must  have  been 
Zadoc  Hall  who  was  on  the  Peoria  circuit  at  that  time.  However  there  was  no 
class  formed  at  that  time. 

On  the  2d  of  April,  1838,  Rev.  John  Hill  came  from  the  state  of  New  York 
to  Illinois  and  arrived  at  Princeville.  At  the  time  of  his  arrival  he  found  but  one 
Methodist  sister  in  the  neighborhood.  He  found  here  a  great  opening  for  minis- 
terial work  and  commenced  work  in  good  earnest  and  preaching  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, he  soon  formed  a  class  of  nine  persons. 

In  184 1,  William  Pitner  was  appointed  to  Peoria  circuit  and  held  a  camp 
meeting  at  Princeville.  At  the  first  the  circuit  riders  preached  in  Aunt  Jane 
Morrow's  fine  log  cabin,  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  30,  of  Akron  town- 
ship ;  then  in  the  old  log  schoolhouse ;  then  in  the  stone  schoolhouse.  In  March, 
1842,  at  a  two  days'  meeting  in  the  house  of  Ebenezer  Russell,  a  boy  a  little  less 
than  ten  years  old  was  converted.  That  boy  matured  into  the  grand  old  minister 
Joseph  S.  Cumming,  now,  January,  1912,  pastor  of  the  Second  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church,  Moline,  Illinois,  at  the  age  of  about  eighty-one. 

The  first  Methodist  church  building  was  commenced  in  1853  and  completed 
the  following  year  on  lots  i  and  2  block  16  and  was  later  sold  to  the  Seventh. 
Day  Adventists.  The  next  church  was  built  in  1867  on  lots  7  and  8,  block  24 
(Edward  Anten's  Academy  building)  and  used  until  the  erection  of  the  edifice 
corner  of  South  and  Clark  streets  in   1889. 

The  preachers,  many  of  whom  were  circuit  riders,  have  been  Z.  Hall,  J.  Hill, 
Pitner,  Whitman,  William  C.  Cumming,  Beggs,  Chandler,  B.  C.  Swartz,  T.  F. 
Royal,  J.  W.  Stogdill,  John  Luccock,  U.  J.  Giddings,  J.  B.  Craig,  H.  N.  Gregg, 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  193 

C.  B.  Couch,  P.  T.  Rhodes,  J.  B.  Alills,  J.  S.  Millsap,  Ahab  Keller,  W.  J.  Beck, 
G.  \V.  Brown,  S.  B.  Smith,  John  Cavett,  M.  Spurlock,  G.  W.  Havermale,  E. 
W'asniuth.  ].  Collins,  W.  B.  Carithers,  W.  D.  H.  Young,  Stephen  Brink,  J.  S. 
Millsap,  M.  v.  B.  White,  H.  M.  Laney,  F.  W.  Merrill,  Alexander  Smith,  R. 
B.  Seaman,  J.  U.  Smith,  J.  E.  Conner,  J.  Rogers,  R.  L.  Vivian,  L.  F.  Cullom, 
X.  J.  Brown,  T.  A.  Beal  and  the  present  pastor  J.  W.  Pruen.  Princeville  was 
made  a  station  in  1889. 

The  membership  of  the  church  September  ist,  191 1,  was  two  hundred  eleven; 
of  Sunday  school,  eighteen  officers  and  teachers,  and  one  hundred  thirty-five 
scholars  ;  Epworth  League,  thirty. 

BRIMFIELD  TOWNSHIP 

BRIMFIELD     METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH 

On  November  ist,  1836,  Rev.  Zadoc  Hall  organized  the  first  Methodist  class 
in  the  village  of  Brimfield.  The  members  of  the  first  class  were:  L.  L.  Guyer, 
who  remained  a  member  of  the  church  continuously  until  his  death  a  few  years 
ago,  Isaac  Harrison,  Francis  J.  Hoyt,  Ephraim  Hoyt,  Benjamin  F.  Berry  and 
Polly  W.  Berry,  Sarah  Harrison,  David  Stansberry,  Susanah  Stansberry  and 
Susan  Stansberry,  Martha  Johnston,  Margaret  Johnston,  Catherine  Johnston, 
Jacob  Snider,  Catherine  Snider,  Samuel  Snider,  Eliza  Martin  and  Susan  Wills. 
Samuel  Snider  was  chosen  class  leader. 

At  this  time  the  circuit  was  called  Kickapoo  Mission  with  twenty-eight 
preaching  points,  and  emjjracing  the  entire  northern  part  of  the  state  rei|uirnig 
three  hundred  miles'  travel  to  get  over  it,  which  traveling  was  usually  done  on 
horseback.     In  consequence.  Rev.  Hall  reached  this  place  once  in  four  weeks. 

In  the  year  1848,  a  new  church  building  was  commenced  and  the  corner 
stone  was  laid  in  August  of  that  year,  the  Rev.  A.  E.  Phelps  ofiiciating.  The 
following  year  the  building  was  completed  and  paid  for.  This  building  was  of 
brick,  28  by  44  feet  in  size,  well  finished  and  seated,  being  a  very  great  improve- 
ment over  the  log  cabins  and  barns  which  had  previously  served  the  people  as 
places  of  worship. 

In  the  year  1876  an  addition  of  brick  was  built,  new  jjews  and  furniture  pro- 
cured, and  the  church  carpeted,  at  an  outlay  of  about  $2,200.  Thus  improved 
and  enlarged,  the  building  satisfied  the  needs  of  the  church  until  the  year  1910, 
when  it  was  torn  down  and  a  new  and  modern  church  edifice  erected,  with  mod- 
ern conveniences,  and  carpeted  throughout,  at  a  cost  of  $7,000.  Within  the 
year  ending  .September,  191 1,  $1,417  had  been  expended  in  betterments  and  im- 
provements, so  that  with  the  lot  the  church  property  was  valued  at  $10,500,  while 
the  congregation  also  own  a  parsonage  valued  at  $3,500. 

Owing  to  the  loss  of  certain  records,  it  is  not  possible  to  give  fully  and  cor- 
rectly the  succession  of  preachers,  but  commencing  with  the  fall  of  1857  the  fol- 
lowing is  practically  correct,  the  dates  ijeing  from  conference  session  to  con- 
ference session. 

J.  S.  Millsap,  1857-58;  John  Luccock,  1859-61 ;  S.  G.  J.  Worthington,  1862-65; 
Peter  Warner.  1865-68;  A.  Bower,  1868-70;  1870-74,  no  record;  Rev.  F.  Smith, 
1874-77;  William  E.  Stevens,  1877-78;  T.  J.  Wood,  1878-79;  W.  K.  Collins, 
1879-81;  Stephen  Brink,  1881-83;  lames  Ferguson,  1883-86;  G.  W.  Arnold, 
1886-88;  D.  S.  McCown,  1888-90;  W.  J.  Minium,  1890-92;  C.  L.  Davenport, 
1893-95;  W.  H.  Clark,  part  of  1895;  John  W.  Denning,  1895-98;  J.  E.  Mercer, 
1898-1903;  G.  F.  Snedaker,  1903-05;  M.  P.  Lackland.  1905-09;  R.  W.  Ames, 
190Q-10;  and  E.  J.  Sellard,  present  pastor  from  1910. 

This  church  was  made  a  separate  station  at  the  session  of  the  Central  Illinois 
conference  held  in  Peoria.   September,    191 1. 

Membership,  two  hundred ;  Sunday  school  officers  and  teachers,  twenty-eight ; 
scholars,  two  hundred  twenty-four ;  members  of  Epworth  League,  seventy-four. 


194  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

ELMWOOD  TOWNSHIP 

ELMWOOD    METHODIST    EPISCOPAL   CHURCH 

Like  almost  every  other  Methodist  church,  in  early  days,  this  church  began 
with  a  class,  organized  some  time  prior  to  the  year  1850,  in  the  home  of  Absalom 
Kent,  who  then  lived  a  short  distance  to  the  southwest  of  the  present  location  of 
Elmwood  near  a  grove  known  as  Harkness'  Grove.  In  this  vicinity  most  of  the 
early  comers  had  settled  and  here  were  located  the  homes,  and  probably  a  shop 
and  store. 

Of  the  first  members  of  the  first  Methodist  class,  there  is  record  of  Absalom 
Kent  and  wife,  Abner  Smith  and  wife,  Eliza  Smith,  David  Morey  and  wife, 
John  Jordan  and  wife,  and  Rufus  Kent  and  wife.  This  preaching  point  seems 
to  have  been  at  first  designated  as  Kent,  and  was  connected  with  the  Canton 
circuit.  Later  it  was  in  the  Farmington  circuit.  At  first,  the  people  here,  as 
elsewhere,  worshiped  in  private  homes;  afterwards  in  an  upper  room  over  Mr. 
Snyder's  store.     David  Morey  was  the  first  class  leader. 

In  September,  1854,  such  an  adjustment  was  made  of  circuits  as  to  form  the 
Elmwood  circuit,  with  Jervis  G.  Evans  assigned  as  preacher  in  charge,  the 
preaching  place  having  been  removed,  the  previous  spring  to  the  village  of  Elm- 
wood, then  consisting  of  but  few  houses.  The  circuit  at  that  time  had  the  fol- 
lowing points,  or  preaching  places:  Elmwood,  Gould's  about  where  Yates  City 
now  is,  Remington's  school  house,  near  ]\Iaquon,  the  Stone  house,  near  Spoon 
river,  north  of  Elmwood  and  French  creek.  Rev.  Jervis  G.  Evans  was  later,  for 
some  years,  president  of  Redding  College. 

In  the  spring  of  1855  the  congregation  began  the  erection  of  a  church  building 
on  Silock  street  which  was  completed  and  dedicated  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
by  Rev.  Silas  Bolles,  of  Chicago,  who  had  recently  been  for  two  years,  pastor 
of  the   First  church  in   Peoria. 

This  first  church  building  served  the  people  until  1893  when  a  new  building 
was  erected  on  Main  street  at  a  cost  of  $10,000. 

The  first  distinctively  Methodist  Sunday  school '  was  organized  in  the  first 
church  building  shortly  after  its  erection,  with  Francis  Minor  as  its  first  super- 
intendent. 

The  pastors  who  served  Elmwood  circuit  were:  J.  G.  Evans,  1854;  A.  Magee, 
1856;  A.  Magee  and  George  R.  Palmer,  1857;  Milton  L.  Haney  and  J.  W.  Stewart, 
1858;  M.  L.  Haney  and  P.  Spurlock,  i860;  B.  C.  Swartz  and  George  \V.  Gue, 
1861 ;  A.  Magee  and  C.  B.  Couch,  1862;  William  Watson,  1863.  In  1865  Yates 
City  was  joined  with  Elmwood  with  J.  H.  Sanders  as  pastor.  Martin  D.  Heckard 
was  appointed  in  1866;  T.  C.  Workman,  1868;  T.  E.  Webb,  1869;  W.  B.  Frazelle, 
1871,  T.  S.  Falkner,  1873;  Tames  Ferguson,  1876;  L  T.  McFarland,  1879;  R.  B. 
Williams,  1880;  E.  P.  Hall",  1882;  R.  R.  Pierce,  1883;  W.  B.  Alexander,  1884; 
J.  W.  Denning,  1885;  H.  K.  Metcalf,  1888;  O.  T.  Dwinell,  1893;  M.  A.  Head, 
1898;  J.  A.  Riason,  1899;  J.  S.  Gumming,  1900;  N.  J.  Brown,  1903;  J.  B.  Bartle, 
1906,  and  A.  E.  loder  the  present  pastor  in  1910.  This  church  has  been  served 
by  some  of  the  best  preachers  in  the  conference. 

Rev.  J.  B.  Dille,  for  many  years  an  honored  member  of  Central  Illinois  con- 
ference,  passed  away  at  his   home   in   Elmwood,   November   30,    191 1. 

Rev.  H.  K.  Metcalf  was  pastor  when  the  church  was  built  and  under  the 
pastorate  of  O.  T.  Dwinell  the  following  year  a  new  parsonage  was  built. 

Membership  total,  one  hundred  ninety-six ;  Sunday  school  officers  and  teach- 
ers, twenty-one ;  and  scholars,  two  hundred  forty-nine ;  Epworth  League,  forty ; 
Junior  League,  fifty  members. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  195 

TRIVOLI  TOWNSHIP 

TRIVOLI    METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH 

The  Trivoli  work  is  known  as  Trivoli  circuit,  Wrigley  Chapel  and  Graham 
Chapel,  both  in  Rosetield  township  being  connected  with  the  Trivoli  church  and 
served  by  the  same  pastor. 

In  1838,  in  a  newly  built  schoolhouse,  a  Methodist  class  was  organized.  The 
first  church  was  built  in  185 1.  The  first  pastor  was  a  Rev.  Mr.  Emery.  The 
pastors  of  which  there  is  any  record,  following  the  first  were  Revs.  Smith, 
Milton  L.  Haney,  Richard  Haney  in  i860,  H.  I.  Brown  in  1863.  Rev.  R.  H. 
Figgins  is  the  present  pastor. 

The  membership  on  the  circuit  is  given  as  one  hundred  sixty-one;  Sunday 
school  officers  and  teachers,  forty;  and  scholars,  one  hundred  fifty;  with  one 
Epworth  League  with  forty-two  members.  There  are  three  churches  and  one 
parsonage.     A  new  church  was  Iniilt  in  Trivoli  in  1910,  at  a  cost  of  $io,ocx). 

There  is  another  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  Trivoli  township  located  on 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  30.  It  is  known  as  the  Concord  church,  and  is 
on  a  circuit  with  two  churches  in  Fulton  county.  It  has  a  small  membership, 
and  maintains  a  Sunday  school.  The  circuit  is  at  present  served  by  Ernest 
Shult  as  a  supply.  '     • 

IN  ROSEFIELD  TOWNSHIP,  ON  TEXAS  PRAIRIE;  WRIGLEY  CHAPEL 

was  organized  in  1854  with  a  membership  of  ten.  Joseph  Dunn  was  class  leader. 
Robert  Wrigley  and  Henry  Robins  were  first  trustees  and  Rev.  J.  M.  Snyder 
first  pastor.  They  worshipped  in  a  schoolhouse  until  i860,  when  they  built  a 
frame  house  of  worship  at  a  cost  of  about  $1,600.  One  of  the  early  preachers 
was  Rev.  Mr.  Wyckoft',  father  of  Professor  Wyckoff,  now  of  Bradley  institute. 

GRAHAM    CHAPEL 

was  organized  in  i860.  Rev.  Richard  tianey  was  the  first  circuit  preacher  to 
serve  this  church.  Statistics  of  membership  and  Sunday  schools  are  included 
with  Trivoli  church.     Rev.  R.   H.   Figgins  is  the  present  pastor. 

A  Methodist  church  which  has  been  known  as  the  Rosefield  church  was 
organized  about  the  year  1844,  with  twelve  members,  located  about  three  miles 
north  of  Hanna  City.  The  first  house  of  worship  was  built  in  1844  but  in  1874 
it  was  abandoned  and  a  new  church  erected  across  the  road  at  a  cost  of  $1,650. 
This  church  is  now  familiarly  known  as  the  Cottonwood  church.  In  its  church- 
yard many  of  the  early  settlers  are  buried.  Among  these  are  Thomas  Edwards 
and  wife.  Dr.  J.  H.  Wilkinson  and  wife,  Ed  Edwards  and  wife,  David  Harper 
and  wife  and  Sylvester  Edwards  and  wife. 

Another  church  of  the  denomination  was  organized  in  1837  and  erected  a 
building  known  as  the  Combs  meeting  house  on  section  14,  which  appears  to 
have  been  the  first  church  organized  in  the  township.  It  has  long  since  been 
abandoned. 

OAK    HILL 

This  society  was  organized  in  1845.  The  congregation  held  their  meetings 
in  a  schoolhouse  until  1858,  when  they  erected  a  church  building,  the  congrega- 
tion then  numbering  sixty.     The  building  cost  about  $1,200. 

Oak  Hill  and  Cottonwood  churches  are  now  in  Kickapoo  circuit,  and  with 
the  other  churches  are  being  served  by  F.  W.  Appleby  as  a  supply. 

About  1865  a  camp  ground  comprising  a  beautiful  grove,  with  good  spring 
water,  and  but  a  short  distance  northeast  of  the  village,  was  purchased  and  since 
then  a  camp  meeting  has  been  held  here  each  summer,  where  thousands  of  people 
have  gathered  for  religious  services  and  a  week  of  relief  from  business  cares. 


196  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

KICKAPOO  TOWNSHIP 

KICKAPOO   METHODIST   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

The  first  services  by  a  Methodist  minister  were  conducted  by  Rev.  Whitman 
about  the  year  1843,  in  the  house  of  William  Young.  A  church  organization  must 
have  been  formed  shortly  after. 

This  charge  has  always  been  in  connection  with  a  circuit,  and  Rev.  U.  J. 
Giddings  was  the  circuit  rider  in  185 1  and  1852.  At  that  time  there  was  quite  a 
large  membership,  and  they  soon  began  the  erection  of  a  church  edifice  which 
was  completed  in  1855  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  P.  T.  Rhodes.  The  church 
cost  $1,662.  A  parsonage  was  built  about  the  same  time  and  both  have  been  in 
use  ever  since. 

The  pastors  on  Kickapoo  circuit  have  been:  Rev.  U.  J.  Giddings,  1851  to 
1852;  John  Luccock,  1852-53;  C.  B.  Couch,  1853-54;  P.  T.  Rhodes,  1854-56;  J. 
B.  iMills,  1856-58;  G.  R.  I'almer,  1858-59;  Robert  Cowan,  1859-61  ;  Ahab  Keller, 
1861-64;  John  Cavett,  1864-66;  S.  S.  Gruber,  1866-69;  ^-  M-  Hill,  1869-70;  J.  II. 
Scott,  1870-72;  T.  F.  Sanders,  1872-74;  Amos  Morey,  1874-75;  T.  J.  Wood, 
1875-77;  H.  Stahl,  1877-78;  C.  W.  Green,  1878-80;  J.  A.  Riason,  1880-81;  D.  S. 
Main,  1881-82;  G.  M.  Webber,  1882-85;  I.  Jones  and  William  Rowciiff,  1885-86; 
J.  L.  Reid,  1886-87;  A.  P.  Rolen,  1887-89;  A.  Smith,  1889-90;  J.  W.  Moles,  1890- 
93;  J.  C.  Zeller,  1893-95;  J-  Ferguson,  1895-96;  B.  Rist,  H.  M.  McCoy  and  H.. 
Manship,  1896-97,  each  serving  part  of  the  time;  E.  O.  Johnson,  1897-98;  John 
Gimson,  1898-99;  J.  H.  Wood  and  L.  J.  Blough,  1899-1901  ;  J.  D.  Johnson,  1901- 
02;  George  Browne,  1902-03;  H.  M.  Blout,  1903-05;  C.  W.  Green,  1905-06; 
Thomas  Bartram,  1906-07;  H.  T.  Russell,  1907-08;  W.  B.  Carr,  1908-09;  L.  J. 
Blough,  1909-10;  C.  E.  Dunlevy,  1910-11  ;  and  F.  W.  Appleby,  1911-12.  Several 
of  these  serving  in  later  years  have  been  students. 

The  latest  statistics  give  the  number  of  members  on  the  circuit  at  fifty-five; 
Sunday  school  officers  and  teachers  twenty ;  and  scholars  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
three,  with  three  churches  valued  at  $4,000  and  one  parsonage  valued  at  $2,000. 

The  church  at  Edwards  on  this  circuit  has  had  an  organization  for  many 
years,  but  had  no  church  building  until  recently.  The  services  were  held  at  what- 
soever convenient  place  might  be  had,  with  sometimes  the  circuit  preacher  to 
minister  to  them,  and  sometimes  a  local  preacher.  We  are  informed  that  Daniel 
Taylor,  is,  or  has  been  a  local  preacher  and  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school, 
and  that  he  has  been  an  active  and  efficient  worker  for  a  long  time.  Unfortunately 
the  old  records  of  the  church  were  burned,  and  we  are  unable  to  learn  the  date 
of  the  first  organization  or  the  names  of  the  first  pastor,  or  of  members  of  the 
first  official  board,  except  that  James  Greenough  was  one  member  of  it.  In  the 
year  1866,  James  Greenough  and  his  daughter  'Alary  J.  Greenough,  with  a  few 
others,  were  seeking  better  things,  and  better  conditions  for  themselves  and 
neighbors,  and  organized  a  Sunday  school  in  the  schoolhouse,  with  E.  Y.  Forney 
as  superintendent.  JNIr.  Greenough  was  a  quiet,  unobtrusive  man,  but  it  was 
very  largely  through  his  efforts  that  the  Methodist  church  was  organized  at 
Edwards.     This  charge  has  been  and  is  connected  with  the  Kickapoo  circuit. 

The  late  Dr.  J.  H.  Wilkinson  had  land  at  Edwards,  and  after  his  death  and 
that  of  his  wife,  a  part  of  the  land  fell  to  Sylvester  Edwards,  and  we  are  in- 
formed that  he  donated  to  the  church  at  Edwards  an  acre  of  land  upon  which 
they  erected  a  building  in  1905,  at  a  cost  of  about  $1,500,  with  a  seating  capacity 
of  two  hundred  fifty.  The  present  membership  is  twelve;  membership)  of  Sunday 
school,  eighty-five.     The  pastor  is  F.  W.  Appleby. 

JUBILEE  TOWNSHIP 

The  only  Methodist  church  in  this  township,  is  the  German  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Mission  church.  This  church  was  organized  in  the  year  1870.  It  is  located 
in  the  village  of  Jubilee.    It  lias  always  been  a  Mission  church,  and  served  by  the 


HISTORY  OF  PEORTA  COUNTY  197 

pastors  in  charge  of  the  Sanger  Saint  Mission  in  Peoria.  The  first  pastor  was 
Henry  Thomas  with  Fhilhp  tjruenewald  as  assistant.  Succeeding  the  first  two, 
the  following  pastors  have  served  this  church :  G.  Timken,  M.  Roeder,  |.  Lem- 
kan,  J.  C.  Rapp,  Henry  Balcke,  C.  H.  Becker,  E.  S.  Havighorst,  G.  Schuli,  C.  W. 
Hartzler,  L.  Harmel,  J.  Gisler,  H.  J.  Petersen,  L.  E  Kettlekamp,  Herman  Kasiski, 
("i.  L.  Zoclier.  Karl  Iluch  and  H.  Schlueter. 

LOGAN  TOWNSHIP 

HANN.V    CITY    METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH 

This  church  was  organized  in  1880  with  seven  members,  the  first  pastor  being 
Rev.  Humphreys.  The  first  church  building  was  erected  at  Smithville  in  1854, 
but  in  1888  the  location  was  removed  to  Hanna  City,  where  a  new  church  build- 
ing was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $2,000  and  a  parsonage  costing  $1,200. 

The  pastors  since  1886  have  been  J.  A.  Windsor,  H.  Coolidge,  Wm.  Crapp, 
Daniel  Cool,  P.  S.  Garretson,  J.  N.  Fawcett,  J.  W.  Moles.  H.  C.  Birch,  Hugh  C. 
Gibson,  .\.  C.  Kelley,  Charles  Fitzhenry,  B.  R.  Nesbit,  George  Shepherd,  W.  R. 
Warner  and  R.  W.  Stocking,  the  present  pastor. 

There  is  another  -Methodist  P'piscopal  church  in  Logan  township  known  as 
Pleasant  Grove  church,  located  two  miles  southwest  of  the  village  of  Eden.  This 
church  was  organized  about  1840,  with  eighteen  members.  The  first  pastor  was 
William  Pitner.  The  members  first  worshipped  in  the  homes  and  cabins,  and 
then  in  a  schoolhouse  in  the  vicinity.  In  the  year  1848,  the  first  church  was 
built,  which  was  used  until  1869,  when  a  more  comfortable  and  commodious 
building  was  erected. 

Limestone  church  is  also  on  the  same  circuit.  The  statistics  given  in  the 
minutes  of  the  conference  of  191 1  show  one  hundred  sixty-eight  members  includ- 
ing twelve  probationers ;  thirty  Sunday  school  officers  and  teachers  and  one  hun- 
dred fifty  scholars;  one  Epworth  League  with  twelve  members.  The  circuit  has 
three  churches  valued  at  $5,300  and  one  parsonage,  value  $1,500. 

LIMESTONE  TOWNSHIP 

LIMESTONE    METHODIST    EPISC0P.\L   CHURCH 

was  organized  in  1849  with  twenty-seven  members.  The  first  church  building 
was  located  on  section  4  on  the  Farmington  road,  and  was  built  in  i860  at  a 
cost  of  $1,000.  It  was  dedicated  by  the  noted,  venerable  Rev.  Peter  Cartwright, 
December  21,  i860.     Rev.  John  Borland  was  preacher  in  charge. 

Being  on  the  Hanna  City  circuit  this  church  has  been  served  by  the  same 
pastors,  and  its  statistics  of  membership,  etc.,  are  included  with  that  charge. 

Bartonville  Methodist  Episcopal  church  is  in  the  southeast  part  of  Lime- 
stone township  and  adjoining  the  city  of  Peoria.  It  is  served  by  a  pastor  in 
connection  with  the  Madison  Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal  church,   Peoria. 

Before  the  village  was  known  as  Piartonville  although  the  Barton  family 
lived  in  that  vicinity,  the  people  worshipped  at  the  brick  schoolhouse,  known  as 
South  Limestone  school,  one  mile  west  of  where  the  church  now  stands,  having  a 
Sunday  school  and  preaching  services;  (as  early  as  1857,  M.  L.  Haney,  preached 
there).  The  old  brick  building  finally  became  so  dilapidated,  that  a  new  school- 
house  was  built  one-half  mile  east  of  the  former  location  in  the  year  1862,  and 
the  people  worshipped  in  it  for  about  twenty  years,  being  called  the  South  Lime- 
stone cluirch. 

Al)out  thirty  years  ago,  that  is,  about  1882,  the  people  built  the  present  church 
building,  which  is  located  one  half  mile  further  east  than  the  second  school- 
house,  referred  to,  and  across  the  street  from  the  splendid  new  school  building 
which  the  town  of  Bartonville  now  affords.  Continuing  the  numbers  from  South 
Peoria  on  Adams  street,  the  church  is  located  at  6019  South  Adams  street,  Bar- 
tonville. 


198  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

lohn  A.  Riason,  now  of  Siloam  Springs,  Arkansas,  was  the  pastor  of  the 
Bartonville  and  Madison  avenue,  Peoria,  churches,  when  the  Bartonville  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church  was  built  in  1882.  Present  pastor,  Rev.  W.  D.  Evans, 
now  in  his  third  year.  Number  of  members,  fifty;  a  fine  Sunday  school  of  one 
hundred  twenty,  average  attendance  seventy-five;  A.  E.  Scheidel,  superintendent 
and  an  Epworth  league  of  forty  members ;  Miss  Audra  Wright,  president. 

MILLBROOK  TOWNSHIP 

ELMORE   METHODIST   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

In  the  year  1836  the  first  Methodist  organization  was  formed  at  Rochester, 
near  the  extreme  northwest  corner  of  the  township  and  county.  Rev.  William 
Gumming,  who  was  then  the  station  preacher  at  Peoria,  preached  the  first  sermon, 
in  the  house  of  John  Smith.  The  original  members  were  John  Smith  and  wife, 
Therrygood  Smith  and  wife,  William  .Metcalf,  and  an  unmarried  daughter  of 
John  Smith,  and  John  Smith,  Sr.,  was  chosen  class  leader. 

In  1838  a  house  of  worship  was  commenced,  but  was  completely  destroyed 
by  a  hurricane  on  May  8th  of  the  same  year.  Through  deaths  and  removals, 
the  church  at  one  time  became  almost  extinct  but  later  another  building  was 
secured  which  had  belonged  to  the  Congregationalists,  and  though  the  legitimate 
successor  of  the  first  church  it  is  known  as  Elmore  church,  the  name  of  the  post- 
office  being  Elmore.  This  church  is  now  connected  with  the  West  Jersey  church 
in  Stark  county.    The  present  pastor  is  E.  L.  Fahnestock. 

LAUR.V  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

The  church  at  Laura  was  built  in  the  summer  of  1889  at  a  cost  of  $1,300 
and  furnished  at  a  further  outlay  of  about  $200.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  D.  S. 
McCown,  now  pastor  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  Moline,  Illinois. 

For  quite  a  long  time  this  church  was  served  in  connection  with  the  church 
at  Monica,  but  is  now  in  connection  with  the  church  at  Williamsfield,  Knox 
county.  Rev.  Stanley  Ward  is  pastor.  The  statistics  give  for  the  two  charges, 
one  hundred  forty-nine  members,  twelve  Sunday  school  officers  and  teachers 
and  one  hundred  forty  scholars ;  with  one  Epworth  League  with  forty  members ; 
two  churches  valued  at  $5,000  and  one  parsonage  of  a  value  of  $1,500. 

PRINCEVILLE  TOWNSHIP 

MONICA  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

In  1856  or  1857,  West  Princeville  near  the  west  side  of  Princeville  town- 
ship, was  started  by  the  erection  of  a  manufacturing  plant,  on  the  south  side  of 
the  road  between  sections   19  and  30. 

In  1858,  Mt.  Zion  Methodist  Episcopal  church  was  organized  in  the  same 
neighborhood,  the  memliers  holding  their  first  meetings  in  the  Nelson  school- 
house.  In  1867  the  society  built  a  church  in  the  southwest  corner  of  section  20, 
a  little  east  of  West  Princeville.     This  was  a  frame  building  32  by  45  feet  and 

cost  $2,200.  .        ,  ,        ,  ■  r  .1. 

The  starting  of  Cornwell  now  Monica  occasioned  by  the  construction  of  the 
Cincinnati,  Burlington  &  Ouincv  railroad,  spelled  disaster  for  West  Princeville, 
nearly  all  of  the  buildingsT  including  the  church  being  moved  to  the  new  town. 
This  'transfer  occurred  in  1877.  This  church  was  in  connection  with  the  Prince- 
ville charge  until  1894,  when  it  was  re-organized  and  with  the  church  at  Laura, 
Millbrook  township,  became  the  Monica  charge.  Rev.  Thomas  J.'  Wood  was 
the  first  pastor  after  re-organization  and  was  followed  in  succession  by  P.  S. 
Garretson,  1895;  O.  M.  Dunlevy,  1896;  H.  C.  Birch,  1898;  H.  C.  Gibson,  1900; 
and  James  G.  Blair,  1901.  The  church  connection  is  now  with  Duncan.  The 
present  pastor  is   T.  T.  Bliss.     The  membership  of  the  charge  is  eighty-seven; 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  199 

Sunday  school   officers  and   teachers,   ten ;  scholars  ninetj'-two.     Two  churches 
valued  $4,000;  one  parsonage  $1,600. 

RADNOR  TOWNSHIP 

The  Methodist  churches  in  this  township  have  existed  under  varied  and 
rather  peculiar  conditions.  As  early  as  1840  the  missionaries  and  circuit  riders 
held  services  in  the  homes  of  the  people,  before  there  were  even  any  school- 
houses.  Their  first  church  was  organized  and  a  building  erected  in  the  year 
i860,  though  no  doubt  they  had  class  meetings  prior  to  that  date.  This  first 
church  was  located  about  one  mile  west  of  where  the  village  of  Alta  now  is.  Its 
principal  members  and  supporters  were  George  Divelbiss,  at  one  time  sheriff  of 
the  county  and  Wesley  Smalley,  farmers.  The  church  was  named  the  Glendale 
church.  In  its  pastoral  relations,  it  was  then  connected  with  Kickapoo  church 
and  Mt.  Hedding,  in  Hallock  township,  with  the  pastoral  residence  at  Kick- 
apoo. After  the  village  of  Alta  was  laid  out,  Glendale  church  was  moved  to  that 
village,  which  is  in  .Medina  township,  the  pastor  still  residing  at  Kickapoo. 

In  1884,  a  church  was  organized  at  Dunlap,  and  the  next  year  a  church 
was  built,  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  George  AI.  Webber,  and  the  jiastoral 
residence  changed  to  Dunlap  and  the  Alta  church  connected  with  Dunlap. 

In  the  year  1865,  the  Methodists  built  a  church  called  the  Salem  church  on 
the  northwest  quarter  of  section  16  near  the  schoolhouse,  some  five  miles  north- 
west of  Alta.  The  leading  members  of  this  church  organization  were  prominent 
farmers:  A.  J.  Gordon.  John  Jackson  and  Wesley  Strain.  After  a  number  of 
years,  removals  and  deaths  having  weakened  the  membership,  the  organization 
was  aliandoned  for  lack  of  support.  The  building  was  sold  and  another  erected 
on  section  18,  some  two  miles  west,  and  near  the  line  of  Juijilee  township.  This 
church  was  called  Zion  church  and  its  pastoral  relations  were  in  connection  with 
Kickapoo.  The  principal  men  in  the  church  were  William  Rowcliffe  and  Daniel 
Corbett.  The  membership  was  small,  and  this  church  seems  also  to  have  been 
abandoned,  as  no  mention  is  made  of  it  in  the  conference  minutes  of  191 1. 

The  membership  of  the  two  churches  is  one  hundred  forty-five;  two  Sunday 
schools  with  twenty-eight  officers  and  teachers  and  one  hundred  seventy  scholars ; 
one  Epworth  League  with  forty-five  members  and  one  Junior  League  with 
fifteen  members.  Two  churches  valued  at  $6,750  and  one  parsonage,  at  Dunlap, 
valued  $2,200;  $2,250  were  expended  during  the  conference  year  for  building 
and  improvements.     Rev.  G.  L.  Kneebone  is  pastor. 

HOLLIS  TOWNSHIP 

MAPLETON   METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

This  is  the  only  Methodist  church  in  the  township.  It  was  organized  in  1886 
by  Robert  Burden,  a  local  preacher,  with  the  following  members:  Mrs.  Wm. 
Harris,  Mrs.  Emma  Newsam,  Mrs.  Mary  Galloway,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  Brad- 
shaw,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lorenzo  Walker,  Mrs.  Mona  Thrush,  Mrs.  J.  T.  Newsam, 
Mrs.  Ann  Galloway,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Scheidel  and  Aliss  Kate  Jones.  They 
have  a  small  church  building  which  was  erected  in  1890  and  dedicated  by  Rev. 
Jervis  G.  Evans,  president  of  Hedding  College,  at  Abingdon,  Illinois,  in  November 
of  that  year.  The  membership  is  small,  being,  September  i,  191 1,  but  thirteen, 
with  a  Sunday  school  of  thirty-five  scholars  and  five  teachers.  Rev.  Harry  M. 
Blout  since  transferred  to  liumside,  Hancock  county,  was  pastor. 

TIMBER  TOWNSHIP 

GLASFORD  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

About  the  year  1890,  a  small  church  was  built  at  Glasford.  At  that  time  Dr. 
William  A.  Brisendine.  an  old  resident  and  practicing  physician,  who  from  his 


.200  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

youth  had  taken  an  active  interest  in  religious  work  made  application,  and  was 
licensed  as  a  local  jireacher  in  that  year,  and  often  thereafter,  tilled  the  pulpit 
from  time  to  time  in  his  home  church  and  probably  in  others  in  the  neighborhood 
as  well. 

September  i,  191 1,  the  total  membership  of  the  Glasford  church  was  forty- 
five;  Sunday  school  enrollment,  one  hundred  two  scholars,  with  eight  teachers; 
an  Epworth  League  of  twelve  members. 

KINGSTON    METHODIST   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

A  church  was  organized  at  Kingston  Mines  prior  to  the  year  1885,  and  about 
that  year  they  erected  a  church  building  which  was  destroyed  by  a  hurricane 
about  1896.  There  is  still  an  organization  and  a  Sunday  school  maintained. 
Church  membership  nine;  Sunday  school  scholars  about  sixty. 

BETHEL  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH 

In  the  southwest  part  of  Timber  township  there  w-as  a  small  Methodist  church 
built  in  1882,  and  named  Bethel.  This  church  has  been  maintained  ever  since 
and  now  has  a  membership  of  nineteen,  with  a  Sunday  school  of  forty-five 
scholars  and  only  five  teachers. 

These  churches  in  Timber  township,  together  with  the  one  at  Mapleton  form 
the  Glasford  circuit  with  pastoral  residence  at  Glasford,  with  a  parsonage  located 
there  valued  at  $1,500.     Pastor,  H.  M.  Blout. 

MEDINA  TOWNSHIP 

MOSSVILLE    METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH 

About  the  year  1869,  the  late  G.  W.  Schnebly  acting  for  the  people  who  were 
interested  in  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Mossville,  employed  the  building  firm 
of  James  Hazzard  &  Son  of  Peoria,  who  erected  for  him  a  neat,  comfortable, 
small  brick  church  building,  seating  about  two  hundred  people,  at  a  cost  of  about 
$2,600.  A  large  percentage  of  the  membership  residing  on  High  Prairie,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Alta,  found  the  location  at  Mossville  inconvenient  and  on  October  9, 
1875,  it  was  decided  to  remove  to  the  former  place.  The  church  building  at 
Mossville  was  sold,  and  purchased  by  the  late  Samuel  C.  Neal  for  the  Methodists, 
and  has  since  been  used  by  them,  they  having  put  in  a  modern  hot-water  or  steam 
heating  plant.  As  might  be  surmised  the  membership  has  been  small — some  fif- 
teen or  twenty,  with  a  Sunday  school  of  about  forty  members.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances the  pastoral  service  has  been  either  in  connection  with  some  other 
church,  or  by  a  supply  appointed  by  the  presiding  elder  or  district  superintendent. 
The  present  pastoral  service  is  by  Rev.  F.  E.  Ball,  pastor  of  Wesley  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,   Peoria. 

While  the  Methodist  church  at  Alta  is  in  Medina  township,  the  early  organiza- 
tion, and  location  of  the  church  was  in  Radnor,  and  as  its  pastoral  connections 
and  residence  are  still  there,  it  was  thought  best  to  so  give  its  history. 

RICHWOODS   TOWNSHIP 

AVERYVILLE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

The  only  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  Richwoods  since  Grace  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  was  taken  into  the  city,  is  the  Averyville  church.  This  society 
was  organized  about  1894  by  Rev.  T.  W.  Mc\'ety  when  he  was  pastor  of  First 
church,  Peoria.  The  church  was  organized  in  the  village  hall  and  its  members 
worshipped  there  for  a  short  time.  Shortly  afterwards  lots  were  purchased  on 
Madison  avenue  from  Mr.  Luthy  and  the  present  church  building  erected  at  a 
cost  of  about  $2,600,  beside  the  cost  of  the  lots. 


ci^,  9rf^.  ^'-'■c^^ 


I 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  201 

This  church  now  (January,  1912)  has  forty-live  members  with  a  Sunday 
school  of  seventy-five  members  and  an  average  attendance  of  fifty-two. 

The  Ladies'  Aid  Society,  of  which  Mrs.  Charles  Koch  is  president,  has  thirty 
members.     Frank  McBridge  is  Sunday  school  superintendent. 

This  church  has  always  been  served  in  connection  with  some  other  church. 
Its  present  connection  is  with  the  church  at  Putnam.  H.  Wakefield  is  pastor. 
The  valuation  of  the  church  property  including  furnishings  is  $3,950. 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  TIME  THAT  TRIED   MEN's  SOULS — AN   INTERESTING  BIT  OF  UNTOLD   HISTORY  AS 
WRITTEN    BY   COLONEL   RICE LINCOLN    AND  JUDGE   KELLOGG 

The  real  trial  of  the  characters  of  men  occurs  before  the  great  outbreak  in 
all  revolutionary  or  critical  situations  when  each  man  must  align  himself  on  one 
side  or  the  other  of  the  great  questions  presented  according  to  his  own  judgment 
and  convictions.  It  is  comparatively  easy  after  an  alignment  is  made  for  one  to 
fill  his  place  and  battle  in  forum  or  in  field  for  the  side  he  approves.  It  is  not 
easy  in  the  beginning  to  determine  what  position  to  take,  for  this  involves  two 
things,  the  abstract  question  of  what  is  right  and  the  question  of  how  ditferences 
of  conscientious  convictions  can  be  adjusted.  Men  are  so  constituted  that  they 
look  upon  important  questions  from  dilTerent  points  of  view  and  conscientiously 
differ  as  to  what  is  just,  therefore,  in  order  that  we  may  live  together  in  peace, 
concessions  must  be  made  and  the  conscientious  convictions  of  others  must  not 
be  ruthlessly  disregarded.  It  is  in  such  trying  times  that  men  of  sound  judg- 
ment, strong  character,  great  moral  courage,  kindness  of  heart  and  charitable 
feelings  towards  others  appear  as  leaders.  Lincoln  was  pre-eminently  such  a 
man.  He  had  strong  convictions  in  regard  to  slavery  and  more  strong  in  regard 
to  the  necessity  of  preserving  the  Union.  His  problem  was  "what  do  the  people 
think?"  "What  can  they  be  relied  upon  to  do?  Can  they  be  induced  to  work 
together  for  the  support  of  right  and  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union?"  These 
were  cjuestions  of  very  great  difficulty  calling  for  solution  by  the  president  elect. 

It  was,  therefore,  thought  desirable  by  Mr.  Lincoln  and  some  of  his  most 
intimate  friends  that  a  projwsition  of  compromise  with  the  southern  states,  as 
liberal  as  possible  toward  their  views  should  be  oft'ered,  which  if  accepted  might 
prevent  a  long,  l)loody  and  expensive  war  and  whether  adopted  or  not  might 
secure  for  the  administration  the  support  of  Mr.  Douglas  and  his  powerful  party. 
Such  an  attempt  was  made  as  appears  from  the  following  article  which  was  pre- 
pared by  the  late  Hon.  David  McCulloch,  after  those  events  had  been  long 
enough  passed  to  allow  men  to  think  calmly  and  at  the  same  time  was  written 
before  those  who  had  personal  knowledge  of  the  facts  had  passed  away.  It  was 
submitted  to  the  surviving  friends  of  those  interested,  most  of  whom  are  now 
gone.  It  narrates  circumstances  which  probably  have  not  found  a  place  in  per- 
manent print  before. 

AWFUL  DAYS  OF  DOUBT  AND  AN.KIETY   BEFORE  THE  TERRIFIC   STORM 

The  rejoicing  over  the  great  republican  victory  (in  the  fall  of  i860)  was 
soon  turned  into  a  serious  consideration  of  the  gravity  of  the  situation.  On  the 
next  day  after  the  election,  the  "Palmetto  Flag,"  South  Carolina's  emblem,  was 
unfurled  from  the  shipmasts  in  Charleston  harbor,  and  on  the  next  day  after  the 
great  illumination  at  Peoria,  the  legislature  of  that  state  passed  a  bill  for  the 
equipment  of  10,000  men  and  ordered  an  election  of  delegates  to  consider  the 
necessity  of  immediate  secession.  Two  days  thereafter  both  her  senators  in  con- 
gress resigned  their  seats.  Then  men  began  to  inquire  of  each  other,  "Do  you 
think  the  south  is  in  earnest  in  its  threats  of  secession?" 

203 


204  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

Georgia  followed  South  Carolina  on  the  i8th  of  November  by  appropriating 
$1,000,000  for  the  purpose  of  arming  her  citizens.  Then  the  inquiry  began,  "Do 
you  think  we  are  going  to  have  war?" 

December  3d  came  and  with  it  the  assembling  of  congress.  In  his  message 
Mr.  Buchanan  declared  secession  to  be  unlawful,  but  denied  the  power  of  the 
general  government  to  coerce  a  sovereign  state.  This  was  an  announcement  to 
the  secessionists  that  they  were  at  liberty  to  go  on  with  their  unlawful  purposes 
without  hindrance  from  the  government  during  the  last  four  months  of  his 
administration.  Although  the  republicans  had  won  the  victory  their  hands  were 
completely  tied.  It  began  to  look  as  if  the  Union  was  to  be  dissolved  without 
resistance. 

Stormy  times  had  now  set  in.  On  December  5th  the  United  States  treasury 
suspended  specie  payment.  Then  the  cabinet  began  to  dissolve  by  the  succes- 
sive resignation  of  its  members.  On  the  20th  South  Carolina  passed  its  ordinance 
of  secession.  On  the  24th  its  representatives  in  congress  resigned  their  seats  and 
returned  to  their  homes.  Still  men  continued  to  inquire,  "Do  you  think  they  mean 
war  or  only  bravado?"  We  were  in  a  state  of  war  without  knowing  it.  But  the 
war  at  this  period  was  on  one  side  only.  There  was  no  resistance.  Forts  and 
arsenals  of  the  United  States  were  quietly  taken  possession  of  by  the  seceding 
states ;  senators  and  congressmen  resigned  their  seats  as  their  respective  states 
seceded ;  on  December  27th  the  United  States  Revenue  Cutter,  "The  William 
Aiken"  was  surrendered  to  the  authorities  of  South  Carolina.  On  January  g, 
1861,  another  one  "The  Star  of  the  West"  on  her  way  from  New  York  with  pro- 
visions and  reinforcements  for  Fort  Sumter  was  fired  upon  by  South  Carolina 
batteries  and  compelled  to  return.  Still  men  continued  to  inquire,  "Do  you  think 
there  will  be  war?" 

A  pall  of  terror  seemed  to  have  spread  itself  over  the  whole  North.  It  was 
the  recoil  produced  by  the  discharge  of  a  broadside.  People  began  to  consider 
whether  they  might  not  have  gone  too  far  in  the  late  election.  When  confronted 
with  the  horrors  of  internecine  war,  they  began  to  quail  before  its  awful  con- 
sequences. Especially  in  the  eastern  cities  it  began  to  look  as  if  the  North  was 
ready  to  give  up  all  it  had  gained.  We  began  to  wonder  if  we  had  a  country  to 
fight  for.  or  whether  our  boasted  constitution  was  a  rope  of  sand.  The  flag  itself 
had  disappeared.  Except  on  national  holidays,  or  when  carried  as  an  ornament 
at  tlie  head  of  some  military  display,  it  had  for  some  years  ceased  to  attract  any 
considerable  degree  of  admiration.  During  this  lull  before  the  storm  it  inspired 
little  enthusiasm.  The  slave  power  had  no  further  use  for  it ;  the  new  forces  of 
freedom  were  awaiting  their  turn.  Congress  itself  seemed  to  have  caught  the 
infection  "While  the  secession  leaders  were  engaged  in  their  schemes  for  the 
disruption  of  the  national  government  and  the  formation  of  a  new  confederacy, 
congress  was  employing  every  effort  to  arrest  the  disunion  tendency  by  making 
new  concessions,  and  offering  new  guaranties  to  the  offended  power  of  the 
South."  No  sooner  had  it  convened  than  "in  each  branch  special  committees  of 
conciliation  were  appointed.  They  were  not  so  termed  in  the  resolutions  of  the 
senate  and  house,  but  their  mission  was  solely  one  of  conciliation."  In  the  senate 
they  raised  a  committee  of  thirteen,  representing  the  number  of  the  original 
states  of  the  Union.  In  the  house  the  committee  was  composed  of  thirty-three 
members,  the  representatives  from  the  Peoria  district,  William  Kellogg  being  a 
member  of  the  latter.  Proposition  after  proposition  was  introduced,  until,  as 
Mr.  Blaine  afterwards  said  they  would  have  filled  a  large  volume. 

But  the  South  emboldened  by  the  vascillating  course  of  congress  became  more 
defiant  than  ever.  One  of  their  leaders  contemptuously  said  if  the  North  would 
sign  their  names  to  a  blank  sheet  of  paper  and  submit  it  to  the  South  to  fill  in 
the  terms  of  re-union  they  would  not  do  it.  With  the  president  at  its  back  the 
South  had  the  North  on  the  run.  With  the  North  it  was  surrender  or  fight  with 
the  fighting  postponed  until  the  incoming  of  the  new  administration. 

Among  the  measures  prominently  brought    forward   for  the  pacification   of 


I 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  205 

the  country  was  a  proposed  anieiulnienl  to  the  constitution  submitted  by  the 
venerable  and  highly  respected  John  J.  Crittenden,  senator  from  Kentucky. 
Coming  from  a  border  state  senator,  it  was  looked  upon  by  many  as  the  embodi- 
ment of  the  sentiments  which  might  be  agreed  upon  by  the  whole  country.  This 
proposition  had  been  rejected  by  the  senate  but  afterwards  brought  forward  in  the 
liouse  as  a  substitute  for  the  measures  purposed  by  the  house  committee  of  thir- 
teen. The  report  of  that  committee  was  so  obno.xious  to  the  northern  representa- 
tives as  to  meet  with  but  little  favor  in  the  house.  To  his  credit  be  it  said  that 
our  repre.sentative.  Judge  Kellogg,  was  one  of  the  three  who  voted  against  it  in 
committee. 

Hut  many  of  the  republicans,  rather  than  have  war,  were  willing  to  go  to  great 
lengths  in  the  way  of  conciliation,  believing  that  conciliation  was  better  than  dis- 
union. It  was  even  hinted  that  Senators  Cameron  and  Seward,  both  of  whom 
were  named  in  connection  with  cabinet  positions,  had  shown  signs  of  a  willing- 
ness to  compromise  on  terms  agreeable  to  the  border  states. 

It  was  during  this  period  of  excitement,  when  four  states  had  already  seceded 
and  others  were  in  process  of  seceding;  when  the  princii)a!  forts,  arsenals  and 
navy  yards  in  the  South  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  seceding  states  and 
the  surrender  of  Fort  Sumter  had  been  demanded,  that  our  congressman,  Wil- 
liam Kellogg,  on  the  20th  day  of  January,  1861,  visited  Air.  Lincoln  at  his  home 
in  Springfield.  What  occurred  at  that  interview  may  never  be  known.  It  is 
known  however,  that  a  long  interview  took  place  reaching  far  into  the  night.  It 
is  known  too,  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  in  favor  of  securing  to  the  people  of  the 
South  all  their  constitutional  rights  even  to  the  restoration  of  their  fugitive  slaves. 
It  is  also  known  that  he  had  great  solicitude  about  the  retention  of  the  border 
states  in  the  Union,  if  disunion  should  become  an  accomplished  fact.  But  so  far 
as  known  he  had  never  by  any  word  publicly  uttered  or  by  any  letter  written  re- 
ceded one  jot  or  one  tittle  from  the  principles  of  the  platform  upon  which  he  had 
been  elected.  But  who  knows  that  he  never  entertained  the  thought  that,  if 
by  so  doing,  war  might  be  averted,  the  seceding  states  brought  back  and  the 
Union  restored,  he  might  have  considered  it  his  duty  to  yield?  He  had  already 
seen  enough  of  the  vascillating  course  of  some  of  the  party  leaders,  both  in  and 
out  of  congress  to  awaken  his  deep  solicitude  for  the  future,  yet  still  continued 
to  counsel  a  firm  adherence  to  the  principles  of  "No  more  slave  territory." 

It  was  a  matter  of  great  surprise  therefore,  that  w'ithin  ten  days  after  his 
return  from  Springfield,  that  Mr.  Kellogg  who  was  supposed  to  stand  very  near 
the  president-elect  should  present  in  congress  a  measure  of  compromise  which 
was  interpreted  by  all  parties  as  a  departure  from  the  Chicago  platform.  His 
proposition  was  presented  on  February  i,  for  the  purpose  of  having  it  printed 
and  at  the  proper  time  ofl:'ered  as  a  sul^stitutc  for  the  Crittenden  amendment. 
The  supposed  nearness  of  political  relationship  of  Judge  Kellogg  to  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  at  once  seized  upon  by  the  democrats  in  congress  as  a  circumstance  indicative 
of  a  willingness  on  the  jxirt  of  the  president-elect  to  concede  more  than  his  party 
had  been  willing  to  do.  But  no  sooner  had  this  intimation  been  thrown  out  than 
Judge  Kellogg  declared  upon  the  floor  of  congress  that  no  human  hand  other 
than  his  own  was  in  any  way  responsible  for  the  proposition. 

The  Crittenden  amendment  embraced  the  following  points :  To  renew  the 
Missouri  line  of  36°  30'  and  carry  it  to  the  Pacific  ocean ;  to  prohibit  slavery 
north  and  permit  it  south  of  that  line :  to  admit  new  states  with  or  without  slavery 
as  their  constitutions  might  provide ;  to  ])rohil>it  congress  from  abolishing  slavery 
in  the  states  or  in  the  District  of  Columbia  so  long  as  it  should  exist  in  X'irginia 
or  Maryland;  to  permit  free  transmission  of  slaves  by  land  or  water  in  any  state; 
to  pay  from  the  National  treasury  for  fugitive  slaves  rescued  after  arrest;  to 
amend  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  in  respect  to  commissioners'  fees  and  to  ask  the 
northern  states  to  repeal  their  personal  liberty  laws  in  regard  to  such  fugitives. 

The  proposition  of  Judge  Kellogg  embraced  the  following  points:  To  renew 
the  Missouri  line  of  36°  30'  and  extend  it  to  the  Pacific  ocean;  to  prohibit  slavery 


206  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

north  of  that  line  and  to  permit  slave  owners  in  the  states  to  take  and  hold  them 
in  territory  south  of  it  while  such  territory  should  remain  under  territorial  govern- 
ment ;  to  admit  new  states  formed  from  territory  either  north  or  south  of  it  with 
or  without  slavery  as  their  constitutions  might  provide ;  that  the  general  gov- 
ernment should  have  no  power  to  abolish  or  establish  slavery  in  any  state ;  that 
congress  should  have  power  to  enact  laws  for  the  return  of  fugitive  slaves ;  that 
the  foreign  slave  trade  should  be  abolished  and  that  no  new  territory  should  be 
annexed  or  acquired  by  the  United  States  unless  by  treaty  to  be  ratified  by  a  vote 
of  two-thirds  of  the  senate. 

There  was  nothing  new  in  this  proposition ;  every  article  thereof  having  in 
one  form  or  another  been  before  the  house.  It  seems  to  have  been  an  effort  to 
collect  and  condense  into  one  amendment  those  points  which  had  met  with  the 
greatest  favor.  It  was,  however,  interpreted  by  both  democrats  and  republicans 
as  a  plain  departure  from  the  Chicago  platform  in  permitting  the  extension  of 
slavery  into  new  territory  lying  south  of  tlie  line  of  36°  30'.  For  this  Judge 
Kellogg  was  severely  condemned  by  his  constituents,  and  within  a  week  there- 
after the  I'eoria  district  congressional  committee  met  and  called  a  delegate  conven- 
tion to  be  held  at  Peoria  on  the  226.  day  of  February,  ostensibly  to  take  such 
action  as  they  might  see  fit ;  but,  for  their  utterances  made  at  the  time,  it  would 
appear  that  the  true  object  of  the  convention  was  to  pass  judgment  upon  the 
course  of  Judge  Kellogg.  The  several  counties  responded  to  the  call  by  calling 
either  delegate  county  conventions  or  mass  meetings,  at  which  resolutions  were 
passed  deprecating  any  departure  from  the  Chicago  platform.  One  or  two 
called  upon  Judge  Kellogg  to  resign ;  while  one  commended  his  motives  while 
differing  with  him  in  his  plan.  The  resolutions  passed  at  the  caucus  held  in  the 
city  of  Peoria  were  emphatic  in  declaring  the  party  had  not  advocated  one  set  of 
principles  before  election  to  be  discarded  and  another  set  substituted  after  elec- 
tion ;  that  the  Kellogg  proposition  met  with  their  hearty  condemnation  and  they 
entered  an  earnest  and  emphatic  protest  against  them. 

During  all  this  time  the  republican  papers  of  the  district  were  filled  with 
articles  denunciatory  of  Kellogg's  course,  some  charging  him  with  treachery  to 
the  party,  some  calling  him  a  renegade,  and  some  called  upon  him  to  resign. 

The  republicans  of  Peoria  county  met  in  convention  on  the  21st  day  of  Feb- 
ruary to  elect  delegates  to  the  congressional  convention.  In  their  resolutions 
they  had  declared  that  Kellogg  had  forfeited  all  claim  to  the  confidence  of  his 
constituents  and  ought  not  to  be  considered  as  the  representative  of  republican 
principles.  This  resolution  when  first  presented  contained  this  further  clause: 
"And  it  is  the  sense  of  this  convention  that  he  ought  to  resign  his  trust  into  the 
hands  of  the  people  by  whom  he  was  elected,"  but  after  some  debate  it  was 
stricken  out  by  the  convention. 

In  the  congressional  convention  which  met  in  Peoria  on  the  next  day  it  was 
resolved  "That  we  enter  our  solemn  protest  against  the  resolutions  oft'ered  by  our 
representative  in  congress  to  amend  the  federal  constitution,  believing  them  to 
be  subversive  of  our  plighted  faith,  our  party's  honor  and  the  spirit  of  our  institu- 
tions, and  we  earnestly  urge  him  to  an  unfaltering  support  of  republican  principles 
as  enunciated  in  the  Chicago  platform."  An  attempt  was  made  to  add  the  words 
"or  to  resign"  but  after  a  sharp  debate  it  failed  by  a  vote  of  79  to  88.  The 
Transcript  in  an  editorial  said  that  "most  of  those  who  voted  against  the  amend- 
ment believed  that  Judge  Kellogg  was  a  man  of  honor  and  if  he  could  not  com- 
ply with  the  request  of  the  convention  he  would  resign  without  being  asked,  and 
if  he  was  not  a  man  of  honor  he  would  not  resign  although  asked,  and  it  would 
be  a  waste  of  breath."  But  Kellogg  did  not  change  his  course  nor  did  he  resign. 
Nor  was  the  demand  renewed.  Possibly  the  most  radical  of  his  opponents  had 
not  stopped  to  consider  that  his  term  was  about  to  expire  and  that  his  resignation 
of  his  then  pending  term  would  serve  no  good  purpose.  Should  he  resign  the 
term  to  which  he  had  just  been  elected  the  vacancy  would  have  had  to  be  filled 
by  a  new  election,  which  in  the  then  excited  state  of  the  country  might  not  have 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  207 

resulted  in  a  republican  victory.     It  is  possible,  too,  that  Mr.  Lincoln  may  have 
thrown  his  advice  against  the  party's  insisting  on  Kellogg's  resignation. 

Here  is  an  enigma  in  politics  which  is  heightened  by  the  fact  that  for  ten 
days,  during  which  time  this  excitement  was  raging  in  the  fourth  district  of 
Illinois,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  on  his  way  to  Washington,  stopping  first  at  Indianapolis, 
then  at  Cincinnati,  Columbus,  Pittsburg,  Cleveland,  Buffalo,  Albany,  New  York, 
Trenton,  and  Philadeljihia,  making  speeches  at  all  important  points  addressing 
the  legislatures  of  three  states  and  arriving  at  Washington  on  the  day  next  after 
this  congressional  convention.  If  Mr.  Lincoln  had  then  regarded  his  old  friend 
as  a  traitor  to  his  party,  is  it  to  be  supposed  he  would  have  maintained  a  profound 
silence  or  would  he  not  have  made  it  known  in  some  way  that  his  course  did  not 
meet  with  his  approval  ?  For  five  days  this  silence  was  maintained  and  no  steps 
taken  by  Kellogg  to  recede  from  his  position. 

On  the  28th  day  of  February,  however,  with  the  proceedings  of  the  Peoria 
convention  before  him  he  made  the  formal  presentation  of  his  proposed  amend- 
ment by  moving  it  as  a  substitute  for  that  known  as  the  Crittenden  amendment. 
This  was  as  far,  however,  as  it  ever  got.  Congress  was  in  a  turmoil.  One 
proposition  after  another  was  swept  away  as  by  a  cyclone  until  nothing  remained 
but  a  simple  proposal  to  amend  the  constitution  to  the  effect  that  congress  should 
have  no  power  to  interfere  with  slavery  in  the  states  where  it  then  existed.  This 
])roposition  was  adopted  by  the  requisite  vote  in  each  house  and  sent  to  the  sev- 
eral states  for  their  approval.  But  the  logic  of  events  dispensed  with  the  neces- 
sity of  its  being  acted  upon,  for  within  sixty  days  from  that  date  the  rebellion 
was  in  full  sway  and  greater  issues  were  upon  the  country. 

fudge  Kellogg  remained  in  congress  for  two  years  thereafter,  during  which 
time  his  district  was  changed  and  he  was  not  again  a  candidate.  But  Mr.  Lincoln 
oft'ered  him  the  position  of  minister  of  the  United  States  to  Nicaragua,  which 
oft'er  he  declined.  He  then  appointed  him  chief  justice  of  Nebraska  territory, 
a  position  he  continued  to  hold  until  its  admission  as  a  state  March  i,  1867, 
nearly  two  years  after  Mr.  Lincoln's  death.  It  is  quite  evident  therefore,  that 
Judge  Kellogg  never  lost  the  confidence  of  Mr.  Lincoln  as  he  must  have  done 
if  the  latter  had  regarded  him  as  a  -traitor  to  his  party. 

The  history  of  the  time  also  shows  that  other  republicans  in  congress  had 
made  as  bad  breaks,  or  worse  than  this  of  Judge  Kellogg.  Particularly  was  this 
the  case  with  Charles  Francis  Adams,  w'hom  Mr.  Lincoln  appointed  minister 
to  the  court  of  St.  James.  Mr.  Seward  was  also  accused  of  weakening  and  his 
home  organ,  the  Albany  Evening  Journal,  edited  by  Thurlow  Weed,  was  out- 
spoken in  favor  of  some  compromise'.  Yet  Mr.  Seward  was  then  known  to  be 
slated  for  and  afterwards  received  a  cabinet  appointment.  The  Chicago  Journal 
came  out  decidedly  in  favor  of  Kellogg's  course,  and  the  idea  seemed  to  be 
floatin.g  in  the  air  that,  if  not  Mr.  Lincoln,  at  least  Mr.  Seward  looked  with  favor 
upon  his  proposed  amendment.  Early  in  February,  the  Illinois  State  Journal, 
the  leading  republican  paper  at  Mr.  Lincoln's  home,  and  before  he  had  started 
for  Washington  had  said:  "Our  dispatches  from  \\'ashington  this  morning  state 
that  Mr.  Kellogg  had  received  a  message  from  a  leading  re)niblican  here  (Spring- 
held  )  stating  that  his  proposition  is  satisfactory.  Such  is  not  the  case.  We 
believe  no  republican  of  character  has  transmitted  such  a  dispatch.  The  Breck- 
enridge  jjlatform  will  never  be  received  by  the  people  of  Illinois  as  a  basis  of  an 
adjustment."  Although  not  mentioning  his  name  the  evident  purpose  of  this 
emphatic  denial  was  to  exculpate  Mr.  Lincoln  before  the  public  from  any  con- 
nection with  the  Kellogg  proposition. 

What  motive  had  Judge  Kellogg  for  his  course  upon  this  occasion?  He  must 
have  known  his  proposition  would  meet  with  defeat.  He  must  have  known 
he  would  be  condemned  at  home.  There  was  nothing  to  gain  at  that  time  either 
personally  or  politically  from  his  course.  It  is  possible  he  thought  to  lay  this 
last  burden  upon  the  conscience  of  the  south  ;  to  offer  them  this  last  peace  offer- 
ing, to  hold  out  to  them  this  last  olive  branch,  which  if  accepted  by  them  would 


208  HISTORY  OF'  PEORIA  COUNTY 

have  thrown  the  responsibilities  of  the  war  upon  the  north,  but  if  rejected  by 
them  would  justify  the  incoming  administration  in  the  adoption  of  such  measures 
as  should  be  found  necessary  to  maintain  the  national  authority.  Whatever 
his  underlying  motives  may  have  been  and  by  whomsoever  advised  it  is  certain 
Judge  Kellogg  never  shirked  the  whole  responsibility  of  his  actions  but  went 
to  his  death  bearing  his  reproach. 

After  his  death,  however,  those  who  had  knowledge  of  the  aiTair  gave  to  the 
country  the  solution  of  the  problem.  Judge  Kellogg  died  at  Peoria,  December 
20,  1872,  and  was  buried  on  the  Sunday  following.  On  the  day  of  his  death  a 
meeting  of  the  Peoria  Bar  was  held,  at  which  meeting  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  draft  resolutions  commemorative  of  his  life  and  services,  of  which  committee 
Elbridge  G.  Johnson,  who  had  been  a  member  of  the  legislature  in  1861,  was 
made  chairman.  On  the  Tuesday  following,  at  the  convening  of  the  circuit  court, 
Hon.  Sabin  D.  Puterbaugh  presiding,  Mr.  Johnson  presented  to  the  court  the 
resolutions  which  had  been  adopted  by  the  bar  and  moved  that  they  be  spread 
upon  its  records.  On  the  day  following  (Wednesday,  January  8,  1873),  an 
account  of  these  proceedings  was  published  in  the  Peoria  Transcript,  then  the 
leading  republican  paper  in  the  district,  in  which  allusion  is  thus  made  to  the 
remarks  of  Mr.  Johnson :  "In  speaking  of  the  memorable  compromise  resolutions 
offered  in  congress  by  Judge  Kellogg,  Mr.  Johnson  stated  that  the  resolutions 
had  been  prepared  in  Springfield  by  Judge  Kellogg  and  Mr.  Lincoln,  the  presi- 
dent-elect, who  gave  them  his  hearty  indorsement.  At  the  same  time  he  felt 
that  in  the  agitated  state  of  the  country,  the  presenter  of  them  might  fall  a  victim 
of  popular  prejudice.  Judge  Kellogg,  notwithstanding  he  felt  the  full  force  of 
the  danger  of  political  death  presented  the  resolutions  and  met  the  fate  he  feared 
awaited  him,  but  gave  no  sign  as  it  would  never  have  done  to  commit  Lincoln 
to  any  line  of  policy." 

The  Daily  National  Democrat  edited  by  William  T.  Dowdall,  was  at  that 
time  a  leading  democrat  paper  published  at  Peoria.  It  did  not  publish  its  account 
of  the  proceedings  in  court  on  the  8th  of  January,  but  deferred  it  until  the  next 
day  so  as  to  be  able  to  write  out  its  hastily  taken  notes  at  greater  length.  It 
reports  Mr.  Johnson  as  saying:  "In  the  winter  of  i860,  when  a  member  of  con- 
gress, and  when  the  country  was  on  the  verge  of  Civil  war,  Mr.  Kellogg  pre- 
sented to  that  body  a  plan  of  compromise  for  which  he  was  severely  censured  by 
his  constituents,  and  a  convention  called  by  them  publicly  demanded  his  resigna- 
tion. I  here  declare  to  you  that  he  was  unjustly  censured  on  that  occasion. 
Before  taking  the  step  he  did,  he  went  to  Springfield  and  was  closeted  with 
President-elect  Lincoln  all  night,  and,  at  the  suggestion,  request  and  approval 
of  Mr.  Lincoln  he  offered  his  compromise  measure  in  congress.  I  know  this 
to  be  true.  I  was  then  in  the  legislature  at  Springfield,  but  it  was  deemed  improper 
to  state  the  facts  at  the  time.  Mr.  Kellogg  was  made  the  conductor  that  carried 
out  that  lightning  which  blasted  himself.  While  Mr.  Lincoln  lived,  Mr.  Kellogg 
was  sure  of  recognition  and  reward,  and,  had  he  lived,  that  recognition  would 
have  been  continued.  With  heroic  bravery  he  marched  to  his  duty,  though  he 
could  not  but  foresee  what  risks  he  ran  in  its  performance." 

No  one  who  knew  Mr.  Johnson  would  doubt  his  word  on  such  an  occasion, 
and  on  a  subject  of  so  great  importance.  Neither  can  it  be  doubted  that  we  have 
in  the  foregoing  extracts  one  from  a  republican,  the  other  from  a  democratic 
paper,  a  substantial  report  of  what  he  said.  In  corroboration  of  this  is  the  fact 
that  Mr.  Johnson's  office  was  within  two  blocks  of  each  of  these  papers,  they 
being  the  leading  papers  of  the  city,  read  by  every  one.  and  no  word  of  dissent 
appeared  from  .Mr.  Johnson,  or  any  other  person  in  Peoria.  It  is  more  probable 
that  the  account  published  in  the  National  Democrat  underwent  his  personal 
revision. 

The  interpretation  placed  upon  his  words  by  those  present  was  well  voiced 
by  Lucien  H.  Kerr,  who  in  the  legislature  next  preceding  had  represented  this 
district  in  the  senate,  who  said:    "In  the  explanation  that  has  been  made  by  Mr. 


AMKAIIAM     I.IXCnl.X 
Taken  at   Peoiia.  O.tdlier   HI,   is.-it 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  209 

Johnson,  justice  has  been  done  to  Judge  Kellogg.  At  the  time  he  stepped  forward 
it  was  necessary  for  the  safety  of  the  country  that  Mr.  Lincoln  should  stand 
uncommitted.  The  mind  of  the  nation  was  deeply  moved  and  nothing  but  blood 
seemed  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  the  crisis.  Kellogg  stepped  into  the  breach. 
He  knew  it  would  be  his  political  death,  but  he  died  politically  for  his  country 
as  heroically  as  the  soldier  who  faces  and  braves  the  sword  or  bullet  of  his 
enemy.  And  he  went  down  to  his  death  and  made  no  sign.  He  kept  it  all  within 
his  own  bosom.  Knowing  he  had  been  maligned  he  raised  no  voice.  This  is  the 
last,  the  greatest,  the  highest  tribute  to  his  memory. 

Mr.  Alonzo  M.  Swan,  a  life-long  citizen  of  Canton  and  the  historian  of  the 
city,  in  a  communication  to  a  friend  gives  a  long  statement  of  the  occurrence 
from  which  the  following  extracts  are  taken.  "Republican  statesmen  in  the 
north  who  foreseeing  the  terrible  cost  of  human  life  and  sacrifice  that  would 
follow  war,  were  hopeful  it  might  be  averted.  Among  this  number  were  Simon 
Cameron  and  William  H.  Seward,  already  slated  for  ])ositions  in  Mr.  Lincoln's 
cabinet 

The  Hon.  William  Kellogg  *  *  *  arrived  in  Springfield  on  Sunday 
morning.  January  20,  bearing  confidential  communications  from  Messrs.  Cameron 
and  Seward  to  Mr.  Lincoln.  These  communications  were  of  so  grave  a  character 
that  Mr.  Lincoln  summoned  David  Davis.  *  *  *  ^he  Hon.  Joseph  Gillespie, 
State  Senator  from  Madison  county,  *  *  *  David  (William)  Butler,  then 
State  Treasurer  of  the  .State  of  Illinois,  and  one  or  two  others  to  consider  the 
communications  of  Cameron  and  Seward.  At  this  conference  a  new  series  of 
compromise  resolutions  were  submitted  which  Cameron  and  Seward  proposed 
should  be  introduced  in  the  house  of  representatives  at  Washington  by  Mr.  Kel- 
logg. These  resolutions  were  on  similar  lines  to  the  already  rejected  Crittenden 
resolutions,  but  it  was  argued  by  their  authors  that,  even  if  they  were  rejected, 
they  could  furnish  an  argument  for  the  north  that  the  south  had  the  olive  branch 
extended,  not  only  by  Crittenden,  a  border  state  statesman,  but  by  a  radical 
republican  from  Mr.  Lincoln's  own  state,  and,  therefore,  it  might  be  inferred, 
representing  his  own  views." 

"Just  before  midnight  Mr.  Kellogg  came  to  my  room  (at  the  Cheney  House) 
and  awakened  me  saying  that  he  wanted  to  talk  to  me.     I  was  from  Canton,  Kel- 
logg's  town,  and  had  been  placed,  by  his  arrangement,  in  charge  of  the  political 
editorials  of  the  "Galesburg  F"ree  Democrat,"  the  leading  republican  paper  of  his 
district,  and  was  considered  a  protege  of  his.    Kellogg  was  evidently  worried  and 
'  paced  back  and  forwards  for  several  moments  before  he  spoke,  when  turning  sud- 
denly to  me  he  said  'Swan,  I  have  agreed  to-night  to  dig  my  own  political  grave — 
,  a  grave  so  deep  that  when  I  am  buried  no  political  archangel  can  ever  resurrect 
I  me.'    He  then  went  on  to  tell  me  that  he  had  been  sent  by  Cameron  and  Seward, 
!by  Mr.  Lincoln's  suggestion,  to  show  the  resolutions  he  afterwards  offered  to  Mr. 
I  Lincoln  for  his  approval  and  suggestions,  as  to  any  changes  he  might  desire.    These 
;  resolutions  had  been  under  discussion  all  the  afternoon  and  evening,  and  had  been 
'modified  in  some  particulars  and  amplified  in  others  by  Mr.  Lincoln's  own  hand. 
[Said  Kellogg,  'I  have  not  the  slightest  confidence  in  their  efficiency.     Their  only 
(possible  effect  I  believe  will  be  to  bury  me  politically.     If  I  lived  in  Washburn's 
i  district  it  might  be  different,  but  you  know  how  radical  Galesburg  is,  and  Knox 
( county  controls  the  fourth  district.'     I  asked  him  why  he  proposed  to  introduce 
I  the  resolutions  knowing,  as  he  did,  the  personal  consequences.     T  love  Lincoln' 
was  his  reply,  'and  he  has  asked  me  to  sacrifice  my  personal  ambition  for  my 
country's  sake  and  I  cannot  resist  him.'  " 

The  next  afternoon  Mr.  Kellogg  called  up  Swan  in  the  hall  of  the  house  of 
I  representatives  and,  together,  they  called  upon  Mr.  Lincoln  (who  then  occupied 
the  governor's  room  in  the  state  house. — McCulloch),  who  said,  "I  know  how 
you  feel,  Kellogg,  about  those  resolutions,  and  the  personal  results  to  you ;  but 
I  promise  you  I  will  stand  by  you  in  the  future,  no  matter  what  may  come."  Mr. 
Lincoln  did  not  appear  to  believe  that  the  resolutions  would  lead  to  any  compro- 

Vol.  I— 1 4 


210  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

mise,  but  did  l)elicve  they  would  furnish  a  justification  for  any  future  action  in 
defense  of  the  Union  which  he  might  be  called  upon  to  make. 

Mr.  Swan  then  speaks  of  the  convention  at  Peoria,  which  he  says  was  held 
to  demand  his  resignation,  but  at  Mr.  Lincoln's  personal  request,  a  few  prominent 
men  succeeded  in  preventing  the  passage  of  such  resolutions,  although  resolutions 
were  passed,  and  speeches  made  roundly  denouncing  his  action.  He  concludes  by 
saying:  "True  to  his  promise,  Air.  Lincoln  stood  by  Kellogg,  appointing  him 
chief  justice  of  Nebraska  after  his  term  in  congress  expired,  and  giving  him 
more  appointments  in  the  first  distribution  of  patronage  than  were  received  by 
any  other  congressman  from  Illinois." 

These  statements,  liowever  plausible  they  may  appear,  seem  at  first  to  be 
irreconcilable  with  what  Mr.  Lincoln  wrote  to  Seward  on  the  same  day  Kellogg 
first  presented  his  resolutions  in  congress.  In  a  letter  of  February  i,  he  says  to 
Seward.  "On  the  21st  ult.  Hon.  W.  Kellogg,  a  republican  member  of  congress 
of  this  state,  whom  you  probably  know,  was  here  in  a  good  deal  of  anxiety  for 
our  friends  to  go  in  the  way  of  compromise  on  the  now  vexed  question.  While 
he  was  with  me  I  received  a  dispatch  from  Senator  Trumbull  at  Washington, 
alluding  to  the  same  question  and  telling  me  to  await  letters.  ...  I  say 
now,  however,  as  I  have  all  the  while  said,  that  on  the  territorial  question — that 
is,  the  question  of  extending  slavery  under  the  national  auspices — I  am  inflexible. 
I  am  for  no  compromise  which  assists  or  permits  the  extension  of  the  institution 
on  soil  ow'ned  by  the  nation.  And  any  trick  by  which  the  nation  is  to  acquire 
territory  and  then  allow  some  local  authority  to  spread  slavery,  is  as  obnoxious 
as  any  other.  I  take  it  that  to  effect  some  such  result  as  this,  and  to  put  us  again 
on  the  high  road  to  a  slave  empire,  is  the  object  of  all  these  proposed  compromises. 
I  am  against  it." 

These  sentences  doubtless  express  Air.  Lincoln's  real  sentiments.  They  were 
also  the  sentiments  of  Judge  Kellogg  up  to  the  time  of  his  apparent  desertion  of 
his  party  on  the  occasion  of  the  introduction  of  these  compromise  resolutions. 
According  to  Mr.  Swan  they  continued  to  be  his  sentiments  even  after  he  had 
resolved  to  take  the  course  he  did.  The  letter  to  Mr.  Seward  was  doubtless 
written  for  perusal  by  others  besides  himself,  as  a  spur  to  keep  his  friends  in 
line.  But  there  are  times  in  a  man's  public  life,  as  well  as  in  war  when  strategy 
is  justifiable.  Lincoln  was  firm  in  his  belief,  but  had  doubtless  apprehended 
that  in  view  of  the  horrors  of  internecine  war  and  possible  disunion  compromise 
might  be  resorted  to  before  he  should  reach  the  presidential  chair.  If  one  was  to 
come,  that  of  Crittenden  seemed  the  most  likely  to  Ije  adopted.  It  is  possible 
that  oft'ered  by  Kellogg  was  intended  as  a  flank  movement,  to  eliminate  some 
of  the  objectionable  features  of  the  former,  and  to  make  a  fair  divide  between 
north  and  south  of  the  common  territory,  while  it  might  remain  under  territorial 
governments,  and  to  apply  the  doctrines  of  popular  sovereignty  to  it  when  ready 
for  admission.  Even  if  Cameron,  Seward  and  Lincoln  were  all  concerned  in  it, 
it  is  not  to  be  considered  as  a  backing  down  on  their  ])art.  but  simply  as  a  plan 
by  which  in  the  event  of  an  offer  of  compromise  the  slave  power  should  gain  as 
little  advantage  as  possible.  In  the  meantime  it  was  of  the  utmost  importance 
that  the  name  of  neither  of  them  should  publicly  appear  as  connected  therewith, 
but  Kellogg  should  stand  alone — a  scape-goat  as  it  were  to  bear  the  burden.  In 
this  view  it  was  proper  for  Lincoln  to  write  to  Sew-ard  as  he  did.  It  is  possible 
the  latter  might  have  had  little  acquaintance  with  Kellogg,  and  yet  he  may  have 
been  chosen  as  the  bearer  of  confidential  dispatches  between  Cameron  and  Seward 
at  Washington  and  Mr.  Lincoln  at  Springfield.  Subsequent  events  show  that 
Mr.  Lincoln  never  lost  confidence  in  Kellogg,  but  that  the  latter  was  holding  a 
valuable  appointment  under  the  president  at  the  time  of  his  assassination.  Pos- 
terity will  therefore  be  justified  in  believing  what  Mr.  Johnson  and  Mr.  Swan 
have  stated,  without  imputing  insincerity,  or  duplicity  to  Mr.  Lincoln  or  a  want 
of  adherence  to  principle  on  the  part  of  judge  Kellogg.  In  their  struggles  to  save 
the  country  from  a  gigantic  rebellion,  which  at  that  time  seemed  almost  certain 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  211 

to  result  in  the  dissolution  of  the  Union  the  wisest  statesmen  were  at  their  wits 
end  and  many  of  them  may  have  done  things  which  posterity  may  have  con- 
demned, but  whatever  the  verdict  of  posterity  may  be  as  to  the  wisdom  of  Judge 
Kellogg's  course,  none  can  imi)ugn  his  patriotism  or  the  sincerity  of  his  motives 
on  that  occasion.  If  he  was  not  faithful  to  his  party,  as  party  fealty  is  under- 
stood, it  was  because  his  country  stood  nearer  to  his  breast  tiian  his  party.  If 
he  was  misjudged  he  meekly  bore  his  reproach  rather  than  betray  the  confidence 
reposed  in  him  by  the  great  martyr.  In  any  event  this  movement  of  his  formed 
one  of  the  most  interesting  episodes  in  the  political  history  of  that  most  exciting 
period. 

In  the  winter  of  'Go  and  '6i,  the  editor  was  attending  college  in  Monmouth 
and  was  a  member  of  a  debating  society  which  discussed  the  ciuestion  whether 
the  south  would  actually  go  to  war  or  whether  they  were  only  attempting  to 
intimidate  the  north.  The  editor  was  very  sure  that  they  had  too  much  sense  to 
go  to  war  and  debated  on  that  side  of  the  question  so  earnestly  as  to  become 
almost  intemperate  in  his  language.  In  a  very  short  time  after  that  he  was 
wearing  a  blue  uniform  of  the  United  States  \'olunteers.  which  uniform  he 
continued  to  wear  for  more  than  three  years. 

*  *  *  *  *  ;i= 

The  aI)ove  article  was  submitted  by  Colonel  Rice  to  Mrs.  James,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Judge  Kellogg,  and  she  told  him  that  it  gives  the  true  history  of  the  Kellogg 
Amendment. 

It  was  submitted  to  William  T.  Dowdall,  who  is  mentioned  in  the  article,  and 
Mr.  Dowdall,  in  a  letter  states,  that  in  the  year  1866  Judge  Kellogg,  while  chief 
justice  of  Nebraska,  under  appointment  from  Lincoln,  related  to  him  the  whole 
history  of  this  proposition  of  compromise  and  that  his  statement  fully  agreed 
with  what  is  set  out  in  this  article  by  Judge  McCulloch,  that  Kellogg  came 
from  Washington  at  the  request  of  Seward  and  Cameron,  who  had  draughted 
the  resolution  along  the  lines  of  the  Crittenden  Resolution,  eliminating  some 
of  the  most  objectionable  clauses,  and  Mr.  Kellogg  was  authorized  to  say  to  Lin- 
coln that  they  approved  and  endorsed  the  resolution  under  existing  circumstances 
and  Kellogg,  at  their  request,  informed  Lincoln  fully  of  the  situation  in  Wash- 
ington and  that  Lincoln  made  a  few  amendments  to  the  resolution  and  urged 
Kellogg  to  introduce  it ;  that  Lincoln  conferred,  in  Springfield,  with  Judge  Joseph 
Gillespie  and  with  E.  G.  Johnson,  who  was  then  member  of  the  legislature  from 
Peoria,  and  that  Lincoln  at  that  time  promised  Kellogg  that  he  would  stand  by 
him  and  give  him  some  appointment  worth  more  than  a  seat  in  Congress ;  and 
that  it  was  thoroughly  understood  at  that  time  that  no  one  whatever  was  to  be 
in  any  way  made  responsible  for  the  offering  of  the  resolution  except  Kellogg 
himself ;  and  that  Lincoln  also  suggested  to  Kellogg  that  he  was  then  already 
elected  for  a  term  of  two  years  in  Congress  and  that  before  that  had  expired, 
public  sentiment  might  be  so  changed  that  his  proposition  of  compromise  would 
be  approved  by  his  constituents. 

The  editor  is  informed  by  Colonel  Dowdall  that  the  article  published  in  his 
paper  (|uoted  by  Judge  .McCulloch  was  sul)niitted  to  Mr.  E.  G.  Johnson  and  had 
his  approval  before  it  was  put  in  type  and  that  when  printed  Mr.  Johnson  called 
at  the  printing  office  and  bought  a  number  of  copies  of  the  articles  to  send  to  his 
friends. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE    CIVIL    WAR — PRESIDENT    LINCOLN    CALLS    FOR    SEVENTY-FIVE    THOUSAND    MEN 

AND    PEORIANS    RESPOND    LOYALLY    AND    HEARTILY PARTY    LINES    ARE    DIMMED 

AND  PRACTICALLY  ALL  ARE  FOR  THE  UNION ROBERT  G.  INGERSOLL  TENDERS   HIS 

SERVICES  AND   BECOMES   COLONEL  OF  A    REGIMENT — COMPLETE   LIST  OF   PEORIA'S 

HEROES OTHER    WARS SOLDIERS'    MONUMENTS. 

Notwithstanding  the  threats  of  the  south  that  it  would  sever  its  connection 
with  the  Union  in  the  event  an  anti-slavery  president  was  elected,  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  inaugurated  on  the  4th  day  of  March,  1861,  great  precautions  having 
been  taken  to  guard  him  from  the  ruthless  hand  of  the  assassin.  Even  at  this 
lime  some  of  the  slave-holding  states  had  seceded  and  the  inauguration  of  Lincoln 
l)ut  precipitated  the  "irrepressible  conflict."  On  the  12th  day  of  April,  Fort 
-Sumter  was  fired  on  by  the  vanguard  of  the  southern  army  at  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  and  the  whole  civilized  world  was  notified  by  that  traitorous  action  that 
civil  war  was  on  in  the  Linited  States. 

The  duty  of  the  president  was  plain  to  him,  as  he  saw  it  under  the  constitu- 
tion, and  immediately  after  this  taunting  insult  had  been  paid  the  flag,  on  the 
t4th  day  of  April,  Lincoln  issued  a  proclamation  calling  upon  his  countrymen  to 
join  with  him  to  defend  their  homes  and  country  and  vindicate  her  honor.  The 
call  of  the  president  was  for  75,000  men  and  on  the  15th  of  April,  Governor 
Richard  Yates  issued  a  call  for  the  convening  of  the  legislature.  Pleasures  were 
there  and  then  taken  to  meet  the  wishes  and  demands  of  the  president  and  within 
ten  days  after  the  call  for  troops,  10,000  men  of  the  state  of  Illinois  had  volun- 
teered their  services  to  their  country  and  millions  in  money  were  at  the  command 
of  the  government  from  patriots  in  various  parts  of  the  state.  Only  si.x  regiments 
could  be  accepted  at  this  time,  but,  anticipating  another  call,  the  legislature 
authorized  the  raising  of  ten  additional  regiments  and  more  than  the  requisite 
number  of  men  to  fill  them  at  once  offered  themselves.  In  May,  June  and  July 
seventeen  regiments  of  infantry  and  five  of  cavalry  had  been  raised  and  at  the 
close  of  1861  Illinois  had  in  camp  17,000  troops  and  50,000  in  the  field, — 15,000 
over  and  above  her  full  quota. 

The  president,  in  July  and  .\ugust.  1862,  called  for  600,000  more  men,  and 
.August  18  was  set  as  the  limit  for  volunteers,  after  which  a  draft  would  be 
ordered.  Before  eleven  days  had  expired,  men  came  from  the  fields,  shops, 
stores,  offices  and  other  places  of  business,  to  the  number  of  50,000,  showing 
by  their  promptitude  the  patriotism  of  a  great  state  and  of  its  people.  On  the 
2 1st  day  of  December,  1864,  the  last  call  was  made.  It  was  for  300,000  men  and 
Illinois  responded  generously,  although  her  c|uota  had  been  overdrawn  to  a  great 
extent. 

In  the  meantime  the  citizens  of  Peoria  and  the  country  were  heartily  and 
enthusiastically  in  sympathy  with  the  president  in  his  efl:orts  and  determination  to 
put  down  rebellion  in  the  states  and  save  the  integrity  of  the  Union.  There 
were  mass  meetings,  pole  raisings,  patriotic  speeches  on  rostrums,  in  the  pulpits 
and  on  the  street  corners.  Democrats  vied  with  republicans  in  expressions  of 
condemnation  of  the  spirit  of  the  southern  confederacy  and  party  affiliations 
were  forgotten  by  the  thousands  of  loyal  men  who  fell  over  each  other  in  their 

213 


214  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

eagerness  to  sign  their  names  to  the  muster  rolls.  Hon.  William  Manning,  one 
of  Peoria's  eminent  lawyers  of  the  day,  an  ardent  Douglas  democrat,  declared 
himself  for  the  Union,  the  constitution  and  the  flag.  At  a  great  meeting  of  citi- 
zens presided  over  by  the  mayor,  William  A.  Williard,  William  B.  Whififen,  a 
democrat,  was  made  one  of  the  secretaries.  The  Democratic  Union  announced 
its  policy  as  being  unequivocally  for  the  maintenance  of  the  federal  union  and 
Robert  G.  IngersoU,  then  a  brilliant  young  Peoria  lawyer  and  up  to  that  time  a 
democrat,  offered  to  raise  a  regiment  of  cavalry  i,ooo  strong.  This  offer  was 
not  available,  but  shortly  after  a  cavalry  regiment  was  organized  and  IngersoU 
was  made  its  colonel. 

The  board  of  supervisors  appropriated  $10,000  to  equip  her  volunteer  soldiers 
and  provide  for  the  families  of  those  needing  assistance.  j\Iany  offers  from 
influential  and  wealthy  men  were  made  to  provide  for  families  of  volunteers  and 
it  seemed  to  be  in  the  nature  of  a  competition  among  the  men  of  aifairs  to  see 
who  could  do  the  most  for  the  Union  cause. 

The  first  departure  of  volunteers  from  I'eoria  was  on  the  24th  day  of  April, 
1861.  On  this  day  Captain  Dennison's  company  of  "Xational  Blues"  entrained 
for  Springfield,  their  departure  being  witnessed  by  a  mass  of  men,  women  a;id 
children.  To  the  depot  the  "Blues"  were  escorted  by  Captain  Norton's  company 
of  volunteers,  the  Peoria  Zouaves  and  the  Emmet  Guards,  each  of  which  v  as 
headed  by  a  brass  band.  On  the  following  day  the  company  was  made  a  part 
of  the  state  militia  and  finally  it  was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  as 
Company  E,  Eighteenth  Regiment  Illinois  \'olunteers.  Richard  J.  Oglesby,  who 
was  afterwards  three  times  governor  of  the  state  and  United  States  sena<;or, 
was  commissioned  as  colonel  of  the  regiment.  Of  the  thousands  of  men  sent 
to  the  front  from  Illinois,  many  of  whom  never  returned,  Peoria  contributed 
a  generous  share.  But  the  tales  of  the  war  have  been  oft  told  and  countless 
volumes  contribute  to  the  history  of  the  great  conflict,  which  make  it  superfluous 
to  go  into  details  in  this  work.  The  well-filled  shelves  of  Peoria's  libraries  will 
furnish  all  that  may  be  desired  on  the  subject.  Following  is  a  complete  list 
of  names  of  the  brave  men,  who  fought  for  their  country's  honor  and  integrity, 
from  Peoria  county : 

EIGHTH     INF.\NTRY.  son.      Benjamin;      Loomis.      -Andrew;      Lutz,      Henry; 

Company  E  Miller,     Rodolphus;     Martens,     l-Vederick;     Molden- 

bower,     Ernest;    Martin,    Otis    P.;     Mund.     .August; 

Captain.  i\Ioehl,     Emil;     McCormick.     Seth;     Niglass,     Ignatz; 

Charles    E.    Dennison,    April    22,    1861.  Nofziger.      Jacob;      Oberhauser,      William;      Pluffer. 

Cbarles      H. ;      Rollaman,      Oscar;      Schutte,      Otto; 
Lieutenants.  Stutsman.  Xavier;  Schroeder,  Louis;  Schuman.  Fred- 
First      Tobn     Wetzel      April     22,     l'S6i;     second,  erick;    Thomas,   .Tacob;    \'oris,    Robert;    Van    Braner, 
Charles'  Proebsting,    April    22,    1861.  -J."''";    Wills     Charles;    Wetzland     Julius;    Wetzland, 

Gustavus:    Wasson,    James   T. ;    W  rage,    Henry;    \\  il- 

Sergeants.  son,    Joseph    T. ;    Zindle,    George;    Zeidler,    William. 

First,  Lloyd  Wheaton    April  25,  1861.  SEVENTH    INFANTRY. 
Robert    Wilson.    April    25,    1861. 

Alexander    Jackslfalusy,     April    25,     1861.  Company   B. 

Frederick    A.     King,    April    25,     1861.  Sergeant. 

Corporals.  Dred,    Richard    W.,    enlisted    February    24,     1865. 

Charles    Reiss,    April    25,    1861.  Corporals. 

Snyder,    David    D.      April    2^,    1S61.  Protsman,    Tacob    C.    enlisted    February    24,     1865. 

Roehrig     Antony     April    25,    1861.  s^;(,,_   wiliiam.    enlisted    February   20,    1S65. 

Caldwell.    Samuel,    April    25.    1861.  Conroy.     Aaron,    enlisted     February     20,     1865. 

Musicians  Bunn,    William    C.    enlisted    February    23,    1865; 

Pierce,    Henry    C,    April    25!    :86i.  promoted   sergeant. 

Watton,    Henry.    April    25,    1861.  ^                  .                    ,        ,    '    , 

Bauman,    August,    enlisted    February    21,    1865. 

Privates.  Bristol,    James,     enlisted     February    21,     1865. 

Enlisted  .April  25,    1861.     Anderson,   Irwin;    Babb.  Bristol.    Cyrus,    enlisted    February    20,    1865. 

Timothy;    Bohn,   John;    Brauns,    Otto;    Carner,   Law-  Cornell.    George,    enlisted    February    3,    1865. 

rence;    Christ,    Carl    M.;     Commensenusich,     David;  Crowe.    Isaac,    enlisted    February    2,^,    1865. 

Fairke,    Otto;    Forrester,    Asa    B.;    Frazer,    Chastaise  Curtis.    Anson    H..    enlisted   February    23,    1865. 

S.;    Fry,    Charles    G. ;    Gray,    William    H.;    Garsuch,  Ely.    Nathan    J.,    enlisted    February    20,    1865. 

Noah     H.;     Gilliard.     John     P.;     Gindele.     Francis;  Falconer,    Thomas,    enlisted    February   20,    1865. 

Gruse,    Gustavus;    Gingrich.     Tacob;    Gillig.    Charles  Gandell.   Charles,  enlisted  February  23,   1865. 

E. ;    Gaup,    William;    Greenlcif,    Henry    B.;    Hetzel.  Graves.    Jasper,    enlisted    February    23,    1865. 

Frederick;   Hahle,    Charles;    Harrison.   A.   Y. ;    Hurd,  Gray,    John,    enlisted    February    23,     1865. 

George   W. ;    Humphries.    Tames;    Irons,    Charles   D.;  Gifford.  John  B.,  enlisted  February  20,   1865;  pro- 

Tackel.    .Xmandus;    July,    Basil;    Keener.    Henry    H. ;  nioted   corporal. 

Karl,     Joseph;     Kluge.     Gustavus;     Kolmbuck.     Rev-  Haslench.    Toseph.    enlisted    February    21,    1865. 

nolds;    Kellogg,    Tohn    H. ;    Kuehnle,    Toseph;    Law-  Hunter,   .Abner   M.,   enlisted   February   23,    1865. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


215 


Harlow,     Moses,    enlisted     February    23,     1865. 

Hinkle.    William   A.,    enlisted    February    24,    1S65. 

Isenburg.    Samuel    U.,    enlisted    February    23,    1865. 

Jordan,    John,    enlisted    F'ebruary    23,    1865. 

Johnson.    lidgar,    enlisted    February    20,    1S65. 

Kampmier,    William,    enlisted    F'ebruary    21,    1865. 

Keller,    Thomas,    enlisted     February    23,     1865. 

Keppel,  F^rederick,  enlisted  F'ebruary  23,  1865; 
promoted   corporal. 

Keyser.    Dennis   E..    enlisted   February    23,    1865. 

Kistner,    Paul,    enlisted    February    24.    1865. 

Lorins.    Julius,     enlisted     February    24,     1865. 

Lorins.    Eugene,    enlisted    February    24.    1865. 

Nicholas.    William,    enlisted    February   23,    1865. 

Regan.    Henry,    enlisted    February    23,     1865. 

Shiplen.    Henry    F.,    enlisted    February    24.    1865. 

Scoville,    John,    enlisted    February    24,     1865. 

Sarver,    Benjamin,    enlisted    February    20,    1865. 

Sessler.     Emile,    enlisted    February    24.     1865. 

Teufel,  Christian,  enlisted  February  23,  1865; 
promoted    corporal. 

Tcufel,    Andreas,    enlisted    February    23.     1865. 

Wagener.    August,    enlisted    February    21,    1865. 

Vans,    Charles,    enlisted   February   20.    1865. 

Yates,   John    C.,    enlisted    February    20,    1S65. 

Young,  John  B.,  enlisted  February  23,    1863. 

Company    K. 

Private. 
Brannen.    Henry,    enlisted   July    25,    1861. 
Company    G. 
Private. 
Houston,    Francis,    enlisted    March    24,     1865. 
EIGHTH   INFANTRY. 
Major. 
Lloyd  Wheaton,  commissioned  July  25,   1863;  pro- 
moted  lieutenant   colonel,    September    23,    1865;    pro- 
moted   colonel    but    never    mustered;    mustered    out 
as    lieutenant   colonel    May   4,    1865. 

Adjutant. 
Frederick  A.   King, 

Sergeants. 
Voris.  Kobert,  enlisted  July  25.  1861;  transferred 
from  Company  E,  July  25.  1861;  reduced  and  re- 
transferred  October  i,  1862.  Martin,  Otis  P.,  en- 
listed July  25,  1861;  transferred  from  Company  E, 
October  i,  1862;  reduced*  and  retransferred  No- 
vember  18,    1862. 

Hospital   Steward. 
Keener,     Henry     H..     enlisted    January     5.     1864; 
transferred    front  Company   E,   March   14,    1864;  mus- 
tered out   May  4,    1866. 

Company    H. 
Recruit. 
Stead,    William,    enlisted    February    i,    1864. 
Transferred   from    Sei-entecntk   Infantry. 
Campbell.    William,    enlisted   F-ebruary    15.    1864. 
Cross,    William,   enlisted   February   2,    1864. 
Snyder,  James,   enlisted   December  23,    1863. 

Transferred  from  Eleventh  Infantry. 
F'leck,    Martin,    enlisted    September    30.    1864. 
Miller,    Anton,    enlisted    October    7.    1864. 

Drafted  and  Substitute  Recruits. 
Easton,    Clark,    enlisted    September    26,     1864. 
Childs,     Benjamin,    enlisted    September    27, 
Cliff,    Richard,    enlisted    October    10,    1864. 
Grant,    Winslow,    enlisted    September    26,    1864. 
Harriott,    Epiiraim,    enlisted    October    1 1,    1864. 
Wonder,    John,    enlisted    October    1 1,    1864. 
Woods,    Henry,    enlisted    October    11,    1864. 

Company    E. 

Captains. 

John    Wetzel,    commissioned    July    25,    186 1. 

Lloyd  Wheaton,  commissioned  March  25,  1862; 
promoted  major. 

Lieutenants. 

First,  Lloyd  Wheaton,  commissioned  July  25, 
1861 ;    promoted, 

F'irst,  l-'rederick  A.  King,  commissioned  July  25, 
t86i;   promoted  adjutant. 

Second.  F'rederick  A.  King,  commissioned  March 
25,    1862:    promoted. 


Sergeants. 

l-'irst.  King.  Frederick  A.,  enlisted  July  25,  1861; 
promoted    second    lieutenant. 

Martin.  Otis  P.,  enlisted  July  25,  i86i;  pro- 
moted sergeant  major,  October  i,  1861;  reduced 
to  ranks  November  22,  1862;  mustered  out  July 
30,     1S64. 

Corporals. 

Brown.  Benjamin  W.,  enlisted  July  25,  1861; 
promoted  sergeant;  transferred  Veteran  Relief 
Corps,    September    15,     1863. 

Irons.  Charles  D.,  enlisted  July  2$,  186 r ;  re- 
duced to  ranks  April,  1S63;  discharged  April  24, 
1863;    promotion    in    Eighty-sixth    Illinois. 

Whane.  John,  enlisted  July  25.  1861;  promoted 
sergeant;  discharged  July  31,  1862;  wounded  at 
Shiloh. 

Molineaux.  Gold  D.,  enlisted  July  25.  1861;  re- 
enlisted  as  veteran. 

Keener,  Henry  N.,  enlisted  July  25,  1S61;  re- 
eiilisted   as  veteran. 

Musician. 

W*alton.  Henry  H.,  enlisted  July  25,  1861;  mus- 
tered   out    July    30,    1864, 

Privates. 
Barrett,    John,    enlisted    July    26,    1861. 
Beadle,    Ira  E.,   enlisted   July  25,    1861. 
Davies,   John    M,,   enlisted   July    25,    1861. 
Duherst,    Thomas,    enlisted  July   25,    1861. 
Easton,    Charles    S.,    enlisted   July    25,    1861. 
Greenieat,    Henry    B.,    enlisted   July    25,    i80r. 
Masters,    William  J.,   enlisted  July  25,    i86i. 
McDevitt,   John,    enlisted   July    25,    1861. 
McMurtne,  James,    enlisted  July   25,    1861. 
Meeds,   John,    enlisted   July   25,    1S61. 
O'Connors,   Kdward,  enlisted  July  25,    1861. 
Peck,    Tristam    B.,    enlisted  July    25,    1861. 
Richer,    George    H.,    enlisted   July    25,    i86i. 
Simpson,    Isaac    H.,    enlisted   July    25.    1861. 
Suodorf,    George,   enlisted  July   25,    1861. 
Sutter,    Andrew,    enlisted    July    25,    1861. 
Tulley,   Patrick,   enlisted  July  25,   1861. 
Vidito,    Henry,    enlisted    July    25,     1861. 
Vorris,    Robert    C,    enlisted   July    25,    i86r. 
Walsh,    Thomas,    enlisted   July    25,    1861. 
Wilson,  Joseph    F.,  enlisted  July  25,   i8bi. 
Young,    Howard,    enlisted    July    25,    1861. 

Recruits. 
Ash,    Francis  W.,  enlisted  July  28,    1861. 
Brant,    Jacob,    enlisted    August    20,    1861. 
Beckman,   William  J,,    enlisted  July   28,    1861. 
Burgest,    Samuel,    enlisted    August    20,    1S61. 
Devore.    William  H.,   enlisted  July  28,    1861. 
Emerson,    Joseph,    enlisted    luly   28,    1S61. 
Herr,    Sheaff    L.,    enlisted   July    28,    1861. 
Kelley,    Edward,    enlisted    July    28.     1861. 
Kelly,    Peter,    enlisted    July    28,     1861. 
Line,    Ralph    E.,    enlisted  July   28,    1861. 
.Muwry,    \\  illiam    IL.    enlisted    December    29,    1S63. 
I'i|ipin,    Barnett   M.,   enlisted   September   30,    1864. 
I'arker.    Robert    H.,    enlisted    July    28,    186 1. 
I'owers,    John,    enlisted    Seiitember    12,     1861. 
Shearer,     Henry,    enlisted    July    28,     186 1. 
\\est.   James,    enlisted   July   28,    1861. 
White.    Hiram,    enlisted    July    28,    1861. 
Wood.  \'iralda,   enlisted  July   28,    1861. 
Wetmore,    Henry,    enlisted    August    27,    1861. 
Whane,  Joseph  H.,  enlisted  December  27,  1863. 

Transferred  from  Eleventh   Infantry. 
Cobb.    George    H..    enlisted  January   3,    1864. 
Dav'is.    Samuel,    enlisted   January    3,    1864. 
Rakoskie,    Stanislaus,   enlisted   December    15,    1863. 
Stone,    Joseph,    enlisted    January    i,    1864. 

Veterans. 
Brant.   Jacob,    enlisted   January   5,    1864. 
Keener.    Henry   M..   enlisted  January   5,    1864. 
Masters,  Wilburn  J.,  enlisted  January  5,  1864. 
Molineaux,     Goldsmith     D.,     enlisted     January     4, 
1864. 

Company  F. 

Recruits. 
Clark,    David,    enlisted    August    18.    1861. 
Incs.    I'rank   H..   enlisted   October   10,    1861. 
Nan^;el,   Joseph,   enlisted   March    11,    1864. 

Veterans. 
Bensel,   John   E.,   January    5,    1864. 
Irons,    Frank    H,,    enlisted    March    31,    1864. 
Waters,    Wilson    F,.    enlisted    February    i.    1864. 


216 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


Company  I. 
Sergeants. 

First,  Kalambach,  Ryiiold.  enlisted  July  25,  1861; 
discharged    January     1.     1863;    disability. 

SmUh,  Dietrich,  enlisted  July  25,  1861;  pro- 
moted   second    lieutenant. 

Schlag.  William,  enlisted  July  25.  1861 ;  pro- 
moted   bCLOud    lieutenant. 

Aubin,  Albert,  enlisted  July  25,  1861;  trans- 
ferred   to    First    Mississippi    Heavy    Artillery    U.     S. 

Brauns,  Otto,  enlisted  July  25,  1861;  promoted 
second    lieutenant. 

Corporals. 

Peffer,  Charles,  enlisted  July  25,  1861;  reenlisted 
as    veteran. 

Guis.  IJasil,  enlisted  July  25.  1861;  promoted 
sergeant. 

Abel,  Albert,  enlisted  July  25,  1861;  discharged 
May    26,     1 862 ;    wounded    Fort    Donelson. 

Steen.  Paul,  enlisted  July  25,  1861;  promoted 
sereeant    July    30,     1864. 

Fulfs,  August,  enlisted  July  25,  1861 ;  promoted 
sergeant    July    30,    1864. 

Niglass.  Enats,  enlisted  Tuly  25.  1861;  transferred 
to    Sixth    Illinois    Cavalry    December    i,    1861. 

Kluge.  ("lustavus.  enlisted  July  25,  1861 ;  killed  at 
Fort    Donelson    February    i  s.     1862. 

Thomas.  Jacob,  enlisted  July  25.  1861;  reenlisted 
as  veteran. 

Privates. 
Balser.   Andreas,   enlisted  July  25.    1861. 
Backman,  John,   enlisted   July   25,    1861. 
Comemish,  Daniel,  enlisted  July  25,    186 1. 
Evans.    Walter    F.,    enlisted    July    25.     1861. 
Fellgra,    John,    enlisted   July    25.    1861. 
Geible,    Henry,    enlisted    July    25,     1861. 
Hugger,    Gabriel,    enlisted    July    25,    1861. 
I  verger,    I^ewis,    enlisted    July    25.    186 1. 
Kuhule,    Joseph,    enlisted    July    25,     1861. 
Knapii,    Christian,  enlisted  July  25.    1861. 
Lahr,    Tobias,    enlisted    July    25,    186 1. 
Meyer,    Henry,    enlisted    July    25.    1861. 
Mummers,    Paul,   enlisted   Tulv   25,    1S61. 
Mond,     Augustus,    enlisted     July     25.     1861. 
Nabenger.    Jacob,    enlisted    Tnly    25,    1861. 
Pleifer.    Henry,    enlisted    Julv    25,     1861. 
Schrader,    August,    enlisted    July    25,    1861. 
Schwedcr.   Adam,    enlisted   July  25,    tS^-i. 
Streiback,    Leo.    enlisted    Tulv    25,     1861. 
Walter.    Phillip,    enlisted    Tuly    25,     1861. 
Zendell.    Joseiih,    enlisted   July    25,    1861. 

Company  I. 
Recruits. 
Altmeycr.     William,    enlisted    August    2,     1861. 
Burcheld,    William,    enlisted    August    2.    186 1. 
Burchard,  Adam,  enlisted  August  9,   1861. 
Baiter.    Casper,    enlisted    August    9,    1861. 
Bran  timer.    John,    enlisted   August    10,    1861. 
Buttner,    Jacob,     enlisted     August     19,     1861. 
Duenaec  liter,      Jlelcbor     J.,      enlisted     August      ig, 
iS6i. 

Garon,   George,   enlisted  January   i,    1864. 
Harsch,  Adolph,  enlisted  August   19.   1861. 
Hamme,    John,    enlisted    August    19,    1861. 
Jackel,     Amandus.     enlisted     August    8.     1861. 
Gordi,    Jacob,    enlisted    August    19,    1861. 
Kolbatz,    Edward,    enlisted    August    19.    1S61. 
Kohn,     Franz,    enlisted    August     19.     1861, 
Kaechle.    Andrew,    enlisted    August    9.     1S61. 
Kallinc.    Alfred,    enlisted    August    19,    1861. 
Ltcberger,    Peter,    enlisted    August     i.     1861. 
T..ong,    John,     enlisted    August     19.     i86t. 
Menges.    John,    enlisted    Aueust    iS.    i86r. 
Onde'^sender,    Matthias,    enlisted    August    ig.    1861. 
Pfander.    Charles,    enlisted    August    19,    1861. 
Ritzenccr.    Andrew,    August    10.    186 1. 
Richter.    Edward,    enlisted    Aueust    2.    i86r. 
Ringclle,    Frederick,    enlisted    August    9.    1861. 
Stange.    Henry,    enlisted    Aueust    9,     1861. 
Schronide.   Charles,   enlisted    August    15,    1861. 
Shand,    John,    enlisted    August    15;,     1861. 
Schreurmaun,    TTenry.    enlisted    August    16,    i8fiT. 
Schoenthaler,    Charles,    enlisted    August     12,     1861. 
Tell.    William,    enlisted   January    15.    1864. 
Trey  ens.    John,    enlisted    August    IQ,    1861. 
Wilt.    Henry    C,    August     12.     1861. 
Zenkel,    John,    enlisted    August    ig,    1861. 


Engel, 


Drafted  and  Substititte   Recruits. 
Joseph,     enlisted    September    26. 


1864. 


Mamburg.    Madison,    enlisted   October    1  r,    1864. 
Spenive.    Jacob,    enlisted    September    26,    1864. 
AlcKenny,    Michael,    enlisted    July    9,    1861. 

I'cterans. 
Basler,    Andrew,    enlisted    February    i,    1864. 
Duenaechter,    Melchor,    J.,     enlisted     February     i. 
1864. 

Ensch,    Michael,    enlisted    I'ebruary     i,    1864. 
Judig,     Basil,    enlisted    December    7,     1863. 
Juerger,    Lewis,    en  isted    December    25,    .863 
Kohn,    Franz,    enlisted    February    x.    i  S64. 
Knapp.    Christian,    'jiilisied    February     j,     1864. 
Mummert.    Paul,    enlisted    December    26,     1863. 
Ondessender,    Matthias,   enlisted   February    ',    1864. 
Pfander.    Charles,   enlisted    December    :s,    1863. 
Ringelle,    Frederick,    enlisted    February    1,    1864. 
Richter.    Edward,    enlisted    February    10.     1864. 
Schroend,    Charles,    enlisted    January    5.    1864. 
Schonthaler.    Charles,    enlisted    February    i,    1864. 
Shand.   John,   enlisted  February   i,    1864. 
Streibich,    Leo,    enlisted    December    26,     1863. 
Thomas,   Jacob,    enlisted    February    i.    1864. 
Walter,    PhiJip,    enlisted    February    i,    1864. 

Company    K. 
Recruits. 
I^randt,   Jacob,    enlisted   August   20,    1862. 
Cloud,    George,    enlisted   August   24,    1862. 

Drafted    and    Substitute    Recruits. 
jMiner,     Cyrus,     enlisted    September    26,     1864. 
Stubbs,    John,    enlisted    September    27,    1864. 

Transferred  from  Seventeenth   Infantry. 
.\ckerman.    William    B..    enlisted    January    14.    1864, 
Blind.    Philip,    enlisted    December    15.    1863. 
Beald,    William    H..    enlisted    February    16,    1864. 
Clumnings,  William  C.  enlisted  December  i,  1863. 
!;orgarthy,    Jeremiah,    enlisted    February    24,    1864. 
Galaway,    George    W.,    enlisted    December    i,    1863. 
McHenry,    James,    enlisted    January    20,    1864. 
Mills,     Samuel    C,    enlisted    December    8,    1863. 

Drafted    and   Substitute   Recruits. 

Duplade,    William,    enlisted    September    26,    1S64. 

NINTH     INFANTRY. 

Company   C. 

Liejdenant. 

First.     Oscar     Rollman,     commissioned     July     26, 

1861;    transferred    to    Invalid    Corps,    November     17, 

1863. 

Sergeant. 

Hale,     Charles,     enlisted;    killed     at     Shiloh,     April 
6,     1S62. 

Prizate. 
Rauch.    Thomas,    discharged    April    14,    1S62. 
ELEVENTH     INFANTRY. 
Company    I. 
Private. 
Bright,    George,    enlisted    September    25,    1861. 
Company    K. 
L'nassigned,   Drafted   and   Substitute   Recruit. 
Righttinger,      Parson     H.,     enlisted     October     13, 
1864. 

TWELFTH    INFANTRY. 

Company    B. 

Drafted   and   Substitute  Recruit. 

Ragan,    Weldon,    enlisted    September    30,    1864. 

Company    D. 

Drafted    and    Substitute   Rccritif. 

Broughten,  Jeremiah,  enlisted  September  21,   1864. 

Company    H. 

Drafted   and   Substitute  Recruits. 

Fargo,    Ralph    G.,    enlisted    September    30,    1S64. 

McClayment,    Alexander. 

Ragan,    Weldon,    enlisted    September    30,    1864. 

FOURTEENTH  INFANTRY'. 
Company   C. 

Sergeant. 
Sullivan,    James    H.,    enlisted    February    27,    1865; 
deserted    March    18,    1865. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


217 


Corporals. 

Burnitt.  William,  enlisted  February  2;^,  1865; 
sick    at    muster    out. 

Perry.  Stephen,  enlisted  February  24,  1865;  mus- 
tered   out    September     16,     1865. 

Boyd.  lohn  B.,  enlisted  February  23,  186.1 ;  mus- 
tered   out    September    id.    1865. 

Tilden  Edward,  enlisted  February  37,  1865;  de- 
serted   March    18,    1865. 

Privates. 
Brown.   James,    enlisted   March    27,    1S65, 
Cain,  John,   enlisted   March   2.    1865. 
Connor,    John,    enlisted    February    25,    1865. 
Doyle,    James,    enlisted    February   27,    1865. 
Dunn.   John,    enlisted    February    25,    1865. 
Delay,    Dennis,    enlisted    February    27,     1865. 
Ellis,    George    B.,    enlisted    February    27,    1865. 
Farley,   John,    enlisted    I*"ebruary    27,    1865. 
Furrell,    Robert,    enlisted    February    27,    1865. 
Galaway,    William,    enlisted    February    22,    1865. 
Gannon,    Joseph,    enlisted    March    2,    1865. 
Harland,    George,    enlisted    February    24,    1865. 
King.    Thomas,    enlisted    February    27.    1865. 
Killfayle,   James,    enlisted    February    27,    1865. 
Lewis,    Henry    J.,    enlisted    I-'ebruary    24.     1865. 
Lineback.    Freeman,    enlisted    February   22.    1865. 
Mc  Bride,    James,    enlisted     February    22,     1S65. 
Nacy.    Thomas,    enlist erl    February    27,    1S65. 
Newton,    Neednian,    enlisted    February    22,    1865. 
Ross    Alexander    enlisted    February    27    1S65. 
Smith,    William,    enlisted    February    25,    1865. 
Sommers.  George  W..  enlisted   February  20,    1865. 
Whalen,   James,    enlisted    February   27,    1865. 
Walsh,  John,   enlisted   February  27.    1865. 

Company  E. 

Privates. 
Bennett,    William,    enlisted    February    27.    1S65. 
Jones.    Edward,    enlisted    Marcli    2,    1865. 
Lardner.    Daniel,    enlisted    March    2,    1865. 
Stanley,    William,    enlisted    February    27,    1865, 

Company  G. 

Prizatcs. 
Rruden.     William,     enlisted     February     16,     1865. 
Dockstader,  Jeremiah,   enlisted   February  20,    1865. 
Warner,    Thomas    J.,    enlisted    February    16,    1865. 
Zathlow.    Charles,    enlisted    February    22,     1865. 

SIXTEENTH     INFANTRY. 
Company    K. 
Unassigncd   Recruits. 
Cole,    Francis,    enlisted    February    27,     1865. 
Ewing,    Joshua,    enlisted    March  '22,     1865. 
Mack.    John,    enlisted    February    27.    1865. 
Stewart,    Enos   J.,    enlisted    February    27,    1865. 

SEVENTEENTH  INFANTRY. 
The  Seventeenth  Regiment  of  Illinois  Infantry 
Volunteers  was  mustered  into  the  United  States 
service  at  Peoria,  Illinois,  May  24,  186 1.  Left 
camp  on  the  17th  of  June  for  Alton.  Illinois,  for 
the  purpose  of  more  fully  completing  its  organi- 
zation and  arming.  Late  in  July  it  proceeded  from 
Alton  to  St.  Charles,  Missouri,  remaining  but  one 
day;  thence  went  to  Warrenton,  Missouri,  where 
it  remained  in  camp  about  two  weeks.  Company  A 
being  detailed  as  body  guard  to  General  John 
Pope,  with  headquarters  at  St.  Charles.  Regiment 
left  Warrenton  for  St.  Louis  and  embarked  on 
tran'^ports  for  Bird's  Point.  Missouri.  Remained 
at  Bird's  Point  some  weeks,  doing  garrison  duty; 
then  proceeded  to  Sulphur  Sprin.cs  Landings;  dis- 
embarking there  it  proceeded  via  Pilot  Knob  and 
[ronton,  to  Fredericktown.  Missouri,  in  pursuit  of 
General  Jeff  Thompson  and  joined  General  B.  M. 
Prentiss'  command  at  Jackson.  Missouri;  thence 
proceeded  to  Kentucky  and  aided  in  the  construc- 
tion of  Fort  Holt:  thence  ordered  to  Elliott's 
Mips;  remained  there  a  short  time  and  returned 
to  Fort  Holt;  thence  to  Cape  Girardeau  and  with 
other  regiments,  was  sent  in  pursuit  of  General 
Jeff  Thompson's  forces;  participated  in  the  en- 
gagement near  Greenfield,  lost  one  man  killed  and 
several  wounded;  returned  to  Cape  Girardeau,  do- 
ing provost  duty  until  early  in  February,  1862, 
when  ordered  to  Fort  Henry;  participated  in  the 
encagement  at  Fort  Donelson,  losing  several  men 
killed,  wounded  and  taken  iirisoners;  then  pro- 
ceeded to  Metal  Landing.  Tennessee  river,  and  cm- 
barked    for    Savannah,    Tennessee;    from    thence    to 


Pittsburgh  Landing  and  was  assigned  to  the  First 
Division.  Army  of  West  Tennessee,  under  General 
John  A.  McClernand;  was  engaged  in  the  battles 
of  the  Sixth  and  Seventh  of  April;  suffered  great 
loss  in  killed  and  wounded;  was  with  the  advance 
to   Corinth. 

After  the  evacuation  of  Corinth  marched  to 
Purdy.  Betliel  and  Jackson.  Tennessee;  remained 
there  until  July  17,  when  the  regiment  was  ordered 
to  Bolivar  and  was  assigned  to  duty  as  provost 
guard.  Remained  at  Bolivar  until  November. 
1862,  during  which  time  it  participated  in  the  ex- 
pedition to  [uka,  to  reinforce  General  Rosecrans; 
afterward  at  the  battle  of  Hatchie;  returned  again 
to  Bolivar;  remained  there  until  the  middle  of 
November;  then  ordered  to  Lagrange  to  report  to 
General  John  A.  Logan;  assigned  to  duty  as  pro- 
vost guard.  Colonel  Norton  being  assigned  to  the 
command  of  the  post;  early  in  December  marched 
to  Holly  Springs,  thence  to  Abbyville,  guarding 
railroads;    thence    to    Oxford. 

After  the  capture  of  Holly  Springs,  was  as- 
signed to  Sixth  Division.  Seventeenth  Army  Corps 
under  Major  General  McPherson;  then  proceeded 
via  Moscow,  to  Collierville:  from  there  to  Mem- 
phis and  was  assigned  to  duty  at  the  navy  yard. 
Remained  there  until  January  16,  then  embarked 
for  Vicksburg;  reembarked  and  proceeded  to  Lake 
Providence,  Louisiana,  then  the  headquarlers  of 
the  Seventeenth  Army  Corps,  doing  duty  there 
until  the  investment  of  Vicksburg  commenced.  Ar- 
riving at  Milliken's  Bend  on  or  about  May  i, 
commenced  to  man  h  across  the  Delta  to  Per'kin's 
Landing,  on  the  Mississippi  river;  thence  to  the 
crossing  below  Grand  Gulf,  advancing  with  !\Ic- 
Phersoii's  command,  via  Raymond,  Champion  Hills, 
Jackson.  Big  Block  and  to  the  final  investment  of 
\  icksburg.  After  the  surrender  of  that  city  re- 
mained there,  doing  garrison  duty  and  making 
incursions  into  the  enemy's  country  as  far  east  as 
Meridian,  west  as  far  as  Monroe,  Louisiana.  Re- 
turning to  \'icksburg,  remained  until  May,  1864, 
the  term  of  service  of  the  regiment  expiring  May 
24th    of   that    year. 

The  regiment  was  ordered  to  Springfield,  Illi- 
nois, for  muster  out  and  finally  discharged,  when 
and  where  those  of  the  original  organization  who 
did  not  reenlist  as  veterans  were  mustered  out  and 
discharged.  A  sufficient  number  not  having  reen- 
hsted  to  entitle  them  to  retain  their  regimental 
organization,  the  veterans  and  recruits  whose  term 
of  service  had  not  expired  were  consolidated  with 
the  Eighth  Illinois  Infantry  Volunteers,  and  were 
finally  mustered  out  with  that  regiment  and  dis 
charged  in    the   spring  of   1866. 

Colonel. 

Addison  S.  Norton,  commissioned  .^pril  2^,  1862; 
resigned    July    9,     1863. 

Adjutant. 

Abraham  IT.  Ryan,  commissioned  May  25,  1861; 
promoted    Captain    Company    A. 

Company    A. 
Captains. 

Addison  S.  Norton,  commissioned  April  ig,  1861; 
promoted   lieutenant  colonel. 

Abraham  H.  Ryan,  commi.ssioned  April  25,  1862; 
term  expired   June,    1864. 

Lieutenants. 

First,  Abraham  H.  Ryan,  commissioned  April  19, 
1861 ;    promoted    adjutant. 

First,  George  W.  Robson,  commissioned  May 
20,    1861;   promoted    Captain    Company    B. 

First.,  Edmund  E.  Ryan,  commissioned  April  25, 
1862;   mustered  out  October   24,    1864. 

Second.  George  W.  Robson,  commissioned  April 
19,    1861 :    promoted. 

Second.  Gawn  Wilkins,  commissioned  April  2$, 
1862;    term    expired    June.    1S64. 


.Sergeants. 
First.    Gerard    S.    Crane,    enlisted    May    25, 
Gawn    Wilkins,    enlisted    May    25,    1861. 
Frank   S.    Bishop,   enlisted   May   25.    1861. 
William   Reynolds,    enlisted   May  25.    1861. 


i86r 


E.     E.     Ryan, 
first   lieutenant. 


Corporals. 
enlisted    May    25. 


i86r ;    promoted 


218 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


John    n.    Comphor,    enlisted    May    25.     1861;    dis- 
charged  December   5,    1861. 

Aaron    P.    Gilbert,   enlisted  May    25,    1861. 

Drummer. 
John   \V.    Wonder,   enlisted  May  25,    1861. 

Privates. 
Autcliff,  Thomas  H.,   enlisted  May  25,    1861. 
Babcock,    George   C,  Jr.,   enlisted   May   25,    1861. 
Barlett,   Nicholas,    enlisted   May    25,    1861. 
Barnes,   James,    enlisted    May    25»    186:. 
Battersley,    Robert,   enlisted   May   25.    1S6:. 
Barry,   Richard,  enlisted  May  25,    1861. 
Bennett,    Elliott    G.,    enlisted    May    25,    1861. 
Bohn,  Julius,  enlisted   May  25,    1861. 
Brown,    Edward  T.,  enlisted  May   25,    1861. 
Brown,   Vincent,   enlisted  May  25,    1861. 
Brown,    John,    enlisted    May    25,    1861. 
Buckholder,  John,   enlisted  May  25,   1861. 
Battie,    Gordon,    enlisted   May   25,    1861. 
Barton.    Chauncey    E,    enlisted    May   25.    1861. 
Butt,    William    II.,    enlisted    May    25,     1861. 
Clemmens,    Tames   W.,   enlisted    May   25,    1861. 
Cliffy.    Richard,   enlisted  May  25,    1861. 
Cobb,   George   H.,  enlisted  May  25,    1861. 
Dailey,    Martin,    enlisted   May   25,    i86i. 
Davis,    Samuel,   enlisted  May   25,    1861. 
Dyer,   Horace  E.,   enlisted   May  25.    1861. 
Fisher.   William,   enlisted   May   25,    1861. 
Fisher,   Albert    C,    enlisted    May    25,    1861. 
Flagler,    Daniel   H.,   enlisted   May   25,    1861. 
Garlar,  John,   enlisted   May  25,    1861. 
Gunderlack,    Charles   R.,   enlisted   May  25,    1861. 
Grooms.    Alfred    S.,    enlisted   May    25,    1861. 
Harriett,    Ephraim,    enlisted   May    25,    1861. 
Hack,  Alexander  W.  enlisted  May  25,    1861:. 
Hamilton,   Theodore   F.,   enlisted   May   25,    1861. 
Howell,    Alfred,    enlisted    May    25,     1861. 
Hough,    John,    enlisted    May    25.    1861. 
Huey,    Edward   C,   enlisted   May   25,    1861. 
Huey,   James   H.,   enlisted   May   25,    1861. 
Johnson.   John,    enlisted   May   25.    1861. 
Johnson,    Richard,    enlisted    May    25.     186 1. 
Johnson.    Frederick,    enlisted    May    25,    1861. 
Johnson,    Heye,   enlisted    May   25.    1861. 
Kellogg,   Dennis,  enlisted  May  25,    1861. 
Kellogg,    Solomon,   enlisted    May   25,    1861. 
Keshpaugh.  John,   enlisted  May  25.    1861, 
Lamb,    Frederick,    enlisted    May    25.    1861. 
Lang.   William   H.,   enlisted   May  25,   1861. 
Landon,   Fred  A.,   enlisted  May  25,    1861. 
Lazell.    Joshua    E..    enlisted    May    25,    1861. 
Lemuel.    Peter,   enlisted   May   25,    1861. 
Miner.    Justin    L.,    enlisted    May    25,    1861. 
Mowell,    David,   enlisted    May    25,    1861. 
Myers,    Harrison,    enlisted    May    25,    1S61. 
Nicholls.    Charles   L.,    enlisted   May   25,    1861. 
Olin.   William  H.,   enlisted  May  25,   1861. 
O'Neil.   Patrick,   enlisted  May  25.   1861. 
Patten,    John    H.,    enlisted    May    25,    1861. 
Piper.   John,    enlisted   May   25.    1861. 
Plumb,    Henry,    enlisted    May    25,    1861. 
Phoenix,   Charles   H.,  enlisted   May  25,    1861. 
Raymon,    Eugene   K.,   enlisted  May  25,    1861. 
Ritter.    Philip,    enlisted    May    25,    186 1. 
Reigle,    Anton,    enlisted    May   25,    1861. 
Reed,    Robert,   enlisted    May   25.    1861. 
Rook,   John,   enlisted   May   25,    1861. 
Ruley.   Stanley,   enlisted   May   25,    1861. 
Simms,  James  A.,   enlisted  May  25,   1861. 
Smith.    Weslev.   enlisted   May  25,    1861. 
Smedtt,    Charles,    enlisted   May   25.    1861. 
Shorklev,    Millican,    enlisted   May   25,    1861. 
Stillweli.    John    H.,    enlisted   May    25,    1861. 
Stettman,   Jnmes   G.,   enlisted   May   25,    1861. 
Stone,  Joseph,   enlisted   May  25,    1861. 
Sykes.    James    B.,    enlisted    May    25,    1861. 
Taniplin.    Benjamin    H.,    enlisted    May    25,    1861. 
Thomas,    William    B.,    enlisted   May   25,    1861. 
Thompson,    James,    enlisted   May   25,    1861. 
Twicgs,   James,    enlisted   Mav    25.    1861. 
Ulricb.   William,    enlisted   May    25,    1861. 
VanTine.   James  H.,  enlisted   May  25.    1861. 
Watson.    Samuel,   enlisted   May   25.    1861. 
Wheeler.    Horatio,    enlisted   May   25,-1861. 
Wentlett.   Peter,  enlisted  May  25.    i86i. 
Woodruff.    William    A.,    enlisted    May    25.    1861. 
Woods.   Henry  A.,   enlisted  May   25,    1S61. 
Woolstein,    Henry,   enlisted   May    25.    1861. 

Recruits. 
Albright.    Frederick,    enlisted    ^lay    25,     18G1. 
AutclifT,   Arthur   T.,    enlisted   September    17,    1R61. 


Bush,   George   M.,   enlisted  June   24,    1861. 
Broadman,  John,   enlisted  May  28,    i86t. 
Dodge.    James,    enlisted    May    25,    1861. 
Dupam,    Anton,    enlisted    November    23.    1863. 
Howell.   Alfred,  enlisted  October  25,    1861. 
Jones,   George   H.,    enlisted   May   25,    1861. 
Kelley,    Lewis,   enlisted  July   5,    1861. 
Pfifer,   August,   enlisted   May   25,    1861. 
Piper,   James   W.,   enlisted  August    1 1,    1862. 
Recter.    Philip,    enlisted    January   25,    1864. 
Schmunck,    George,    enlisted    May    25.    1861. 
Spiniing.     William    H.,    enlisted    May    25,     1861. 
Woods.  George   E..   enlisted  October  25,   1862. 

yetcraus. 
Cobb,    George    C,    enlisted    January    3,    1864. 
Davis,   Samuel,   enlisted  January   3,    1864. 
Stone,   Joseph,    enlisted  January    i,    1864. 

Company    B. 
Lieutenants. 

First,     John     Hough,     commissioned     August     26, 
1861;   resigned  April    i6,    1862. 

First,    Albert    W.    Jones;    commissioned   April    16, 
1862;    resigned    September    13,    1S62. 

Second,   Albert   W.    Jones,    commissioned   May    15, 
1861;    promoted. 

Sergeant. 

Pollock.    George    W.,    enlisted    May    25,    1861. 
Corporal. 

Thurston,    William,    enlisted    May    25,    1861. 
Privates. 

Brick,    John,    enlisted    May    25,    1861. 

Brackett,    Aiois,    enlisted   May    25,    1861. 

Denton,   Isaac,   enlisted  May  25,    1861. 

Dureniper,   John,   enlisted   i\Iay   25,    1861. 

Daily,    Daniel,    enlisted    May   25.    1861. 

Davidson,    George,    enlisted    May   25,    1861. 

Elliott,    John,    enlisted    May    25,    1801. 

Ellis,   John   H.,   enlisted  May  25,    1861. 

Falkenburg,    Thomas   J.,   enlisted  May  25,    1861. 

Francis,   'ihomas   J.,    enlisted   Alay    25,    1861. 

Galamo,   J.    W.,   enlisted  May   25,    1861. 

Glass,   William   E.,   enlisted   May   25,    1861, 

Hartman,    Augustus,    enlisted   May   25,    1861. 

Jones,  Job,   enlisted   May  25,    1861. 

Litherow',    William,    enlisted    May    25,    1861. 

Mateland.   John,    enlisted    May    25.    1861. 

Morris,    David,    enlisted    May    25,     186 1. 

Martin,    James    R.,    enlisted   May    25,    1861. 

Riley.   James,    enlisted    May   25,    1S61. 

Wickett,    John    B.,    enlisted   May   25.    1861. 

Willoughby,    M.    E.,   enlisted   May    2$,    1861. 

Wagner,   L,  enlisted  May   25,   1861. 

Recruits. 
Ackerman,  William   B.,  enlisted  January    14,    1864. 
Blind,   Philip,   enlisted   December   15,    1863. 
Beal,    William    H.,    enlisted    February    16,    1864. 
Britzenhart,    John,    enlisted    May   26,    186 1. 
Cross,    William,    enlisted    February    2,    1864. 
Clemmens,     William     E.,     enlisted     December     i, 
1861. 

Davis,    Oscar    R.,    enlisted    May    29,    1S61. 
Fogarty,    Jeremiah,    enlisted    February    24,    1864. 
Miller,    Samuel    C,    enlisted    December    8,    1863. 
McHenry,    James,    enlisted   January    20,    1S64. 
McGrath,    James,    enlisted    February    25,    1864. 

Veteran. 
Rakoskie,    Stanislaus,   enlisted   December    15,    1863. 
Company   C. 

Recruits. 
Bayne,   James,    enlisted   May   25,    i86r. 
Wisner,  Jacob   S.,  enlisted  May  25,    1861. 

Company    D. 
Private. 
Price,    Samuel,    enlisted    May   25,    1S61. 

Recruits. 
Moore,    James,    enlisted    June    22,    186 1. 
AlcKinney,    Michael,    enlisted  July   9,    :S6i. 

Company   E. 

Recruits. 

Brophy,    James,    enlisted   June    15.    1861. 
Bryan,    Moore,   enlisted  June   15,    1861. 
Berry,    Terry,   enlisted  June    24,    1861. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


219 


Bateman.   James  A.,   enlisted    Tune  24,    1861. 
Carroll,    Edwin,    enlisted   June    24.    1861. 
Howell.    Israel,    enlisted  June    15,    1861. 
McCee,   William   T.,    enlisted  June    15.    1861. 
Smith,    Oliver,    enlisted    Tune    24,    1S61. 
Wilson.    Walter,    enlisted'  June   24,    1861. 

Company   G. 

Scliell.    William,    enlisted    May    25,    1861. 
Borne.   James,    enlisted   June    25,    1861. 
Towers,   E.   J.,    enlisted  June   24,    1861. 

Company    H. 

Privates. 
Yates.   William   E.,   enlisted   May   25,    1861. 
Law,   Thomas  J.,    enlisted   May  28,    1861. 
Lowers,    Calvin    G..    enlisted    August    12,    1861. 

Company  I. 

Private. 

Workman,    James    M.,    enlisted    May    25,    1861. 

Recruits. 
Kelley.    Lewis,   enlisted  June   24,    1861. 
Phelps.    James    M.,    enlisted    June    24.    1861. 
Shuflfield.    Nelson    M.,    enlisted    Tune    26.    1861. 
Stead.    William    H.,    enlisted    February    i,    1864. 
Wright,   William  M.,   enlisted  July    i,   1864. 

Company    K. 
Lieutenants. 
First.   John   Q,    A.   Jones,    commissioned   April   23. 
1861;    died   in    service. 

Second,    Andrew    J.    Bruner,    commissioned    April 
24.    1861;    died   in   service. 

Privates. 
Pfifeshcr.    Raymond,    enlisted    May  25,    1861. 
Warren.   Aaron,   enlisted   May   25,    1861. 

Recruit. 
\'andoran.  Jacob,   enlisted   May  28,    1861. 

Unassigncd    Recruit. 

Campbell.    William,    enlisted    February    15,    1864. 

EIGHTEENTH     INFANTRY. 

Company  E. 

Private. 

Hanlan,    Thomas,    enlisted    December    16,    1863. 

EIGHTEENTH     INFANTRY     (REORGANIZED). 

Company   E. 

Musician. 

Murphy.    John,    enlisted    February    27,    1865. 

Privates. 
Mockhart.   George,   enlisted   February  27,    1865 
Mooney,   Peter,    enlisted    February   25,    1865. 

Company  F. 
Lieutenant. 
First,     George     Foster,     commissioned     March     16, 
1865:   dishonorably  dismissed  June  29,    1865.- 
Sergeant. 
McCoy,  Michael,  enlisted  March  5,    1865:  deserted 
March   2i,    1865. 

Corporal. 
Campen,    William    H.,   enlisted   March    8,    1865:    de- 
serted .March  26,    1865. 

Privates. 
Buckley,    Charles   A.,    enlisted    March    10,    1865. 
Clumer.   Thomas,   enlisted    .March   9,    1S65. 
Collins,    Murray,    enlisted    March   8.    1865 
Curtis.   George,   enlisted    March   6.    1865. 
Dainise,   George  W.,   enlisted  March  6,    1865. 
Fairlcy,    William,    enlisted    March   8,    1865. 
Frank,    Nicholas,   enlisted    ,March    10,    1865. 
Morgan,   Thomas,   enlisted   March   8,    1865. 
Miles,    Michael,    enlisted    February    27,    1865. 
Owen,   John,    enlisted   March   8,    1S65. 
Ryan.  John,    enlisted   March  6,    1865. 
Riley,   John,   enlisted   March    11,    1865. 

Company  G, 

Privates. 
Ryan.    \\'illiam.    enlisted    February    27,    1865. 


Co.mpany    I. 
Dawson.    Cornelius,    enlisted    February    28,     1865. 

Privates. 
Harper.  Thomas,  enlisted  February  23     1865 
King,    Lewis   M.,  enlisted   February   28,    186s 
Miller,   James   D.,   enlisted   March   i,    1865. 

TWENTIETH  INFANTRY. 
Company  G. 
Drafted   and   Substitute  Recruit. 
Turnbull,  Esquire,  enlisted  October  13,  1864. 

TWENTY-THIRD    INFANTRY. 
Company  G. 
Recruit. 
Cronen.   Timothy,    enlisted   June  21,    1862. 

TWENTY-FOURTH   INFANTRY. 

Company  A. 

Captain. 

Alexander    J,     Kelfalusy,    commissioned     Tuly     i 

1862;  term  expired  August  6.    1864. 

Company   1', 
Lieutenant. 
First.  Alexander  J.   Kelfalusy,  commissioned  June 
29.   1861;  promoted  to  captain   Company  A. 

Priz^ate. 
Wernick.   William,   enlisted  July  8,    i86r. 

TWENTY-SEVENTH    INFANTRY. 

Company  D. 

Recruit. 

Anderson,     George     W.,     enlisted     September     20 
1861.  •* 

TWENTY-EIGHTH     INFANTRY     (CONSOL- 
IDATED). 
Company  G. 
Lieutenants. 
Second.    Henry    Lewis,    commissioned    March    21 
1S65;    dishonorably   dismissed,    May   2,    1865. 

Second,     Thomas     Henderson,     commissioned    Au- 
gust 23,  1865;  promoted. 

Sergeant. 
First,     Thomas     Henderson,     enlisted     March     15, 
1865;  promoted  to  second  lieutenant. 

Corporal. 
Canady,    William    R.,    enlisted    March   8,    1865;    as 
corporal;    mustered   out    March   8,    1865. 

Musician. 
Gaylor.  John   L.,  enlisted  March  8,   1865,  as  musi- 
cian;  died  at  Cairo,   April  2,    1S65. 

Privates. 
Howe,   George  W.,   enlisted  March  8,    1865. 
Corber,   Con.,  enlisted   March   14,    1865. 
Kelley,   Samuel,  enlisted  March   16,    1865. 
Curley^  James,    enlisted   iMarcli    11,    1865. 
Lewis,   Henry,   enlisted   March    14,    1865. 
Lewis,    Robert,    enlisted   March    14,    1865. 
Mulligan,    Thomas    S.,   enlisted   March   14.    1865. 
Morrissey,    Michael,    enlisted    March    14,    1865. 
Norton,    Charles,    enlisted    Jlarch    14,     1865. 
Price,    David   A.,    enlisted   March   8,    1865. 
Sherer,    Hurdy    Hill,    enlisted    March    11,    1865. 
Thompson,   Abram  IJ.,  enlisted   March    14,    1865. 
Wise,   David   B.,  enlisted  March  8,    1865. 

TWENTY-NINTH    INFANTRY. 
Company  E. 
Recruit, 
Jones.   Martin    L.,    enlisted  August  31,    1864. 
Company   K. 
Sergeant. 
William  R.   Brown,  enlisted  August  24.   1861;  mus- 
tered out    .August   28,    1864;   term   expired. 

Private. 
Garner.    George    W.,    enlisted    August    24.     1861; 
mustered   out   August   28,    1864;    term   expired. 


220 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


Veterans. 
Davis,   Thomas  \V..   enlisted  January   i.    1864. 
Farris,    Christopher,    enlisted   January    i,    1864. 
Grover,    Isaiah,    enlisted   January    i,    1864. 
Huston,   Gilbra,  enlisted  January   i,    1864. 
Hedgar,    Job,    enlisted    January    i,    1864. 
Markwell,   Abner    S.,   enlisted  January    i.    1864. 
Wilkins,    William   T.,   enlisted  January    i,    1864. 

Recruits. 
Davis,    William,    enlisted    August    i5t    1864. 
Kurst,  Thomas  K.,  enlisted  August   15,    1864. 
Igo,    Daniel,    enlisted   August    15.    1864. 
Tones.    Samuel    S.,    enlisted    August    15.    1864. 
"Markwell,    Georpe    \V..    enlisted    August    15.    1864. 

Company    I. 
Hamer,    Henry,    enlisted    August    11,    1861. 

THIRTY-FIRST     INFANT.RV. 

Company   A. 
Drafted   and   Substitute   Recruits. 
Andrews,   William,    enlisted    September    27,    1864. 
Andrews.   W.    H.,    enlisted    September   27,    1864. 
McCurdy.    John,    enlisted    September    27,     1864. 
Lair,    George    H.,    enlisted    September   27.    1864. 
McKinnon.    J.,    enlisted    December    15,    1864. 
Savage.   William   C,   enlisted   September   27,    1864. 
Slygh,  Charles  C,  enlisted   September  29,    1864. 
Soaper,    Tohn,    enlisted    September    27,    1864. 
Wheeler,"  John,   enlisted    September    27,    1864. 
Ward.    Roswell,    enlisted    September   27,    1864. 

Company  B. 

Drafted    and    Substitute   Recruit. 
Mills,    Robert    E.,   enlisted   October    13,    1864. 

Company   D. 

Drafted   and   Substitute   Recruits. 

Taylor,    Isaac    D.,    enlisted    September   27,    1864. 

Watson,   William,    enlisted    September    13,    1864. 

Company   G. 
Drafted    and   Substitute  Recruit. 
Xreft,    Frederick,   enlisted   October    19,    1864. 
Company   H. 
Drafted    and   Substitute  Recruit. 
Noble,   Enoch,   enlisted  September  27,    1864. 
Company   I. 
Privates. 
Martin,    Isaac,    enlisted  August    15.    1861. 
Sheen.   Patrick,   enlisted   August    15,    1861. 
Winkey,  John   S.,   enlisted  August   15,    1861. 

THIRTY-SECOND    INFANTRY. 

Company  A. 
Drafted    and   Substitute  Recruit. 
Wilson,   Finley  T.,  enlisted  September  27,    1864. 
Company  G. 
Drafted   and   Substitute  Recruit. 
Patterson,    William,    enlisted    September    26,    1861. 
Company  I. 
Lieutenant. 
Second,   Hiram  R.  Walgamot,   commissioned  April 
25,    1865;    mustered    out    September    16,    1865. 

Sergeant. 
Hiram   R.    Walgamot,    enlisted   November    7,    1861, 
as   sergeant ;    reenlisted    as   veteran. 

Corporals. 

David  M.  Cawser.  enlisted  November  5,  1861,  as 
corporal;    reenlisted   as   veteran. 

Miles  R.  Goodwin,  enlisted  November  7,  1861; 
discharged  April  28,    1862;    disability. 

William  Whitlow,  enlisted  December  17,  1861,  as 
corporal;    reenlisted   as   veteran. 

Privates. 
Buck.    Abram,   enlisted   November   5.    1861. 
Crackel,    James,    enlisted    October    2.    1861. 
Compton.    Thomas,    enlisted    November     i,     i86i. 
Diselms.    Washington,    enlisted    November    5.    1861. 
Fuller,    William,    enlisted    November    5,    186 1. 


Fuller,    Samuel,    enlisted   November   5,    1861. 
Fuller,    John,    enlisted    November    5,    1861. 
Fuller.    Nathan,    enlisted    November    28,    1861. 
Gold,    Thomas,   enlisted   October    16.    1861. 
Jones,    George,   enlisted   November   30,    1861. 

Veterans. 
Krisher,    John,    enlisted   January    2,    1864. 
Peters,   Samuel    L.,   enlisted   January   2,    1864. 
Wliitlow,    William,  enlisted  June  2,    1864. 

Drafted    and   Substitute    Recruits. 
Buck.    Miller   H.,    enlisted    October    26,    1864. 
Blue,    James    W.,    enlisted    September    27,     1864. 
Boher.    Joseph,    enlisted    September    27,    1864. 
Juller,    Isaac,    enlisted    September   2O,    1864, 
James,    Jesse,    enlisted    .September    26,    1864. 
Pyle,    George,    enlisted    September    26,    1865. 
Preston,    Samuel,    enlisted    September   26,    1864, 
Walter,  James,   enlisted   September  27,    1864. 

Company    K. 
Drafted  and   Substitute   Recruits. 
\'inson,    Ira,    enlisted    September  27,    1864. 
Baker,    Joseph,    enlisted    September    27,    1864. 
Craig.   John,    enlisted    September    27,    1864. 
Hamline,    W'ade   H.,    enlisted    September   27,    1864. 

Unassigned    and    Substitute    Recruit. 
Scholler,   Jacob,    enlisted   November    15,    1864. 
TIIIRTV-THIRD    INFANTRY. 
Musician. 
Winter    or    Minor,     C.    A.,    enlisted    August     15, 
1861;   mustered   out  August   15,    1862. 

Company   B. 
Musician. 
Packer,    William    K.,    enlisted    August    20,     186 1 ; 
died   Ironton,    Missouri,   November   27,    1861. 

Priz'ates. 
Ingraham,    Edward   A.,    enlisted   August  20,    186 1. 
Mayo,    William    J.    R.,    enlisted    August    20,    1S61. 
Robinson,    Martin    B.,   enlisted    August    20,    1861. 

Veteran. 
Morgan,    Sidney   O.,   enlisted   March   29,    1864. 

Recruit. 

Chase,    Edward    D.,    enlisted  August    13.    1862. 

Company    D. 

Recruit. 
Leary,     Richard,    enlisted     January    28.     1S65. 

Unassigned    Recruits. 
Corley,    James,    enlisted    March    3,    1865. 
Davis,    Charles    P.,    enlisted    February    25,    1865. 
Johnson,    David,    enlisted    March    3,    1865. 
Keenan,  William,  enlisted  March  3,   1865. 
McLeod.    Murdock.    enlisted    February    25,    1865. 
McCarthy,    Timothy,    enlisted    March    2,     1865. 
McCarthy,    Lawrence,    enlisted    March    3,    1865. 
McKnight,    Henry,    enlisted    March   3,    1865. 
Stewart,    Alexander,    enlisted    February    25,     1865. 
Simms,    Michael,    enlisted    March   3,    1865. 
White,   John,   enlisted  March   3,    1S65. 
Dolan,    Juhn,    enlisted    March    3.    1865. 
Dalton,   James,   enlisted   March    3,    1S65. 

THIRTY-FOURTH    INFANTRY. 
Company   C. 
Recruits    transferred    from    Eighty-sixth    Infantry. 
Hindbaugh.    Philip,    enlisted   January   4,   1864. 
Sanderen,   Charles,  enlisted  January  2,    1864. 

Company   E. 
Drafted    and  Substitute   Recruit. 
LeGrass,   George,   enlisted   March   25,    1864. 

Company   F. 
Recruits     transferred     from     Eighty-si-vth     Infantry. 
Gladfetter,    Albert,    enlisted   February    i,    1864. 
Hughes,    William,    enlisted    February    i,     1864. 
Harris,    Joseph    1)..    enlisted    January    23,    1865. 
Lvncli,  James  A.,   enlisted  January  23.    1865. 
Nail.    William,    enlisted   January    21,    1864. 

Drafted   and   Substitute   Recruit. 
Bane,    Matthew,    enlisted    March    4,    1865. 


< 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


221 


Company   G. 
Recruits     Transferred     from     Eighty-sixth     Infantry. 

Frank.    Henry,    enlisted   December    29.    1863. 

Holtmeyer,     Joseph     W.,     enlisted     December     17, 
1863. 

Preston.    Tohn    R.,   enlisted    December   29.    1863. 

Preston,    David,   enlisted    Deceinber  22,    1863. 

Company   I. 
Recruits    transferred    from    Eighty-sixth    Infantry. 
Green.   Andrew  S.,  enlisted  December  21,    1864. 
Glasford,  John,   enlisted   December   28,    1S64. 
Glasford,   George,   enlisted   December   28,    1864. 
Kelley,    Nelson,    enlisted    February    21.     1865. 
Petty.     Ezekiel.     enlisted     December     28.     1864. 
Petty.    John    R.,    enlisted    December    28.    1864. 
Sayler.   William   C.  enlisted  January   25.    1864. 

Company    K. 

Transferred    from    Eighty-sixth     Infantry. 
Reardon.    Charles,    enlisted   March    25,    1865. 
Anderson,    Joseph,    enlisted    January    30.     1865. 
Unassigned,    Drafted   and   Substitute   Recruits. 
Farrell.    John,    enlis^ted    Marcli    21,    1865. 
Flynam.    Thomas,    enlisted    March    21,    1865. 

THIRTY-FIFTH    INFANTRY. 
Company    B. 
Corporal. 
Bradley.    Seymour    W..    enlisted    July    3.    1861,    as 
corporal:    mustered   out   September   27,    1864.   as   pri- 
vate. 

THIRTY-SIXTH    INFANTRY. 
Company   A. 

Drafted   and   Substitute   Recruit. 
Wilder,   George  F.,   enlisted   September  26.    1864. 
Company   R. 
Veteran. 
McGee,   Joseph,   enlisted  January    i,    1864. 
Company   C. 
Drafted   and   Substitute    Recruits. 
Kepsah,    Michael,   enlisted   October    11.    1864. 
Roleum,   Julius,   enlisted  October    17,    1864. 

Company    D. 
Drafted   and   Substitute    Recruits. 
Nolan,    Thomas,    enlisted    September    27,    1864. 
Laison.    William,    enlisted   October    12,    1864. 

Company   I. 
Drafted  and  Substitute  Recruits. 
Miller.  Joseph,   enlisted   October    11.    1864. 
Strange.    Henry,   enlisted   October    11.    1864. 

Unassigned   Recruits. 
Williams.    William   S.,   enlisted   February   28.    1864. 
Benton,   Charles,  enlisted  February  28,   1864. 

THTRTY-ETGHTH    INFANTRY. 
Company   A. 
Priz'ates. 
Ennis,   John,    enlisted   July    is.    1861. 
Howey.    Thomas,    enlisted    Tuiy    15.    1861. 
Rollins.    Gilbert,    enlisted    July    15,    1861. 
Sheehan.    Thomas,    enlisted    July    15,    1861. 

THIRTY-NTNTTI    INFANTRY. 

Company   G. 

Privates. 

Borchers,    Hermanus,   enlisted   August   30,    1861. 

Klumpp.   William,    enlisted   August   30,    186 1. 

Klumpp,   Jacob,    enlisted    September    4,    1861. 

FORTY-SFXOND    INFANTRY. 

Company  A. 

Prixate. 

Carter.   James   W.,    enlisted    August    21.    i86t. 

Company   C. 

Drafted    and   Substitute    Recruit. 

Bune.    John,    enlisted    October    13,    1864. 

Company   F,. 
Swan.   William,  enlisted  January    i.    1864. 


Company    1'. 
Private. 
Cook,  James   H.,   enlisted   July   29.    i86i. 
Drafted   and   Substitute   Recruit. 
Riteman.  William  H.,  enlisted  September  27,   1864. 
Company   II. 
Drafted   and   Substitute   Recruit. 
Caswell,   Chester  B.,   enlisted   September  27,    18 — . 
Company   I. 
Priz'ates. 
Thilieg.    Christian    F.,    enlisted    January    i.    1864. 
Bennett.   William    H.,   enlisted    August    15.    1861. 

FORTY-THIRD     INFANTRY. 

Company  D, 

Drafted    and   Substitute   Recruit. 

Clausen,    Hein   G.,   enlisted   September   26,    1864. 

Company  G. 

Woolcnmann.  John,   enlisted  September   r,    1861. 

Company  H. 

Drafted    and    Substitute    Recruit. 

I-'auI,   John,  enlisted   September   26.    1864. 

FORTY-THIRD     INFANTRY  (CONSOLIDATED). 

Company   K. 

Prizate. 

Carroll,   Timothy,  enlisted  March  30. 

FORTYFOURTH     INFANTRY. 
Company  A. 

Privates. 
Schrader,    Charles,    enlisted    July    i     1861 
Wirtb.   Frederick,  died  at  Rolla,  Missouri.    Decem- 
ber 21.    iR6r. 

Birieinbacb,    John,    enlisted   July    i,    1861. 
Company  E. 
Captain. 
Ernest    Moldenhawer,    commissioned    February    6 
1862;   died  of  wounds,  January    16.    1863. 

Lieutenants. 

First.  Ernest  Moldenhawer,  commissioned  Decem- 
ber 27,    1861;    promoted. 

Second.  Ernest  Moldenhawer,  commissioned  Au- 
gust   14,    1861;   promoted. 

Private. 
Nicbaus,   Franz,  enlisted  September    i.   1861. 
Company  K. 
Lieutenant. 
Second.    William    Gebhardt.    commissioned    August 
14.    1861;    resigned    January    16.     1862. 

Corporal. 
Henrich    Wilz,    enlisted    September    i,    1861;    ser- 
geant,  transferred  to  Invalid   Corps. 

Prii'ates. 
Buchrig.    Christian    C. 

Degermeyer.    George,    enlisted    September    i,    1861. 
Haager,  Julius,   died  February    i,    1863. 
Heinz.    Philip,    enlisted    September    i.    1861. 
Hiscb,    Fred    W.,    enlisted    September    i,     1861. 
Meder,    August,    enlisted    September    i,    i86r. 
Meyer.    Christian,    enlisted    September    i,    1861. 
Romann.   Peter,   enlisted    September    i.    1861, 
Yogel,    Lewis,    enlisted    September    i,    1861. 
Weth,   Frederick,   enlisted  July   i,    1861. 

Veterans. 
Bohmann.    Peter,    enlisted    September    i,    1864. 
Duermeyer,     George,    enlisted     January    i,     1864. 
Kennel,    Andreas,    enlisted    January    i,    1864. 
Klassert.    William,   enlisted  January    i,    1864. 

Recruits. 
Albers.    Henry,   enlisted    March    30.    i860. 
Buchler.    Johannus. 
Berge.    Burkhad. 
Denzel,    Lewis. 
Essig,   George. 


222 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


Sclimult,    Carl. 
Steiihen,   Juseph. 

Itf-fbergTMax,    enlisted    January    .9,    .864. 
FORTY-FIFTH    INFANTRY. 
Company  B. 
Private. 
Dresser,   Charles   W..    enlisted   October   2,    1861. 
FORTY-SIXTH   INFANTRY. 
Company   I. 
Rccmils  transferred  from  Eleventh  Illinois  Infantry. 
Hunter,   John    D.,    enlisted   October    7.    '»(>*■ 
HuSer,' George,  enlisted  October  7,    .864. 
Mauel,    Frank,  enlisted  October   12,    ;864. 
Vickery,    Chester,    enlisted    October    i^     1864. 
Clay,   Charles   H.,  enlisted  March  4.    1S64. 

FORTY-SEVENTH    INFANTRY. 
The     Forty-seventh     Illinois     Infantry     Volunteers 
was   first   organized    and    mustered    nUo    the    service 
of  the  Un°ted  States  at  Peoria,   Hlinots,  on  the   i6th 

'leptembTt3,"'s6.,  the  regiment  moved  by  rail 
from  Peoria  to  St.  Louis.  Missouri,  going  into 
quarters  at  Benton  Barracks,  near  the  cty,  where 
?t  "as  clothed  and  armed  complete;  reman  ed  m 
Benton  Barracks,  undergoing  a  thorough  drilling 
daiW  until  the  9th  dav  of  October,  when  it  moved 
b?   ^raU      o    Jefferson    City,    Missouri     where    it    re- 

^■sr^::^r.au'i\'!^t^i"^^s: 

S'j^-'?^r%r'^8L:'^^^"L= 

St  Charles,  where  it  arrived  hebruary  iS.  crosseo 
the  river  at  St.  Charles  and  moved  by  rail  to  St 
Touis  where  it  embarked  on  the  steamer  W,ar 
Fagle   and  moved   down  the  river,   arriving  at  Cairo 

'"'FebJuary^'^sth  it  moved  back  up  the  river  thirty 
mifes  to  Commerce,  Missouri,  where  the  "giniem 
disembarked   and  joined    Pope's  c°mrnand    then   pre^ 

?retS[aSri^d  ""?a;?hed^ro^  ^Son": °Mlsso?,"rS! 
Sarch    2d     arriving   in   front   of   the   enemy's   works 

^'o^^n'Ihe'ni^M  of"urci;':oth,  the  regiment  with 
the  Eleventh  Missouri  Infantry  marched  ten  miles 
below  N?w  Madrid,  taking  with  'h-:™,  ^''^""^^^ 
U^ht  artillery  to  Point  Pleasant,  blockading  the 
dfer  and  cut=;,ng  off  the  enemy's  convmunication^  by 
river  below   New   Madrid   and    Island   No.    10      Here 

swamp,  with  continual  heavy  rains,  until  the  7tn 
■^'Th"/   enemv    hav'ing    evacuated    New    Madrid    on 

and  on  the  Qth  were  paid  four  months'  pay  by 
''^cjn%hr  moving  of  April  10th  tbe  regiment  em- 
Sed^  °w!lth^°?h^  i;;:mf  rw:n^t'he\P;ern^ea?ly  0 
Fort   PiUow     returning'on   the   morning  of  the    nth 

took  on  coal,  and  on  the  nigni  01  inc  „  •„  „ 
up  the  Tennessee  river,  arriving  a  H^"""", 
landing.    Tennessee,   on   the   ■"o^""'/ rWer 

Corinth,     ."portion  of  the   way   it   had  to  constru  t 

|fi:^Mn^-^ar^s-'c^-r2Sth^°M>°5 


forces  as  far  as  Bonnesville,  Mississippi,  returning 
,0  Camp  Clear  Creek,  six  miles  ^o"'h  of  Corinth 
June  li,  1862,  where,  m  a  few  days,  tl'=  /58' 
ment  received  two  months'  pay  from  Major  t-t""g. 
On  the  3d  of  July  the  regiment  marched  to 
Rienzi  Mississippi,  remaining  there  until  August 
fs,  on  which  day  Colonel  John  Bryner  <ook  leave 
of  the  regiment,  his  resignation  having  been  ac- 
cepted on  account  of  poor  hf  "^,  '''V.?"^'  ^^ 
broke  Camp  Rienzi  and  marched  to  l^scumb  a 
Alabama,  rejoining  the  brigade  °"  '^e  road  a  riv 
ing  there  August  22d,  and  on  the  ^4'h  receivea 
two   months'   pay   from   M^JO--^  H<nnpstead 

Marched  from  Tuscumbia  September  8th  and  ar 
rived  at  Camp  Clear  Creek,  .  September  i4th^  1-eft 
Clear  Creek  on  the  morning  of  the  i»tn  anu 
marched  "ward  luka.  Mississippi ;  P-t.c.pated  m 
the  battle  of  luka  on  the  ■  9th,  where  the  a^my 
under  General  Rosecrans  defeated  the  ^^%'"l^. 
forces  under  General  Sterling  Price.  In  tins  en 
gageraent  Major  John  Cromwell  was  taken  P"S°>;f  • 
fXwei  iheVetreating  army  of  'he  eneniy  one  day 

^S^r0^tXrai^d'^o^k",rj:'t  in"lhrb^tre"o?Vc^ 

iflffi^  ^  t!norid  cl^^Sf 
Thruii  was  killed  while  bravely  leading  his  om- 
S^.;?    £  ^:;ri:illed^^^t;;iai^^H^rnSn  Ji^rews 

"Tfter.l^s"™;tgrenf  he  regiment  accomp^^^^^^ 
"SiThf  U.h"'of%c''to!,er    the    regiment,  returned 

J"i'aCr;y''8rrrchJd™om^a;a;i^>nction  by  w.y 
-Ei^7^'Sr'T^e;nSef^f:"t|^3 

^■^^f°^'iSr;^e=^Se^£ 

Ss  E^iECl  I  ?3 

reposing  in   water  at  nighty  ^^^^^^^       ;„ 

On    the    2d    of    May    t lie        g  Mississippi 

the    army    d.°""  .,"^^^, ''g'l„d    Gulf,    and    with    the 
'Al'-    ,TtZ,  Corll    Then   commanded  by   General 

On  .the  morning  "f^^^^, '^^'^^^.^^.i^Then' command- 
leaving  .the  city  Colonel  Lromwe  ,,^^„t  of 
ng  regiment,    rode   bacK    to   sec          ,,, _„„!„.,      ..-ere 

The,  regimen,    participated     "    the      ha.^e 
;riui:<rtd^iVte'a"mUer    wounded.       Durm^ 
"le    siege    of    Vicksburg     Major    .John    a    McUure 
received    a    severe    wound^      On    the    4U1    o  ^^^ 

regiment   participated    "' t^    tne    or  g 
mind    of   C.eneral    Josepl_^  A.    Mower^.^_m  ^.  .^^^^  _ 

of    a    force    of    the    ft^e^y.-.^^^^  near  the  Yazoo 

,i,sippi,  thirty  -'f /;,7„Vt'ickIburg.^during  the 
"'  ,h=  of  \ugust  September  and  October,  the 
rg?ment Encamped  at  Be'ar  Creek,  twenty  miles  east 

°S;',''',he'' middle    of    November.    1S63     the    regiment 
In    the   'rt;2°'%.'         ,3    Memph  s.    Tennessee,    and 
moved    up    the    iiver    to    ."ci"i       .  g^j  ng   the 

from   thence   to    Lagrange.   Tennessee.^g^       ^^g 

?i'o7''orthr'time" hoover',    was   occupied    scouting 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


223 


after  the  rebel  General  Forrest's  command.  On 
the  26th  of  January,  1864,  left  Lagrange  and  ar- 
rived at  Memphis,  January  ^Sth.  February  1st 
embarked  on  board  steamer  for  Vicksburg.  where 
it  arrived  February  3d  and  went  into  camp  at  Black 
River  Bridge,  twelve  miles  from  Vicksburg.  Feb- 
ruary 23d  marched  to  Canton.  Mississippi;  returned 
to  Black  River,  March  3d  and  to  Vicksburg.  March 
7th,  where  it  embarked  on  the  10th  on  board  steamer 
Mars  for  the  Red  River  Expedition ;  was  present 
at  the  capture  of  Fort  DeRussey,  Louisiana,  March 
14th. 

Participated  in  the  battle  of  Pleasant  Hill.  Louisi- 
ana, April  9,  1864.  During  this  expedition  the 
regiment  was  under  fire  several  times  and  suffered 
many  very  severe  hardships.  On  the  22d  of  Alay 
the  regiment  arrived,  with  General  Sjiiith's  com- 
mand, at  Vicksburp,  having  been  for  three  months 
engaged  in  as  tedious  and  fatiguing  a  campaign 
as  has  ever  fallen  to  the  lot  of  any  army  to  undergo. 
June  5th  the  regiment  embarked  for  >Iemphis; 
moved  up  the  river  to  Lake  Chicot,  di=:embarked. 
moved  inland  and  came  in  contact  with  a  force 
of  the  enemy  under  General  Marmaduke.  who  was 
defeated  and  completely  routed.  Regiment  lost  in 
this  engagement  eleven  men  killed  and  quite  a 
number  wounded.  Major  Miles  received  almost 
a  fatal  shot  in  the  neck  and  Captain  Biser  was 
killed.  The  regiment  then  proceeded  to  Memphis 
and  accompanied  General  A.  J.  Smith  to  Tupelo, 
Mississippi,  with  the  exception  of  ten  men  who 
had  reenlisted.  numbering  about  one  hundred,  who 
left  the  regiment  in  Moscow,  Tennessee,  and  went 
to  Illinois  on   veteran  furlough. 

The  veterans  returned  to  the  regiment  on  the 
8th  of  August  and  with  the  regiment  accompanied 
General  A.  J.  Smith's  expedition  to  Oxford,  Mis- 
sissippi; returned  to  Memphis,  August  27,  1864. 
The  original  term  of  service  of  the  regiment  hav- 
ing expired,  it  was  ordered  to  Springfield.  Illinois, 
where  it  was  finally  discharged  October  1 1.  1864. 
The  veterans  and  recruits  of  the  regiment  number- 
ing 196  men  left  Memphis,  September  2,  1864,  un- 
der command  of  Lieutenants  Edward  Rouham  and 
Royal  Olmstead.  accompanying  General  Mower's  ex- 
pedition up  White  river,  to  Brownsville.  Arkansas, 
and  from  there  marched  north  into  Missouri  after 
the  rebel  General  Price's  army,  which  was  raiding 
in  that  state.  Arrived  at  Cape  Girardeau,  Missouri, 
October  4th.  and  took  steamer  for  Jefferson  City, 
October  6th,  arriving  at  Jefferson  City  on  the 
15th:  thence  moved  by  rail  to  Otterville;  thence 
marched  to  Warren sburg,  where  it  arrived  October 
26th;  left  Warrensburg  by  rail  for  St.  Louis.  No- 
vember 2d;  arrived  at  St.  Louis  on  the  4th.  From 
St.  Louis  the  veteran  detachment  was  ordered  to 
Chicago.  Illinois.  November  gth,  1S64.  to  assist 
in  quelling  any  riot,  should  tliere  he  any  on  the 
day  of  election.  Their  services  not  being  required, 
they  were  ordered  to  report  to  the  superintendent 
of  recruiting  service  at  Springfield.  Illitiois.  and 
were  stationed  at  Camp  Butler,  where,  on  the  28th 
of  November,  it  received  200  drafted  men  and  a 
battalion  of  four  full  companies  was  organized  and 
Lieutenant  Bouham  commissioned  as  maior.  and 
Lieutenant  Olmstead  commissioned  as  captain  of 
Company  A.  December  3d  the  command  was  or- 
dered to  the  field,  reporting  by  way  of  St.  Louis 
to  General  Rosecrans.  At  St.  Louis  the  order  was 
modified  and  its  destination  changed  to  Louisville. 
Kentucky;  from  here  it  was  ordered  to  Bowling 
Green.  Kentucky,  where  it  remained  till  January 
27,  i86s,  when  it  moved  by  rail  to  Nashville,  thence 
down  the  Cumberland  and  up  the  Tennessee  river 
to  Eastport.  Mississippi,  where  it  rejoined  its  old 
brigade — Second  Brigade.  First  Division.  Sixteenth 
Army  Corps — accompanying  it  to  New  Orleans, 
thence  to  Mobile  Bay,  taking  part  in  the  reduction  of 
Spanish  Fort.  While  laying  in  front  of  Spanish 
Fort,  six  additional  companies  arrived  from  Spring- 
field. Illinois,  making  the  organization  once  more 
complete.  After  the  fall  of  ^^obile  the  regiment 
marched  with  the  Sixteenth  Corps  to  Montgomery, 
Alabama,  where  it  arrived  April  25,  iS^s-  I^c- 
cember  31,  1865,  the  regiment  was  stationed  at 
Selma.  Alabama.  Mustered  out  January  21.  1866, 
at  Selma  and  ordered  to  Springfield,  Illinois,  where 
it    received    final    pay   and   discharge. 

Colonels. 
John    Bryner,    commissioned    July    27,     1861:     re- 
signed   September   2,    1862. 

William    A.    Thrush,    commissioned    September    2, 


1862;  killed  in  battle  before  Corinth,  October  3, 
1862. 

John  N.  Cromwell,  commissioned  October  3,  1862; 
killed  in  battle  at  Jackson,  Mississippi,  May  j6,  1863. 

John  D.  McCIure.  commissioned  May  16,  1863; 
term    expired    October    1 1,     1S64. 

Lieutenant   Colonel. 
William    A.    Thrush,    commissioned    May    9,    1862; 
promoted. 

Majors. 

William  A.  Thrush,  commissioned  August  25, 
1861;  promoted. 

John  N.  Cromwell,  commissioned  May  9,  1862; 
piomoted. 

John  D.  McClure.  commissioned  October  31, 
1S62;    promoted    colonel. 

Adjutant. 
Rush     W'.     Chambers,     commissioned     August     24, 
186 1 ;    promoted    major. 

Quartermaster. 
Samuel  A.  A.  Law,  commissioned  August  8,   1863; 
term  expired    1864. 

Surgeons. 

George  L.  Lucas,  commissioned  August  14,  1861 ; 
term   expired    September    19,    1864. 

First  Assistant,  Timothy  Babb,  commissioned  Au- 
gust   14.    1861;    resigned  August   J3,    1863. 

Chaplain. 
Jeremiah     Hazen,     commissioned     September     20, 
1861 ;    resigned    November    i,    1862. 

Sergeant    Major. 
W^illiam   E.    Kuhn,   enlisted   August  20,    1861 ;    pro- 
moted  second   lieutenant    Company   F. 

Quartermaster  Sergeant. 
Edward  E.  Tobey.  enlisted  September  8,  1861,  pro- 
moted  second   lieutenant    Company   G. 

Principal    Musicians. 

James  D.  Wonden,  enlisted  August  14,  1861;  dis- 
charged August  25.    1862;  disability. 

Henry  C.  Pierce,  enlisted  August  14.  1861;  dis- 
charged  April    18,    1863. 

Company    A. 
Captains. 
John     N.     Cromwell,     commissioned     August     25. 
1861 ;    promoted    major. 

Converse  Southard,  commissioned  May  9,  1862; 
resigned  October  29.    1S62. 

John  T.  Bo  wen,  commissioned  October  29,  1S62; 
term   expired    October    1 1,    1864. 

Lieutenants. 

First.  Converse  Southard,  commissioned  August 
25.    1861;   promoted. 

First.  John  T.  Bow'en,  commissioned  June  17, 
1862;    promoted. 

First.  William  W.  Poole,  commissioned  October 
29,     1862;    term    expired    October    11,    1864. 

Second.  John  T.  Bo  wen,  commissioned  May  9, 
1862;    promoted. 

Sergeant. 

First.  John  T.  Bowen.  enlisted  August  16,  1861 ; 
promoted  second  lieutenant. 

Corporals. 

Jacob  J.  Crook,  enlisted  August  16,  1861;  mus- 
tered out  October  1 1.  1864,  as  private;  reduced 
at    his    own    request. 

James  Parr,  enlisted  August  16,  1861;  mustered 
out  October  11,  1864,  as  private;  reduced  at  his 
own    request. 

William  W.  Poole,  enlisted  August  16,  1861; 
promoted   first   lieutenant. 

Simpson  Logan,  enlisted  September  20,  1861; 
mustered    out   October    11,    1864. 

Privates. 
Blair,  Alexander,  enlisted  August  16,  1861. 

Burgland,    Frederick,  enlisted  August   16,   1861. 
Batchor,    Neal.    enlisted    August    16,    1861. 
Crank,    Charles    R.,    enlisted   August    16,    1861. 
Cole,  Samuel  W.,  enlisted  August  16,    1861. 
Button,    Isaac,    enlisted    August    16,    1861. 


224 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


Ewing,   John    W.    N.,   enlisted   August    i6,    1861. 
Green,    Edward    A.,    enlisted    August    16.    1861. 
Green,   Tohn  W.,  enlisted  August   16,    1861. 
Grume.  "Charles  A.,   enlisted   August    16,    1861. 
Hills,    Horace,   enlisted   August    16,    1861. 
Hart,    James,    enlisted    August    16,    1861. 
Huston,    Robert   E..    enlisted    August    15,    1861, 
Ready,    Thomas,    enlisted    August    16,    1861. 
Lowe,    Hiram,   enlisted    August    16,    1861. 
Logan,    George,  enlisted   August    16,    1861. 
McFarland,    John,    enlisted    August    16,    1861. 
Mcintosh,  John,   enlisted  August    16,    1861. 
Murray,    Daniel,    enlisted   August    16,    1861. 
Odell,    Leroy    E.,   enlisted  August    16,    1861. 
Patton,    William,   enlisted   August    16,    1861. 
Phillips.   Erancis    M.,   enlisted    August    16,    1861. 
Proctor.    Harry    F.,    enlisted    August    16,    1861. 
Robinson,    George,    enlisted    August    16,    1861. 
Rice.    Elisha.   enlisted   .Vugust   16.    1861. 
Susdorf.    Charles,    enlisted    August    16,    1861. 
Smith.   Henry,   enlisted   August    16,    1861. 
Stevens,    Cha'rles,    enlisted    August    16,    1861. 
Toland.  George  W..  enlisted  August   16,    1861. 
Waston,    Wiltz,    enlisted    August    16,    1861. 
W'endle,   John   R.,    enlisted  August    16,    1861. 
Wilson,    tohn    G.,    enlisted   August    16,    1861. 
Wilson,   John   W.,   enlisted  August   16.    1861. 
Wilkison.   Phineas   R..  enlisted  August   16,    1861. 
Recruits. 

Bonsbaugh,  Charles  G.,  enlisted  September  18, 
1861. 

Clifton,    David,    enlisted    February    29,    1864. 
Cleary,    Tohn.    enlisted    November    30,    1863. 
Dellingham,   Tohn  D.,  enlisted  August   14,   1862. 
Dutton,   William   H..  enlisted  August   14,    1862. 
Harvev.    Tames   T..   enlisted    August    13.    1862. 
Harvey,  Thomas  Y.,  enlisted  August  13,    1862. 
Longshore,   John   D.,   enlisted    August    14.    1862. 
Longshore.    Aaron,    enlisted    August    14.    1862. 
Meyer.    William,    enlisted    August    14,    1862. 
Reed.   Bcniamin.   enlisted   August    13.    1862. 
Wheeler.    Tohn    W..    enlisted   January   4.    1864. 
Young.    Calvin,    enlisted    January    4.     1864. 
Young.    Tames,    enlisted    February    26.    1864. 
Young.    Andrew,    enlisted   August    14,    1862. 
Yates,  Tohn  M.,  enlisted  August   13.  1S62. 
Yates.    William,    enlisted    August    13.     1862. 

Company    C. 
Captains. 
John  D.   McClure.   commissioned  August  25.    1861; 
promoted  major. 

George  Broad,  commissioned  August  31.  1862; 
term   expired    October    11,    1864. 

Lieufenatrts. 

First.  George  Broad,  commissioned  June  17,  1862; 
promoted. 

First,  Samuel  A.  A.  Law,  commissioned  August 
31,    1862;    promoted    quartermaster. 

First,  Christopher  C.  Gilbert,  commissioned  De- 
cember   14,    1863:    term    expired    October    11,    1864. 

Second,  George  Broad,  commissioned  August  25. 
j86i:    promoted. 

Second,  Samuel  A.  A.  Law,  commissioned  June 
17.    1862:    promoted. 

Second,  Christopher  C.  Gilbert,  commissioned  Au- 
gust  31,    1862:    promoted. 

Sergeants. 

First,  Samuel  A.  A.  Law.  enlisted  .\ugust  18. 
1861:    promoted   second    lieutenant. 

Israel  Howell,  enlisted  August  18,  1861;  dis- 
charged  May  7,    1862;   disability. 

Dexter  M.  Camp,  enlisted  August  18,  1861;  mus- 
tered  out  October   II,    1864. 

James  W.  .\rmour.  enlisted  August  18,  1861: 
deserted   March    11,    1863. 

Corporals. 

Thomas  Swan,  enlisted  August  18,  1861 ;  mus- 
tered out   October   11.    1864. 

Benjamin  J.  Gates,  enlisted  August  18,  1861; 
mustered    out    October    11,     1S64. 

Christopher  Gilbert,  enlisted  August  18,  1861; 
promoted    second    lieutenant. 

Addison  F.  Slatin,  enlisted  August  18,  1861; 
deserted    September    19,    1862. 

William  Wanser,  enlisted  August  18,  1861;  mus- 
tered out  October   11.    1864,   as  private. 

John  Balfour,  enlisted  August  18,  1861;  mustered 
out    August    24,    1864. 


Lewis    M.    Cady.    enlisted    August    18,    1861;    sup- 
posed   to   be   captured    August    11.    1864. 

IVagoner. 
Isaac  J.    Pratt,   enlisted  August    18,    1861:   died  at 
Memphis,   September    10,    1864. 

Prii'atcs. 
Anten,    James,    enlisted    August    18,    1861. 
Booth,  Henry  A.,   enlisted  August   18.   1861. 
Brittingham.  William  H..  enlisted  August  18,  1861. 
Baldwin.  Albert  H.,  enlisted  August   18,   1861. 
Center,   Lemuel   L..   enlisted  August    18,    1861, 
Clough,    Cassius    M.,    enlisted    August    18,    1861. 
Conley.   James,   enlisted   August    18,    1861. 
Crawford,   John    E.,    enlisted   August    18,    1861. 
DeGrummond.  John  J.,  enlisted  August   18,   1861. 
Davison.    Tohn.   enlisted    August    18.    1861. 
Farris.    John    S..   enlisted   August    18.    1861. 
Gilbert. 'Charles   W..   enlisted    August    18,    1861. 
Hathaway.  George  H.,  enlisted  August   18,   1861. 
Himes.    Charles  H.,    enlisted   August    18,    1861. 
Hartz.    Tohn   H..    enlisted   August    18.    1861. 
Harper.'  Oliver  P..   enlisted   August    18,    1861. 
Hackenburg,     William     H.,     enlisted     August     18, 
1861. 

Kelley,    Stephen,   enlisted   August   18,    1861. 
Lapham,   Aaron   M.,   enlisted  August    18,    1861. 
McCoy,    Daniel,   enlisted  August    18.    1861. 
McRil'l.    Thomas,    enlisted    August    18,    1861. 
Mason.    Isaac   F.,   enlisted  August   iS.   1861. 
Mendall.    Ira    L..    enlisted    .August    18,    1861. 
Orton.  Augustus  L..   enlisted  August    18.    1861. 
Patterson,    Caster,    enlisted    August    18.    1861. 
Pohlman.    Tohn   H.,   enlisted  August    18,    1861. 
Randall,    Peter,    enlisted    August    18,    1861. 
Stewart,   Collins  P...  enlisted  August  18,    1861. 
Vancamp,  Isaac,  enlisted  ,\ugust   18,  1861. 
Wickersham.   Hiram  O.,  enlisted  August    18,   1861. 
Wheeler.    Joseph,    enlisted    August    18,    1861. 

Veterans. 
Baldwin,    Albert    H.,    enlisted    February    22,    1864, 
Anten,    James    B.,    enlisted    February    22,    1864. 

Recruits. 
Blanchard.   Ira  W.,   enlisted   September  20     1861. 
Burdett.    Robert    T..    enlisted    August    4,   ,1862. 
Cavanaugh.    Tames,    enlisted    December   8.    1863. 
Ford     Swell    G.,    enlisted   August   20.    1862. 
Freeman.  Charles  H.,  enlisted  September  14,  1861. 
Hayes,    Morris,    enlisted    August   25,    1862. 
Johnson,  Augustus,  enlisted  August  25.   1861. 
'Kellogg.  Philander,  enlisted  September  20.    1861. 
Murray.    Daniel,    enlisted    September   6.    1861. 
Swimm.    Peter,    enlisted    September    6.    1861. 

Company  D. 
Privates. 
Boyee.   Artemus,   enlisted   August    16,    1861. 
Dickerson,    Jonathan,   enlisted  August   16,    1861. 
Green.    Tose'ph    D.,   enlisted   August    16.    1861. 
Merrill. 'James   G.,    enlisted   August    16.    1861. 

Veterans. 
Green.  Joseph  D.,  enlisted  February  19.   1864. 
Boyce.  'Artemus.   enlisted  February   19.    1864. 

Recruits. 

Murray.    Tames,    enlisted. 

Smith.   John,    enlisted   January    iS.    1864. 

Company  E. 
Captain. 
Samuel   R.   Baker,  commissioned  August   25,    1861; 
promoted    to    lieutenant   colonel. 

Company  F. 
Captains. 
Lyman  W.   Clark,   commissioned  August  25,    1861; 
resigned    December   27.    1861. 

Theodore    M.    Lowe,    commissioned    December    28, 
1861:    resigned    April    12.    1863. 

George   W.    Carter,    commissioned   April    12,    1863; 
resigned  August   21,    1863, 

Lieutenants, 
First.    Theodore    M.    Lowe,    commissioned    August 

21.  1861:    promoted. 

Second.   George   H.    Carter,   commissioned   October 

22,  1862:    promoted. 


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i 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


225 


Sergeants, 

First,  George  H.  Carter,  enlisted  August  i8,  i86i- 
promoted  second  lieutenan*. 

William  C.  Gonclier,  enlisted  August  21,  i86i- 
discharged    December    8,    1862;    disability. 

Patrick  Curran,  enlisted  August  21,  1861;  mus- 
tered  out    August    II,    1864.    as   private. 

Moody  W.  Lowe,  enlisted  August  21,  i86i-  dis- 
charged   October    24,    1862;    disability. 

Corporals. 

Henry  Swartwood.  enlisted  August  21,  i86i;  mus- 
tered  out  October   11,    1864,    as  sergeant. 

John  Noonan,  enlisted  August  21,  186 1;  mustered 
out   October    11,    1864. 

James  Swartwood,  enlisted  August  21,  1861;  dis- 
charged  December    17,    1861;    disability. 

Musicians. 

John  Joyce,  enlisted  August  21,  1861;  discharged 
November   21,    1862;    disability. 

Edward  Fisher,  enlisted  August  21,  1861;  dis- 
charged  April   9,    1862;    disability. 

Privates. 

Bulaw,    Patrick  F.,   enlisted   August  21,    1861. 

Burns,    Nicholas,    enlisted   August    21,     1861, 
Bair,   David,  enlisted  August  21,   1861. 

Bogan,    John,    enlisted   August    21,    i86i. 

Cunningham,  James,   enlisted  August  21,    1861. 

Carnick,  Joseph  H.,  enlisted  August  21,    1861. 

Conely,    Francis,    enlisted    August    21,    1861. 

Cochran,    Joseph,    enlisted   August    21,    1861. 

Collerige,   Job,   enlisted  August   21,    1861. 

Carrey,   Larius,   enlisted  August  21,    1861. 

Dempsey,   Frank,   enlisted  August  21,    1861. 

Donnely,    Patrick,   enlisted   August  21,    i§6i. 

Dagan,   John,    enlisted  August   21,    1861. 

Dennegan,    James,    enlisted    August    21,    1861. 

Ewing,    Noah    JVI.,    enlisted    August    21,    1861. 

Gaffney,   James,   enlisted  August  21,    1861. 

Galvin,    Patrick,    enlisted   August    21,    18C1. 

Hollihan,    Dennis,   .•\ugust   21,    1861. 

Hawkins,    William,    enlisted   August    21,    1861. 

Huffman,    Charles,   enlisted    August   21,    1861. 

Hampton,  George  S..   enlisted  ."Vugust  21,   1861. 

Kelley.   William,   enlisted  August  21,    1861. 

Kyle,   John,    enlisted   August    21,    1861. 

Leisenburge,    John,    enlisted  August  21,    1861. 

McLaughlin,  Peter  J.,  enlisted  August  21,   1861. 

Lonsdale.    Ellis,    enlisted    August    21,    1861. 
Merrick.    Alonzo   W.,   enlisted   August  21,    ig6i. 

Maily,    Michael,    enlisted    August    21,     1861. 
McDermott,   James,   enlisted  August   21,    1861. 
McCarty.    Jeremiah,    enlisted    August    21,    1861. 

Murphy,    William,  enlisted   August   21,    1861. 
McDermott,  John,  enlisted  August  21,   1861. 
Moreton,    Henry,    enlisted    August    21,     1861. 
Morgan,    Edward,    enlisted    August    21,    1861. 
Mclntyre.    James,    enlisted    August    21,    1861, 
Norton,    Henry,    enlisted   August    21,    1861. 
Perry,    Peter,    enlisted   August    21,    1861. 
Porter.    William,    enlisted    August    21,    1861. 
Powell,    John,    enlisted    August    21,    1861. 
Ryan,   John,  enlisted  August  21,   i86i. 
Ryan.    Patrick,    enlisted    August   21,    1861. 
Rether.  Joseph,   enlisted  August  21,   1861. 
Swartwood,   William,  enlisted  August   21,   1861. 
Sundren.    Charles,    enlisted   August    21,    1861. 
Shaw,    Owen    W.,    enlisted    August    21,    1861. 
Snyder,    Nicholas,    enlisted    August    21,    1861. 
Smith,    John,    enlisted    .Xugust    21,    1861. 
Trernpe.    Isaac,    enlisted    August    21,    1861. 
Willis,   Jackson,   enlisted   August  21.    1861. 
Walker.    Augustus,    enlisted    August    21.    1861. 

Veterans. 
Beare,   David,   enlisted   February  22,    1864. 
Hampton.  George  S..  enlisted  February  22,   1864. 
McLoughlin,   Peter  J.,   enlisted  February  22,    1864. 
Ryan.    Patrick,    enlisted    February    22,    1864. 
.Swartwood,    W'illiani,    enlisted    February   22,    1864. 

Company  G. 
Wagoner, 
Sturman.    William    L.,    enlisted    August    16.    1861; 
discharged    December   g,    1862;    disability. 

Privates. 
Alfolder,   Samuel,    enlisted  August    16,    1861. 
Bixler.   Samuel,    enlisted  Au&ist   16,    1861. 
Bower,    Martin,    enlisted    August    16,    i86i. 
Vol.  1—15 


Baley.    Daniel,    enlisted    .August    i6,    1861. 
Miller,    Robert    F.,   enlisted    August    16,    1861. 
Maurice,    .'\dam.    enlisted   August    16.    1861. 
Putnian.    Judson.    enlisted    August    16,    1861, 
Reed,    Thomas    R.,    enlisted    August    16,    1861. 
.Seely,   William,    enlisted  August    16,    1861. 
Wilson,    liennett,    enlisted   August    16,    1861. 

Recruits. 
Byrne,    Edward,    enlisted    August    13,    1862, 
Strum,    T.   JelTerson.    enlisted   .'\ugust    27,    1861 
Stone,    Stephen,    enlisted    September    19,    1861. 

Company    H. 
Sergeants. 
Rogers,    Eli    B.,   enlisted    September    i.    1861:    dis- 
cha_rged   October   24,    1862;    disability. 

Gordon,  William,  enlisted  September  i,  i86i- 
discharged    October    10.    1863;    disability. 

Williams,  Charles,  died  at  Ridgway  Station,  Tulv 
24.    1863. 

Corporals. 

Levi  R.  Adkinson,  enlisted  September  i,  i86i- 
died   at   Rienzi,    Mississippi,    July    10,    1862. 

Samuel  Gordon,  enlisted  September  i,  1861  ■ 
mustered   out  October    11.    1864. 

Wagoner. 
Mahlon    McGowen,    enlisted    September    1,    i86i- 
discharged    September    29,    1862;    disability. 

Privates. 
Bailey,   John,   enlisted   September    i,    1861. 
Bailey,    Richard,    enlisted    September    i,    1861. 
Dickison.   John,   enlisted    September   i,    1861. 
Drummond,   John   P.,   enlisted   September    i,    1861. 
Dumbelle.  William  H..  enlisted  September  i,   1861. 
Drum,    Patrick,    enlisted   September    i,    1861. 
Elson.    John,    enlisted    September    I,    1861. 
Flemming.    Michael,    enlisted    September    1,    1861. 
Fenens,    William,   enlisted    September    i,    1861. 
Harlan,    John,    enlisted    September    i,    186 1. 
Harlan.  Joseph,   enlisted    September    1,    1861. 
Hall,   George,   enlisted   September    i,    1861. 
Holeman,    Samuel    K.    P.,    enlisted    September     i, 
1861. 

Hendrick.    Joel,    enlisted    September    r.    1861. 
Johnson.    Nathan,    enlisted   September    i.    1861. 
Kingdon.   John,    enlisted    September    i,    1861. 
Kingdon,    Tames,   enlisted    September    i,    1861. 
Keough,   Thomas,   enlisted   September    i,    1861. 
Moore,    Bolin    L,   enlisted   September    i,    1861. 
Mendall.   David,  enlisted  September  i,    1861, 
Moffitt,  Aaron  C,  enlisted  September  I,   1861. 
O'Connor,    James,    enlisted    September    i,    1861. 
Phalan.    Michael,    enlisted    September    i,    1861. 
Sutherland.  Jacob,   enlisted   September   i,    1861. 
Smith,    John,   enlisted    September    i,    1861. 
Staples,    Silas,    enlisted    September    i,    i86r. 

I'eterans. 
Bailey,   John,    enlisted   February   22,    1864. 
Kingdon,    John,   enlisted    February   22,    1864. 
Kingdon,    James,    enlisted   February   22,    1864. 
Moffitt,    Aaron    C,    enlisted    February    22,    1864. 

Recruits. 
Brown.    George,    enlisted    -August    14,    1862. 
Dimon.    Jacob,    enlisted    September    14,    1862. 
Hall.    Gilbert,   mustered   out   November    i.    1864. 
Hartley.    Daniel,   enlisted    August   g,    1862. 
Harlan.    Tames    I'.,    enlisted    August   2,    1862. 
Martin,    David    A.,   enlisted   August   g,    1862. 

Company    \. 
Wagoner. 
William     D.     Bell,     enlisted     September     4.     1861: 
killed     at    Jefferson     City.     Missouri,     November    6, 
1861:    run    over   by   a   wagon. 

Privates. 
Behymer.    Henry   M..    enlisted   September   4,    1861. 
Cox,    Joseph,    enlisted    September   4,    1861. 
Dredgo.    John    C,    enlisted    September   4,    1861. 
Kershaw,    John,    enlisted    September    4,    1861. 
Miller,    George    M.,    enlisted    September   4,    1861. 
Macon.    John,   enlisted    September   4,    1861. 
Nelson.    Thomas,    enlisted    .September    4,    1861. 
Nicholas,   John    S.,   enlisted    September  4,    1861. 
Pritchard,   Thomas,   enlisted   September  4.    1861. 
Rowley,   Martin   E.,  enlisted  September  4,    1861, 


226 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


Upshaw,    George    \V.,    Jr..    enlisted    September    4. 
1861. 

Recruits. 
Allison.    James,    enlisted    December    28,    1863. 
Pratt,    Edmun    M. 
Pratt.    Nathan    W. 
Rogers,    Richard. 
Ryan,    Robert    R. 

Company    K. 
Privates. 
Armtrout.    J.    B.,    enlisted  September   6.    1861 
Buckley.   Tohnson.  enlisted  September   18    1861. 
Boughslow,     Charles     G.,     enlisted     September     6, 

Carter    Charles  W..  enlisted  September  8.   1861. 
Jacobs.    Henry,    enlisted    September    25.    '^^'^ 
Hutchinson.    Franklin,    enlisted   September   6.J861. 
Locan.    Simpson,    enlisted    September    18,    i8&;- 
McGregor,    Henry   B.,   enlisted    September   6.    1861. 
Tobey.    Edward   E..   enlisted   September  8.    1861. 
Williams.   George,  enlisted    September    19,    i8t)i. 

FORTY-SEVENTH        INFANTRY         (CONSOLI- 

DATED). 

Company  A. 

Private. 

Davison.    James,    enlisted   January    3.    1862. 

Recruits. 
Davison,    Tames,   enlisted    March  7.    1865. 
Sweet.    Alfred,    enlisted    March    16,    1865. 
Recruit  transferred  from  One  Hundred  and  Eighth. 
Greenville,   George,   enlisted   February   24,    1865. 
Company    B. 
Privates. 
Green     Gilbert    L.,    enlisted    November    16,    1864. 
Petty,   John   W.,   enlisted   November    16.    1864. 
Wiar,    John,    enlisted    November    29,    1864. 

Recruit. 
Green.  Hedriik,    enlisted  January   23.    1865 
Recruits  transferred  from   One  Hundred  and  Eighth. 
Alldrich.    George    C.    enlisted    March    6.    1865. 
Bailey,    Henry    C.    enlisted    March    6.     1865. 
Budley,    Tohn,   enlisted   ^larch    6,    1865. 
Guyer.    George    C.    enlisted    March    6,    1865. 
Fox.    Reads,    enlisted   March    6,    1865. 
Hibbs.    Eben    L.,    enlisted    March   6.    1865. 
King,    Joseph,    enlisted    March    6,    1865. 
Prior.  "Richard,    enlisted    March   6,    1865. 

Company  D. 

Private. 

Burbank,    Israel,  enlisted  September   13,   1864. 

Recruit  transferred  from  One  Hundred  and  Eighth. 

Trotman,   Frank  L.,   enlisted  January   23,    1864. 

Company  E. 
Captain. 
Thomas     Lynch,     commissioned     March     9,     1865; 
mustered    out    January    21,    1866. 

Lieutenants. 

First.  Dennis  Brennan.  commissioned  March  9, 
1865:    mustered    out    January    21,    1866. 

Second.  William  Morrisy.  commissioned  March  9, 
1865;    mustered  out  January   21,    1866. 

Privates. 
Avery,   Frank,  enlisted   February  24.    1865. 
Burningham.  John,  enlisted  February  24.   1865. 
Casey.   Michael,   enlisted    February   24,    1865. 
Callahan,    John,    enlisted    February    27.    1865. 
Dunnivan,*  John,   enlisted   February    20.    1865. 
Kelley.    Patrick,    enlisted    February    23.    1,865. 
Keefe,    James,    enlisted    February   24,    1865. 
Long,    Martin,    enlisted    March    i.    1865. 
McCarthy,   James,    enlisted   February   27.    1S65 
McCormick,    Edward,    enlisted    February   25.    1865. 
McManus,   Michael,   enlisted   February  24^   1865. 
McGowan.    Thomas,   enlisted   February   24,    1865. 
O'Leary,   Thomas,  enlisted    February   25,    1865. 
Powers,  Joseph,  enlisted  February  24.   1865. 
Roberts.    Daniel,    enlisted    March    i.    1865. 
Shelmody,   Thomas,   enlisted   February  24.    1865. 
Williams.   John,   enlisted    February  25,    1865. 
Zondergani   William,  enlisted   March    i,    1865. 


Company    I. 

Privates.  - 

Couse.    Ironie,  enlisted   March   9,    1865. 
Divelbliss,   John,    enlisted    March    7,    1865. 
Hutton,    Solomon,    enlisted   March    7,    1865. 

Recruit. 
Brockett,   J.    B..    enlisted    March   22,    1865. 

Company    K. 
Captain. 
John  J.   Ross,  commissioned  March   23,    1865;  mus- 
tered   out    January    2 1,    1866. 

Lieutenants. 

First,  Andrew  P.  Gibson,  commissioned  March 
21.    1865;    mustered   out  January   21.    1866. 

Second.  John  Merrill,  commissioned  March  23, 
1865;  died  of  smallpox  at  Cahawba,  Alabama,  No- 
vember  25.    1865. 

Second.  Henry  Hill,  commissioned  December  19, 
1865;  not  mustered;  mustered  out  as  sergeant  Jan- 
uary  21,    1866. 

Sergeants. 

James  G.  Johnson,  enlisted  ^March  5,  1865 ;  mus- 
tered  out  January    21,    1866. 

Albert  S.  Hoag,  enlisted  March  14.  1865;  mus- 
tered  out   January    21,    1866. 

Corporals. 

Robert  Eaton,  enlisted  March  3,  1865;  mustered 
out   January   21.    1866,   sergeant. 

James  A.  Gilbert;  enlisted  March  3.  1865 ;  mus- 
tered   out    January    21,    1866. 

Ethan  A.  Hartz,  enlisted  March  3,  1865;  mus- 
tered  out   January    21,    1866. 

Mortimer  D.  Hebberd,  enlisted  March  7,  1865; 
mustered   out    January    3,    1866. 

Musicians. 

Edward  Bartholomew,  enlisted  March  7,  1865; 
mustered   out    at    Mobile^    Alabama. 

Edward  D.  Richardson,  enlisted  Jtarch  7,  1865; 
mustered   out   January    25,    1866. 

Privates. 
Blind.    Charles,    enlisted    March    6.    1S65. 
Cole.    John,    enlisted    March    3,     1865. 
Clay  pole.    James   J.,    enlisted    March    3,    1865. 
Crane,  George,  enlisted  March  4,   1865. 
Calaway,    Jefferson,    enlisted    March    7,    1865. 
Eten.   Henry,   enlisted  March  3,    1865. 
Elliott.   John,    enlisted  March   7.    1865. 
Green,    John    H.,    enlisted    March    7,    1865. 
Heath,  or  Hiatt.  Nicholas,  enlisted  March  7,   1865. 
Tohnson.   Philander,    enlisted   March  7.    1865. 
Kern,    Frederick,    enlisted    March    14,    1865. 
Knox.  James  E.,  enlisted   March  3.    1865. 
Lanscha,   George,  enlisted   March    14.   1865. 
Moats,  Tobias,   enlisted   March  7,    1865. 
McCoy.    William,    enlisted    March    7.    1865. 
Nickson.   William   H..    enlisted  March    14.    1865. 
Pratt,    Stephen,    enlisted    March    7.    1865. 
Short.   William,    enlisted   March  6,    1865. 
Sanger,    Lewis,    enlisted    March    3.    1865. 
Smith.    John,    enlisted    March   6.    1S65. 
Todd,  Robert  M..  enlisted  March  7,   1865. 
Watters,    John,    enlisted    March    4.    1865. 
Willett,   Austin,   enlisted    March   4,    1865. 

Recruits. 
Brown,    Russell,    enlisted    ]March   8,    1865. 
Bachelder,   Leonadus.  enlisted  March    10,   1865. 
McGinnis.    Kenweth,   enlisted    March   21.    1865. 
Morrow,    Erastus.    enlisted    March    14,    1865, 
McMullen.    Samuel,   enlisted   March   20,    1865. 
Moore,   Aurora  C,   enlisted   March   20,   1865. 
Smith.    Jeremiah,    enlisted    March    10,    1865. 
Recruits'   transferred    from    Ninety-fifth    Illinois. 
Albats,    Tohn.    enlisted    March   8,    1865. 
Adams,  "George,   enlisted    March    13,    1865. 
Bruen.    Tames,    enlisted    March    10,    1865. 
Bon,    Seth.    enlisted    March    31.    1865. 
Clark.    William    E..    enlisted    March    21.    1865. 
Campbell.    Tames,    enlisted    March    7.    1865. 
Davis.    Alfred,   enlisted   March   8.    1865. 
Hastings,  William,  enlisted  November  29,   1864. 
Hennesey,    John,    enlisted    March    31,    1865. 
Murray,    Tohn,    enlisted   March    10.    1865. 
McMahan".    Michael,   enlisted  April  3.    1865. 
Murphy.   John,  enlisted   April   3.    1865. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


227 


Meyers,    Charles,    enlisted   April   3,    1865. 
McGuircs,    Peter,    enlisted    April    7,     1S65. 
Maloney,  John,   enlisted   March   31,    1865. 
Price,    Robert,    enlisted   April    3,    1865. 
Reed,  John,  enlisted  March  8.   1865. 
Wilson.    David,    enlisted    March    8,    1865. 
Warner,  John,  enlisted   March  31,    1865, 
WiUiamson,  J.,  enlisted  March  31,    1865. 

FORTY-EIGHTH    INFANTRY. 
Company    A. 

Drafted  and  Substitute  Recruits. 
Crowder.    Richard,  enlisted   September  27.    1864. 
McGrail,    Anthony,    enlisted    November    17,    1864. 

FORTY-NINTH     INFANTRY. 
Company    B. 
Recruit. 
Dels,    Wesley   A.,    enlisted   April    3,    1865. 
Company  G. 
Recruits. 
Benthall.    Asa   W..    enlisted    March  22.    1865. 
Kelley.    Isaac,    enlisted    jMari:h    20,    1865. 
Neal,   George   W..    enlisted   March   20,    1865. 
Oglesby,    Reuben,    enlisted   March    17,    1865. 
Webb,    Richard,   enlisted   March   22.    1865. 

FIFTIETH   INFANTRY'. 
Company   F. 

White,  John  W.,   enlisted   August    18,   1861. 

Drafted   and   Substitute  Recruit. 
Heighton.    Hugh,    enlisted   December    i,    1864. 
Company    K. 

Drafted   and    Substitute    Recruits. 
Eirlerman,   John    H.,   enlisted   December    i,    1864. 
Furguson,    Tames,   enlisted    December    i,    1864. 
Plummer,  John   F.,  enlisted   December   1,    1865. 

Unassigned  Recruit, 
Hager,    John,    enlisted    December    i.    1864. 
FIFTY-FIRST    INFANTRY. 
Company    A. 
Sergeant. 
Parker.  John   R.,   enlisted   October   1,   1861;   trans- 
ferred   to   "Signal    Corps,    January    27,    1864. 

Private. 
Fox,    William,    enlisted   October   24,    1861. 

Recruits. 
Green,   Thomas,    enlisted    November   23,    1S61. 
Welch,  James,  enlisted  November  1,   1861. 

Company    F. 
Privates. 
Brown,  George,  enlisted  July   15.    1862. 
Brown,  Shadrach,    enlisted  July    15.    1862. 
Keele.    Leonard,   enlisted  July    15,    1862. 
Power,    Robert,  enlisted   July    15.    1862. 
Sill,   John,   enlisted  July    I5i    1862. 

Company    K. 
Raymond,   Eugene  K.,  enlisted  December   13,   1861. 
FIFTY-THIRD    INFANTRY. 
Non    Commissioned   Staff. 
Hiram    A.    Hunter,    commissioned    November    27, 
1861. 

Musicians. 

Roderick  F.  Stocking,  enlisted  October  12.   1S61. 
William    H.    Miller. 

Company    A. 

Drafted  and   Substitute   Recruits. 
Snow,    John,    enlisted    December   6,    1864. 
Smith,    Henry,    enlisted    December    6,    1864. 
Shean,  James,  enlisted  December  6,   1864. 

Company    C. 
Drafted    and    Substitute    Recruits. 
Harding.    Arnet   T..    enlisted   October    20,    1864. 
Kellv.    Charles,    enlisted    December    27.    1864. 
Lines.    Sylvester,    enlisted   November    17.    1864. 
Rice,    Hobert    or    Robert,    enlisted    November    17, 
1864. 


Reeder,    Thomas,    enlisted    December   6,    1864. 
Thomas,    David,   enlisted    December    7,    1864. 

Company  D. 

Drafted    and    Substitute    Recruits. 
Folley.    Adam,    enlisted   December    7,    1864. 
Lindsay,    XN'lUiani,    enlisted    December    5j    1864. 
Tuthill,    Samuel,   enlisted    December  7,    1864. 

Company  E. 
Recruits. 
Boxwell,    Robert,    enlisted    March    12,    1862. 
Box  well.    Jolni,    enlisted    March    11,     1862. 
Largent,   Jolin,    enlisted   March    12,    1862. 

Drafted    and    Stibstitutc    Recruits. 
Bruce,    Samuel    G.,    enlisted    December    5,    1864. 
F'olce,    Adam,    enlisted    December    2,    1864. 

Company    F. 

Drafted   and   Substitute   Recruit. 
Burth,   Jesse   S.,    enlisted    November   29,    1864. 
Company  H. 
Privates. 
Arbuckle,    Abner,   enlisted    December   29,    1861. 
Darvey,    Isaiah. 
Denvy,    William. 

Hattield,    Abel,    enlisted   December   7,    1861. 
Flaherty.    John,    enlisted    December    29,     1861. 
Hunter,   Hiram  A.,  enlisted  November  2,   1861. 
Hitt,    Andrew   J.,    enlisted    December   27,    186 1. 
Holahan,   John,   enlisted   December  29,    1861, 
McClanan,  William,  enlisted  December  29,   1861. 
Neill,   Stewart,  enlisted  November  7,    1861. 
Nelson,  John,   enlisted   December  29,    1861. 
Pollard,  Patrick,  enlisted   December  29,  1861. 
Thomas,   Seymour,  enlisted  December  29,   1861. 

Veteran. 
Temple,   Thomas,    enlisted   l-'ebruary  28,    1864. 
Recruits. 

Reynolds,    Abner,    enlisted    March    12,    1862. 
Stocking,  Frederick  F.,  enlisted  February  3,   1862. 
Wilmot,    W.    F..    enlisted    February    14,    1862. 
Thompson,    Henry,    enlisted    March    lo.     1862. 
Thompson,    William,    enlisted    March    10,    1862. 

Drafted  and  Substitute  Recruit. 
Reese,  Alexander,  enlisted  October   13,    1864. 
Company    I. 
Unassigned,    Drafted    and    Substitute    Recruit. 
Jaeger,    Joseph,    enlisted    December   8,    1864. 
FIFTY-FOURTH    INFANTRY. 
Company    F. 
Sergeant. 
First,    William    M.    Jones,    enlisted    December    15. 
:86i. 

Company  G. 

Private. 

Smith,   Lyman   B.,   enlisted  December  2,   1861. 

Company    K. 

Recruit. 

Wright.  James  R.,  enlisted  February  29,  1864. 

Unassigned  Recruit. 
Smith,  William  IL,  discharged  August  13,   1864. 
FIFTY-SEVENTH    INFANTRY. 
Company    C. 
Corporals. 
O.    W.    White,    enlisted    December    26,    1861 ;    cor- 
poral;  died  May  4,    1862. 

Robert   A.    Howard,    enlisted    December   23,    1861; 
mustered    out   January    14,    1865. 

Privates. 
Draper.  James  E..  enlisted  December  18,   1861. 
Davis,    Willis,    enlisted    December    18,    1S61. 
Ernst,    Adam,    enlisted    December    23,    1861. 
Frank.    Simon   B.,  enlisted   December   16,   i86i. 
German,    Robert   .S.,    enlisted    December    13,    1861. 
Howard,    Robert    B.,    enlisted    December    25,     1861. 
Higgins.   Moses  G.,   enlisted   December  20.    1861. 
Houk,  Conrad,  enlisted  December  26,   1861. 


228 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


Maurice,  Joseph   H.,  enlisted  December  15.   1861. 
Notistine.  John  A.,  enlisted  December  24,    1861. 
Rouse,    lohn    D..    enlisted    December    24,    1861. 
Steele,    William,   enlisted   December   25,    1861. 
Stewart.    William    B.,    enlisted    December    18,    1861. 
Smith.    T.   William,   enlisted   December    15,    1861. 
Throatt^   Frederick,    enlisted    December    10,    1861. 
Weld.   William   H.,  enlisted   December    13.    1861. 
Wonder,  Benjamin  F.,  enlisted  December  16,  1861. 

Company    G. 

Privates. 
Wolf,    John,    enlisted    December    16,    1861. 
Wagner,   Casper,    enlisted    December   16,    1861. 

FIFTY-FIFTH    INFANTRY. 

Company  E. 

Privates. 

Holden,    William,    enlisted  August    14.    1861. 

Hedding,   George,    enlisted   September    20,    1861. 

Nichols.    Thomas,    enlisted    August    i,    1861. 

Company    G. 
Private. 
Turner.   James,  enlisted  September   14,    1861. 
Company    K. 
Sergeant. 
Forbes,  John,  enlisted  October  22,   1861;   sergeant; 
promoted  to   first   lieutenant. 

Privates. 
Connor,   John,  enlisted  October   22,    1861. 
Besson,  H.    V.,   enlisted   October   22,    1861. 
Brown,    C.     F.,     enlisted    October    22,     1861. 
Tackson,  M.  H..  enlisted  October  22,   1861. 
Lower.    R.    A.,   enlisted  October   22,    1S61. 
Rouse,   T.   S.,   enlisted   October   22,    1861. 
Simmons,  Edmund,  enlisted  October  22,   1861. 
Vickery,   Albert,   enlisted   October   22,    1861. 
Widener,    M.,    enlisted    October   22,    1861. 
Waddell,    William,    enlisted   October    22,    1861. 
Walker,    William,     emisted    October    22,     1861. 

Recruits. 
Dewey,    Isaacher    B.,    enlisted    November   8,    1861. 
McMuUen,  Robert  W.,  enlisted  November  7.    1861. 
Smith,   H.   F.,   enlisted   November  9,    1861. 

Company    H. 
Corporal. 
William     H.     H.     Sterling,     enlisted     October     10, 
:86i;  mustered  out  December  25,   1864. 

Privates. 
Clifford,  William  P.,   enlisted   March    10,    1861. 
Horsley,  Thomas   E.,   enlisted  October  20,    1861. 
Morris,    Demetrius    E.,    enlisted   October    10,    1861. 
Siygh.   Henry  S.,  enlisted  October  7,   1861. 
Slygh.    John    A.,    enlisted   October    7.    1861. 
White,   Isaiah  or  Joshua,  enlisted  October  7.  1861. 

Unassigned    Recruit. 
Jackson,     Henry,    enlisted    March    23,     1865. 
FIFTY-EIGHTH    INFANTRY. 
Company    B. 
Corporal. 
Martin    H.    Summes,    enlisted    October    28,     1861; 
deserted    March,    1863. 

Privates. 
Black,   John,    enlisted    November    12,    186 1. 
King,    Moses    B.,    enlisted    December    i,    1861. 
King,    Alexander,    enlisted    October    31,    1861. 
Matteson,  H.  A.,  enlisted  October  31,   1861. 
Oakley,  James  H.,   enlisted  October  28,    1861. 
Summes,  Thomas  H.,  enlisted  October  28,   1861. 

Recruits. 
Halsey,    Robert  J.,    enlisted  January    i,    1863. 
Sutherland.    John,    enlisted    August    16,    1863. 
Cunningham,  J.   C..   enlisted  July  29,   1863. 

FIFTY-EIGHTH    (CONSOLIDATED). 
Company  E. 
Privates. 
Duffy,    Richard,    enlisted   March    11,    1865. 
Delaney,    Patrick,    enlisted    March    11,    1865. 


Grover.    Moralde.    enlisted    March     ii,     1865. 
Goodwin,    Thomas,    enlisted    March    22,    1865. 
Hart,    John,    enlisted    March    28.    1865. 
McGinnis,    Thomas,    enlisted    March   21.    1865. 
O'Brien,    John,    enlisted   March    18,    1865. 
Brothers,    Evan    M.,   enlisted    March    28,    1865. 
Salsbury.    Richard,    enlisted    March    16,    1865. 
Woods,    William,    enlisted    March    28,    1865. 

Company  F. 
Privates. 
DeGan.    George,    enlisted    March    22,     1865. 
McBain,  Joseph,   enlisted   March  24.    1865. 
Snow,    Frank,    enlisted    March    22,    1865. 

Company    H. 

Privates. 
Craig,    \\'illiam.    enlisted    March    24,    1865. 
Aladison,    John,    enlisted    March    24,     1865. 
Worthy,    VVilliam.    enlisted    March    24.    1865. 

Company  I. 
Sergeants. 

John  M.  Willis,  enlisted  March  27.  1865;  de- 
serted April   I,    1865. 

Harvey,  Allison,  enlisted  March  27.  1865;  mus- 
tered out  April    I,    1866. 

Corporals. 

lohn  S.  Hoffer,  enlisted  March  27,  1865;  de- 
serted April  8,    1865. 

Thomas  Warns,  enlisted  March  25,  1S65;  de- 
serted  April   8,    1865. 

Privates. 

Allen,    George,    enlisted   March   25,    1865. 

Backus,    Henry,   enlisted   March   27,    1865. 

Black,    Nicholas,    enlisted    March    26,    1865. 

Blong,    Ambrose,   enlisted   March    26.    1865. 

Bateman,    Daniel,   enlisted    March   25,    1865. 

Curren.    Peter,    enlisted    March    25.    1865. 

Dunn,   James,   enlisted    March   2,    1865. 

Fuller,    Charles,    enlisted   March   27,    1865. 

Hutchinson.  James  or  John,  enlisted  March  27, 
1865. 

Habes.   Anthony,    enlisted   March   27,    1865. 

Hurley.   John,    enlisted    March    27,    1865. 

Konner  or  Hower,  Matthews,  enlisted  March  27, 
1865. 

Kinsley.    John    B.,   enlisted   March    27,    1865. 

Lewis,    William  H..   enlisted   March   27,    1865. 

Logan,   James,    enlisted    March   27,    1865. 

Morris,    George,   enlisted    March   27,    1865   . 

McCain.   George,   enlisted  March  27.    1865. 

Mason,    George,   enlisted   March   27,    1865. 

Ragen,    James,    enlisted    March   23.    1865. 

Thomas,    Charles   M.,    enlisted    i\Iarch    27,    1865. 

Wallace.  John  C,   enlisted  March  27,   1865. 

Unassigned   Recruits. 
Burton.    James  C,  enlisted  March    1,    1865. 
Stone,   Charles  S.,  enlisted  March   i.    1865. 

FIFTY-NINTH   INFANTRY. 

Company    F. 

Recruit. 

Ambler,   Monroe,    enlisted    December    16.    1863. 

SIXTIETH    INFANTRY. 
Company  E. 
Recruit. 
Hendrickson.    Hartwell,  enlisted  January  24.   1865. 

SIXTY-FOURTH    INFANTRY. 

Lieutenant  Colonel. 
David    E.    Williams,    commissioned    September    3. 
1S61;    discharged    account    disability,    September    12. 
1861. 

Company    E. 

Private. 

Donevan,   Cornelius,  enlisted  November   1.   1861. 

SIXTY-FIFTH    INFANTRY. 
Company    F. 
Private. 
Putnam,    H.    W.,   enlisted    Mar-ch    12,    1862. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


229 


SIXTY-SIXTH    INFANTRY. 
Company    A. 
Private. 
Nevens,  Frank  E.,  enlisted  November  4.  1861. 
SIXTY-SEVENTH    INFANTRY    (three   months). 
Lieutenant   Colonel. 
Eugene   K.    Oakley,    commissioned   June    13.    1862; 
mustered   out    October    6,    1862. 

Company    F. 
Lieutenants. 
First.  Abram  D.  Van  Veckten,  commissioned  June 
13,    1862;    mustered   out    September,    1862. 

Second,  Horace  E.  Dwyer,  commissioned  June  13, 
1862;    mustered    out    September,    1862. 

Sergeant. 
Horace    E.    Dwyer,    enlisted    May    31,     1862;    ser- 
geant;   promoted    second   lieutenant. 

Privates. 
Brock,    M.    \V.,    enlisted   June   2,    1862. 
Bailey.    John,    enlisted   June    2,    1862. 
Miller,  William  F.,  enlisted   May  31,   1862. 
Slaughter.    William,   enlisted  June  4,    1862. 

Company    G. 
Captain. 
Charles    K.    Purple,    commissioned   June    13.    1862; 
mustered    out    September,    1862. 

Lieutenants. 

First,  Jeremiah  Dockstader.  commissioned  June 
13.    1862;   mustered  out  September.   1862. 

Second,  Edward  K.  X'alentine,  commissioned  June 
13,    1862;   mustered  out   September,    1862. 

Sergeants. 
John    Simpson,    enlisted    June    2.    1862. 
John    E.    Durham,    enlisted    June    2,    1862. 
Cornelius  C.    Holenbeck,   enlisted  June   2,    1862. 
John   P.   Goodwin,   enlisted  June   2,    1862. 

Corporals. 
Daniel   D.  Stevison,   enlisted  June   2,   1S63. 
Daniel   D.    Miller,   enlisted  June   2,    1862. 
George  W.    Summers,  enlisted  June   2,    1862. 
Robert   W.    Vansaw,    enlisted   June    2,    1862. 
Henry  J.   B.    Stillman,  enlisted  June  2,   1862. 
James  Bryant,  enlisted  June  2,    1862. 
William  L.    Wilds,    enlisted   June   2,    1862. 
Edward  S.   Esston,  enlisted  June  2,   1862. 

Privates. 
Atkinson,  John   D..   enlisted  June   2,    1862. 
Bishop,  William  H..  enlisted  June  2,   1862. 
Brady.  Charles,  enlisted  June  2,    1862. 
Branner,  Theodore  J.,  enlisted  June  2.    1862. 
Brennan,    Dennis,  enlisted  June    10,    1862. 
Callester,   Joseph,    enlisted   June   2,    1862. 
Dickanson,   Griffith   A.,   enlisted  June  2,    1862. 
Drysdale.   William,    enlisted   June   2,    1862. 
Davis,    Henry,    enlisted   June    2.    1862. 
Ellis.    Henry,    enlisted    June    2,    1862. 
Eakin,    David,    enlisted    June    2,    1862. 
Forbes.  Andrew  G,,  enlisted  June  2,    1862. 
Farrell,    Patrick,    enlisted   June  2,    1862. 
Garthwait.  William,   enlisted  June  2,   1862. 
Gillon.    Milo    C,    enlisted    June    2,    1862. 
Hookey.    William,   enlisted   June   2,    1862. 
Harvey.    Henderson,    enlisted   June    2,    1862. 
Harvey.   John,   enlisted  June   2,    1862. 
Harbert,    John,    enlisted    June    2,    1862. 
Hallock.    Clinton,    enlisted    Tune   2,    1862. 
Jones.    Winfield    S.,   enlisted   June    2,    1862. 
Johnston,    Harmon,    enlisted    June    2,    1862. 
Kastner.    Charles,    enlisted    June    2,     1862. 
Kettelle,    Charles,    enlisted    Tune    4,    1862. 
King.   Samuel  T.,  enlisted  June  2,    1862. 
Eong.    David    M..    enlisted    June    2.    1862. 
McCormick.    Thomas   J.,    enlisted  June    2,    1862, 
Merrill.    John,    enlisted    June    2,     1862. 
Moore,    James,    enlisted    June    2,    1862. 
McClure,   Samuel   S.,  enlisted  Tune  2,    1862. 
Mendenhall,   Amos   H.,  enlisted   June  2.    1862. 
Mackey,   Robert   C,   enlisted  June   2,    1862. 
Morse.    Samuel    M.,    enlisted   June   2,    1862. 
Osterhout.   Charles,   enlisted  June  2,    1862. 
Opdyke,   Benjamin,   enlisted  June   2,    1862. 
Philip,    Ellis,   enlisted  June   2,    1862. 


Patten.  William   11..  enlisted  June  2,    1862. 
Rogers,    David,    enlisted   June   2,    1862. 
Ruse,    Isaac,  enlisted  June  4,    1862. 
Spence,    Clark,    enlisted   June  4,    1862. 
Smith.   Edwin   A.,   enlisted  June  4,    1862. 
Spellam.    Timothy,    enlisted   June   4.    1862. 
Snyder,    \'ictor.    enlisted    June    4,    1862. 
Smith,    IJurdsy    A.,   enlisted   June  4,    1862. 
Stillwell,    R.   J.,   enlisted  June  4.    1862. 
Stum.   John   T.,  enlisted   June  4,    1862. 
Tomlinson.   Ambrose,   enlisted  June   4.    1862. 
Tripp,    David    T.,    enlisted   June   4.    1862. 
Thurston.    Frank,    enlisted   June    4,    1862. 
Woodruff,    John    H.,   enlisted    June   4.    1862. 
Willey,  John   A.,   enlisted   June  4,    1862. 
Wardlow.    Robert,    enlisted    June    4,    1862. 

Recruits. 
Valentine,    E.    IC,    enlisted   June   4,    1862. 
Vandorer,   Gilbert,  enlisted  June  4.    1862. 

Company    K. 

Privates. 
Adams,   Austin,    enlisted   June   2,    1862. 
Brown,   Charles,   enlisted  June  4,    1862. 
Blue.  James  H.,   enlisted  June  2,    1862. 
Friedhaber,  John  M.,  enlisted  June  4.   1862. 
Gowan.    George,    enlisted   June"  4,    1862. 
X'arley,    Jacob,    enlisted    June    4.    1862. 

SIXTY-EIGHTH    INFANTRY    (three   months). 
Company    K. 
Sergeant. 
Philip   B.   Fuller,   enlisted  June  2.   1862. 

Privates. 
Campbell,    William,    enlisted   June    2.    1862. 
Fickes,  Thomas,  enlisted  June  9,   1862. 

SEVENTY-FIRST  INFANTRY  (three  months). 
Company    C. 
Recruits. 
Kill,    James,    enlisted    July    7,     1862. 
Robinson,    Abram,    enlisted  July   7,    1862. 

Company  D. 
Brobts.    Jacob,    enlisted   July   4,    1862, 
Company  E. 
Sergeant. 
First.   Alfred   S.    Hemmant,   enlisted  July  3,    1862; 
mustered  out  October  29,   1862, 

Privates. 
Brackley,    Samuel    R.,  enlisted  Jime  30,    1862. 
Erackley,  William   H.,  enlisted  June  30,    1862. 
Conrad,    Charles,    enlisted    July    7,    1862. 
Clayton,    Isaac,    enlisted    July    3,    1862. 
Deal,    William,    enlisted    June    3.    1S62. 
Hammer.    Henry,   enlisted  July   2,    1862. 
Keeps,    Jesse,    enlisted    June    30,     1862. 
Nealy,    Andrew,    enlisted  June  30,    1862. 
Schrimpf,    Ernest,   enlisted   July    9,    1862. 
Stewart,   Erastus  W..   enlisted  July  7,    1862. 

SEVENTY-SECOND    INFANTRY. 
Company  C. 
Private. 
Spencer.   John    F.,    enlisted   August,    1862. 

SEVENTY-SEVENTH  INFANTRY. 

The  regiment  was  fully  organized  and  mustered 
into  the  United  States  service  September  3,  1862, 
at  Peoria.  Illinois.  Remained  in  camp  at  that 
place  until  October  4.  at  which  time  it  proceeded  to 
Covington,  Kentucky,  and  reported  to  Major  Gen- 
eral Gordon  Granger,  commanding  army  of  Ken- 
tucky, who  assigned  it  to  duty  in  the  division  com- 
manded by  General  A.  J.  Smith. 

Marched  from  Covington  with  the  division,  Oc- 
tober 17th,  and  reached  Lexington  on  the  29th, 
and  Richmond,  November  2d.  Marched  from  that 
point  November  nth  and  arrived  at  Louisville  on 
the  17th.  Nothing  of  interest  transpired  during  the 
sojourn  of  the  regiment  in  Kentucky,  there  being 
no  force  of  the  enemy  in  the  state  at  that  time; 
and  the  campaign  there  was  merely  a  march  of 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  into  the  interior 
and   a  march  back  again. 

November    20,    1862,    the    regiment    embarked    on 


230 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


steamer  for  Memphis,  Tennessee,  in  company  with 
the  whole  division,  under  the  same  commander. 
Arrived  at  the  latter  place  November  27tli;  .re- 
mained there  until  December  20th.  1  he  division 
was  reorganized  and  reported  for  duty  to  Major 
General  Sherman;  embarked  at  Memphis.  Decem- 
ber 2oth  and  proceeded  down  the  river  with  bher- 
inan'3  army  for  the  capture  of  Vicksburg.  Dis- 
embarked in  the  Yazoo  river  near  Chickasaw  Bayou 
on  the  27th.  The  Seventy-seventh  occupied  the 
extreme  right  of  the  line  and  participated  in  the 
attack  on  the  rebel  works.  After  four  days'  fight- 
ing the  attack  was  abandoned  and  the  army  em- 
barked on  their  boats  and  proceeded  to  Milliken  s 
Bend,  Louisiana.  At  this  place  Major  Ceneral  Mc- 
demand  arrived  and  assumed  command  of  the 
army.  He  organized  it  into  two  corps— the  Thir- 
tieth and  Fifteenth.  The  Seventy-seventh  was  as- 
signed to  the  Tenth  Division,  Thirteenth  Arniy 
Corps.  Division  was  commanded  by  General  A. 
J  Smith  and  Corps  by  General  McClernand.  Left 
Milliken's  Bend,  January  5.  1863,  and  arrived  at 
Arkansas  Post  on  the  loth.  Immediately  disem- 
barked and  on  the  following  morning  participated 
in  the  assault.  After  a  few  hours'  hard  hghting, 
carried  the  place  by  assault,  capturing  all  it  con- 
tained. The  loss  of  the  regiment  here  was  six 
killed  and  thirtv-nine  wounded,  some  of  the  latter 
mortal.  The  regiment  in  this  battle  behaved  ad- 
mirably and  was  complimented  by  the  commanding 
general  for  its  gallant  conduct.  ,    ,    . 

January  14th  again  embarked  and  proceeded  to 
Young's  Point,  Louisiana.  Arrived  there  on  the 
22d  and  went  into  camp,  remaining  until  March  9!*, 
engaged  in  the  dieging  on  the  canal  across  the 
point  opposite  Vicksburg.  In  March  changed  camp 
to    Milliken's   Bend.  „,  .  ,     _ 

In  the  first  part  of  April  the  Thirteenth  Corps 
marched  from  Milliken's  Bend  for  Grand  Gulf. 
The  Seventy-seventh  broke  camp  and  moved  for- 
ward about  'the  middle  of  April.  Crossed  the  river 
below  Grand  Gulf  on  the  last  day  of  April  and 
marched  all  night,  arriving  at  Port  Gibson  early 
on  the  morning  of  the  ist  of  May  and  participated 
in  the  engagement  there  during  the  entire  day. 
The  regiment  remained  with  General  Grant  s  army 
during  the  entire  campaign  around  Vicksburg  and 
the  siege  of  the  latter  place  until  its  surrender. 
The  regiment  was  engaged  in  the  actions  at 
Chami.ion  Hills,  May  17;  Black  River  Bridge  May 
19;  first  charge  on  Vicksburg.  May  22  and  23. 
losing  in  these  engagements  twenty  killed,  eighty- 
six  wounded  and  twenty-six  missing.  , 
Vicksburg  surrendered  on  the  4th  of  July  and 
the  next  day  the  regiment  marched  for  Jackson 
with  the  armv  under  Sherman.  Arrived  there 
Tulv  9th  and 'was  under  the  fire  of  the  enemy 
a^  'that  place  until  the  i6th  when  Jackson  was 
evacuated  and  the  Seventy-seventh  returned  to 
Vicksburg.  Remained  in  camp  at  Vicksburg  until 
August  2Sth.  then  embarked  for  New  Orleans, 
where  it  remained  in  camp  until  October  3d;  left 
New  Orleans  at  that  time  for  western  Louisiana; 
marched  up  Bayou  Teche  through  Franklin  to 
New  Iberia.  Louisiana;  camped  there  until  Decem- 
ber 6  1863,  when  it  marched  back  to  New  Or- 
leans- left  there  on  December  17th  by  steamer 
and  disembarked  at  Paso  Cavalo.  Texas  December 
20th.  Remained  in  camp  until  the  last  of  February, 
then  embarked  on  Vessels  and  were  transported  to 
Berwick  Bay,  Louisiana.  Thence  marched  to  Alex- 
andria, Louisiana,  with  the  army  mder  General 
Banks,  bound  for  Shreveport.  From  Alexandria 
marched  up  Red  river,  driving  the  eneniy  until 
Sabine  Cross  Roads  was  reached,  April  8,  ist>4. 
where  it  met  the  enemy  in  force  and  was  im- 
mediately   engaged.                                            .... 

The  Seventy-seventh  belonged  to  the  division  un- 
der command  of  General  Ransom,  which  division 
was  first  ordered  forward  to  support  the  advance 
cavalry.  Before  the  armv  could  he  brought  forward 
to  their  support,  the  whole  rebel  army  came  down 
on  them  and  overwhelmed  the  whole  division  In 
this  eneagement  the  Seventy-seventh  suffered  ter- 
ribly Lieutenant  Colonel  Webb  was  killed  instantly 
by  a  musket  ball  through  the  brain  and  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-six  officers  and  men  were  killed, 
wounded  and  made  prisoners,  leaving  only  about 
one    hundred    and    twenty-five    men    in    the    regiment 

°On  tiie  next  dav  General  A.  J.  Smith's  corps 
came  up  and  at  Pleasant  Hill  another  battle  was 
fought,  ending  in  the  complete  defeat  of  the  rebels. 


The  regiment  remained  with  General  Banks  through- 
out his  retreat  down  Kcd  river  and  until  he  reached 
the  Mississippi.  Here  it  was  ordered  into  camp 
at  Baton  Rouge  until  the  first  part  of  August.  At 
that  time,  with  five  or  six  other  regiments,  it  em- 
barked and  was  transported  to  Dauphin's  Island 
under  command  of  General  Gordon  Granger.  Here 
it  assisted  in  the  reduction  of  Forts  Gaines  and 
Morgan  and  then  returned  to  Morganzie  Bend  on 
the  Mississippi.  In  October,  the  regiment  was 
ordered  to  New  Orleans  for  provost  duty  and  re- 
mained there  until  the  first  part  of  March,  1865, 
when  it  was  assigned  to  the  First  Brigade,  Third 
Division.  Thirteenth  Army  Corps  and  transported 
to  Mobile  Point,  where  it  joined  General  Canby's 
armv  for  the  capture  of  Mobile.  General  Granger 
collected  his  thirteenth  corps  at  this  point  and 
during  the  month  of  March  moved  up  the  penin- 
sula toward  Spanish  Fort.  The  regiment  was  with 
General  Canby's  armv  during  the  entire  siege  and 
capture  of  Spanish  Fort,  Blakely  and  Mobile  and 
was  under  fire   during  the   entire  time. 

The  day  following  their  entry  into  Mobile  the 
Third  Division,  in  which  the  Seventy-seventh  served, 
marched  out  of  the  city  and  proceeded  up  the  Tom- 
bigbee  river  in  search  of  General  Dick  laylor's 
army.  It  proceeded  up  the  river  about  sixty 
miles,  when  it  was  recalled  to  Mobile — the  rebel 
forces  throughout  the  country  having  surrendered. 
Remained  in  camp  in  Mobile  until  July  10,  1865. 
at  which  time  it  was  mustered  out  of  service  and 
ordered  to  Springfield,  Illinois,  for  final  payment 
and  discharge,  where  it  arrived  July  23,  1865.  The 
Seventv-seventh  Illinois  during  its  term  of  service 
was  engaged  in  sixteen  battles  and  sieges  and  in 
every  one  of  them  carried  itself  with  honor  and 
credit  to  the  state. 

Cohtiels. 
Charles    Ballance,    commissioned   August    18,    1862, 
resigned. 

David  P.  Grier,  commissioned  September  12.  1862; 
transferred. 

LicutctJant     Colonel. 
Lysander    R.    Webb,    commissioned    September    3, 
1862;  killed  in  battle,  April  8,   1864. 
Major. 
Memoir  V.   Hotchkiss,   commissioned  September  3, 
1862;    resigned    February   2,    1864. 

Adjutant. 
John     Hough,    commissioned    September    6,    1862; 
promoted     assistant     adjutant     general     on     staff     of 
General  A.  J.  Smith. 

Quartermaster. 
David     McKinney,     commissioned     September     12, 
1862;    transferred. 

Chaplain. 
William    G.     Pierce,    commissioned     September    2, 
:862. 

Sergeant    Major. 
Walter    B.    Hotchkiss.    enlisted    August    12,    1862; 
discharged  September   22,    1864;   disability. 

Quartermaster    Sergeant. 
George   W.    Cone,   enlisted    August    14,    1864;    pro- 
moted second  lieutenant  Company  I. 
Commissary    Sergeants. 
Nathan    R.    Wakefield,    enlisted    August    9,     1S64; 
transferred  to   Company   C.    December  21,    1864. 

William    H.    Bennett,    enlisted    August    12,    1864; 
mustered  out  July   10,    1865. 

Principal  Musicians. 
Daniel    B.    Allen,    enlisted    August    12,    1864;    dis- 
charged   March    1,=;.     1865;    disability. 

John    W.    Carroll,    enlisted    August    7,    1064;    mus- 
tered   out    July    10,    1865. 

Lemon   H.  Wiley,  enlisted  August    IS.    1864;  mus- 
tered   out    July    10.     1865. 

Company  A. 
Sergeants. 
Walter    B.    Hotchkiss,    enlisted    August    12,    1862; 
promoted    sergeant    major. 

John  F.   Campbell,   enlisted  August  7,    1B62;  killed 
at   Vicksburg,    May   22,    1863. 


i 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


231 


Corporals. 

Arthur  H.  Rugg,  enlisted  August  12,  1862;  dis- 
charged  December    18,    1863,  as  private. 

W.  D.  Putnam,  enlisted  August  14.  1862;  dis- 
charged  December   17,    1S63. 

Frwates. 
Abraham,  Andrew  J.,  enlisted  August  15,    1862. 
Ash,    Francis  W.,  enlisted  August    15,    1862. 
Develbliss,  Tames  H.,  enlisted  August  14.   1862. 
Develbliss,  "Samuel    S.,   enlisted  August   7.    1862. 
Edwards,    Ulysses,  enlisted   August   12,    1S62, 
Fry,   Benjamin,  enlisted  August   11,    1S62. 
Holler,   Conrad,   enlisted  August    14,    1862. 
Hurd,    Charles   T.,    enlisted    August    15.    1862. 
Kroeson,  Chrys  A.,  enlisted  August   12,  .1862. 
Kroeson,   Washington,  enlisted  August   12,    1862. 
Moss,   1.   R.,  enlisted  August   13,    1862. 
Russell',    Luther  G.,   enlisted  August   12,   1862. 
Summers.    Fred,  enlisted   .Vugust   11,    1862. 
Stone,   Lester  T..   enlisted  August   15.    1862. 
Sturgeon.   William,   enlisted   August    15,    1862. 
Trench.    Daniel   B.,   enlisted   .\ugust    11,    1862. 
Varley.   Henry,  enlisted   August   14,    1862. 
White,   Mason  M.,   enlisted  August   13,    1862. 
Wilson,    Henry,   enlisted   August  9.    1862. 
Wilson,  John  R.,  enlisted  August   15,   1862 
Wilson.   Samuel  R.,  enlisted  August   15,    :862. 

Recruits. 
Babcock,  William  H.,  enlisted  December  30,    1863. 
Crow.    Henry,    enlisted   January   7,    1864. 
Cutler,  Daniel  B.,  enlisted  December  26,   1863. 
Cutler.  James  H.,  enlisted  December  26,  1863. 
Crawford.   Tames,  enlisted  December  30.   1863. 
Cook.    Darius   T-,    enlisted    February    13,    '^65 
Downard,  Benjamin   F..  enlisted  January  4,   1864. 
Kunert.    Joseph,   enlisted   January  4,    1864. 
Lockbaum.  Andrew  J.,  enlisted  November  23,  1S64. 
Lynch.    Thomas,    enlisted   January    5,    1864. 
Martin,    lohn.    enlisted    December    29.    1S63. 
Smith,  James,   enlisted  January   5,    1864. 
Sutton,  George  W.,  enlisted  January   ii,    1864. 

Company    B. 

Cuptoin. 

Joe.  K.  Stevison,  commissioned  January  16,  1863. 

Lieutenants. 
First.     Charles    C.     Tracy,    commissioned    January 

16.    1863. 

Second,  Joe  K.  Stevison,  commissioned  January 
16,    1863;  promoted. 

Privates. 

Blakeslee.  William  W..   enlisted  August  9,   1862. 

Fisher,    Elias,    enlisted    August    13,    1862. 

Stevenson,    Toe   H.,   enlisted  August   5,    1862. 

Tracy,    Cliarles    C,    enlisted    August    6,    1862. 

Recruits. 

McFarland,    Henry    S. 

Murden.  Alonzo  F.,   enlisted   March    14.    1865. 

COMPANV     C. 
Lieutenant. 
First.    William    A.    Woodruff,    commissioned    Sep- 
tember 2,   1862. 

Sergeant. 
John  S.  Hornbacker.  enlisted  August  9.    1862. 

Corporals. 
Albert    Shepherd,    enlisted    August   9,    1862. 
John    Sewell.   enlisted   August   9.    1862. 
Thomas    S.    Patton,   enlisted    August    9,    1862. 

IVagoner. 
Charles  Moses,  enlisted  August    14.    1862. 

Privates. 
Bennett,   Robert,  enlisted  August   14,    1862. 
Bennett,  William  N.,  enlisted   .August   12.   1862. 
Crow,    James,    Jr..    enlisted    .\ugust    12,    1862. 
Dunbar,   John,   enlisted   August    11,    1862. 
Duff,    [)ennis.    enlisted    August    9.    1862. 
ITall,    Edward,    enlisted    August    11,    1862. 
Lindsay.   James  A.,   enlisted  August   14.    1862. 
McCracken.  James  R.,  enlisted  August   14,   1862. 
McCartney,   Philip   H.,   enlisted  August  9,    1862. 
Pitcher,    Benjamin,   enlisted   .August    19,    1862. 
Pinkerton.  John  A.,   enlisted   August   7,    1862. 


Pinkerton.   William  M.,  enlisted  August  7,   1862. 
Wallace.    Edward,   enlisted   August    11.    1862. 
Wiley.   John    I'.,    enlisted   .August    14,    1862. 
Woodburri.  George  M.,  enlisted  August  21,  1862. 

Company    D. 

Privates. 
Hake.    Frederick   W.,  enlisted   August  9,    1862. 
Stockton,   David    B.,    enlisted   August   9,    1862. 

Recntit. 
Barney,   Tompkin  C,  enlisted  November   16.    1863. 
Company   E. 
Captain. 
Edwin   Stevens,   commissioned    September   2,    1862. 

Lieutenants. 
First,    Samuel    T.    Smith,    commissioned   September 
2,    1862. 

Second,    James    H.    Schnebly,    commissioned    Sep- 
tember  2,    1862. 

Second.    Henry   L.    Bushnell,   commissioned  March 
28,    1S63. 

Sergeants. 
First,    William    Dawson,    enlisted    August    5,    1862. 
George    B.    Stiles,   enlisted   August    14,    1862. 
William  J.   Brooks,   enlisted   .August  9,    1862. 
Henry   E.   Slough,   enlisted  August   14.    '862, 
James  Parr,  enlisted  August  9,   1862. 

Corporals. 
Erasmus  D.    Richardson,   enlisted  August   14,   1862. 
William  G.   ATorris.  enlisted  August  5,    1862. 
Benjamin  F.  Robins,  enlisted  August  14,    1862. 
Ellis    Hakes,   enlisted   August  7,    1862. 
Andrew  J.    Dunlap,  enlisted  August  4,    1862. 
Davis    R.    McKee.    enlisted  July    22,    1862. 
Henry   Paff,   enlisted   August    14.    1862. 


Daniel    E.    .Allen 
John    W.    Carrol 


Louis    Z. 


Musicians. 

unlisted    August    12, 

enlisted   August   7, 

IVagoner. 
Rench,    enlisted    August    15. 


1862 
1862. 


1862. 


Priz'ates. 
Adams,    Henry,   enlisted  August    12,    1862. 
Adams,   Joseph,   enlisted   August  8,    1862. 
Brooks,   Henry   M..   enlisted  August  8,    1862. 
Bunting,    Samuel   G.,   enlisted   August    12,    1862. 
Buterick,  John,  enlisted  .August   12.    1862. 
Berrings,   James,   enlisted   .August    15.    1862. 
Bowers,    Simeon   P.,   enlisted   August  4,    1862. 
Cord.   George  F. 

Carter,   Charles  W.,  enlisted  August  9.   1862. 
Collins,    Tohn.    enlisted   August    15,    1S61. 
Cook.    Daniel,    enlisted    August    14,    1862. 
Chamblin,    French,    enlisted    August    12,    1862. 
Cord,    Lorenzo  W. 

Clark.    Franklin    R.,    enlisted    .August    16,    1862. 
Dawson,    Isaac    S.,    enlisted   .August   6.    1862. 
Dawson,  Joseph   N..  enlisted  August  4,    1862. 
Dailey,    .Tohn,    enlisted    .August    13,    1862. 
Evans.  John,   enlisted  .August    15,    1862. 
Enslon,    Frank   W.,   enlisted   .August  9.    1862. 
Forbes.  Thomas,  enlisted  .August  9,    1862. 
French.    Tohn    S.,    enlisted    .August   8,    1862. 
Fisher,    Silas   W..    enlisted   August    14,    1862. 
Fulton,    Joseph,    enlisted    August    12,    1862. 
Gutting.    Frederick,    enlisted    August    15.    1862. 
Goodman.    Philip,   enlisted   .August    14,    1862. 
Hoffman,    Gustavus,    enlisted    .August    14,    1862. 
Hamerbacker.  John   S.,  enlisted  August   5.    1862. 
Hutchinson,  James,   enlisted   .August  6,    1862. 
James,    Gran\-^lle,   enlisted    .August    22,    1862. 
Kinder.   Alexander,  enlisted   August  9.    1862. 
Letterman.   Joseph,   enlisted   August    13,    1862. 
Loughman.   John   B..  enlisted  August  8.    1862. 
McStravic.    Tames,   enlisted  August   13,    1862. 
McGee,    Wifliani    H.,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
McGee,  .Ashford,    H.,   enlisted   xVugust  9.    1862. 
Mankle.   Joseph,   enlisted   .August   13.    1862. 
Mills.    Joseph   T..    enlisted   August    11.    1862. 
McDerinott.    Francis   M.,   enlisted   .August   6.    1862. 
McTntyre.    John    IL.    enlisted    August    11.    1862. 
Nixon,   Thomas  J.,   enlisted   August   7.    1862. 
Nash,    LeRoy,   enlisted  August    5,    1862. 
Parr,    Harris,   enlisted   August    14,    1862. 
Pierce,  Charles,   enlisted  .August  9,   1862. 


232 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


Perry,   Samuel,   enlisted  August  9,    1862. 
Rathburn,   Samuel  A.,  enlisted  August  11,   1862. 
Reeves,    Asa    H.,    enlisted  August    12,    1862. 
Ratcliff.    Richard   W.,   enlisted  August   13,    1862. 
Ruse,    Solomon,    enlisted   August    11,    1862. 
Randle,    Thomas  J.,    enlisted   August    14.    1862. 
Rogers,    David,  enlisted   August   13.    1S62. 
Smith,    Otis    B.,    enlisted   August  6,    1862. 
Smith,  John   W.,   enlisted   August   6,    1862. 
Smith,  Joseph  A.,   enlisted  August    15,    1862. 
Stevenson,    Cosmer  A.,   enlisted  August    15.   1862. 
Sumners,    Robert   W.,    enlisted    August   9,    1862. 
Sweet,   James   M..   enlisted   August   7,    1862. 
Sutton.    Albert,    enlisted   August    11,    1862. 
Shipler,   Smith    E.,   enlisted   August  9,    1862. 
Thurston.    Cheney   \V.,   enlisted  August   14,    1862. 
\''inson,    Daniel   R.,   enlisted  August   7,    1862. 
Wood,   John    W.,    enlisted   August   Q,    1862. 
White,    Thomas,    enlisted    August    14,    1862. 
White.    Leonard    T..    enlisted    August    13,    1862. 
Wiggins,    David   T.,    enlisted   August    15.    1862. 
Watson.    James,   enlisted   August  21,    1S62. 

Recruits. 
Babcock,    James   W.,    enlisted    February    24.    1864. 
Donaldson,   W^illiam,    enlisted   February  23,    1865. 
Houghtalinsr.    Tames,    enlisted    February    23,    1865. 
Hayes,    William   H. 

Jenkins,  Newton,   enlisted   February   23,    1865. 
Sargent,   Henry,   enlisted   February   24,    1865. 

Company  F. 

Captain. 

William   W.    Crandall,   commissioned    September  2. 
802. 

Sergeants. 
Oliver   F.    Woodcock,    enlisted  August  22,    1862. 
Endress  M.    Conklin,   enlisted   August    22,    1862. 

Corporals. 
Lewis   Hamrick,    enlisted   August    22.    1S62. 
James  Sluth,   enlisted  August  22,    1S62. 


Mitchell    Graham. 


Musician. 
enlisted   August    22 


Privates. 
Rolander.    Frederick,    enlisted   August    22.    1862. 
Buckman.    Joseith,    enlisted    August    22,    1862. 
Brown,    Chister,    enlisted    Augnst^    22..     1862. 
Bush,   John   O..   enlisted   August   22,    1862. 
Beach.   Hugh   P.,  enlisted  August    15,    1862. 
Crosson.   Jesse,    enlisted   August   22,    1862. 
Cook.    John,    enlisted   August   22,    1862. 
Carrigan.    Michael,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Doran,   John,   enlisted  August  10,    1862. 
Ewing,  Thomas  J.,   enlisted  August  22,    1862. 
McMulIer,    A.,   enlisted  August    22.    1862. 
Mitchell,  Allen  T.,  enlisted  August  22,   1862. 
Norman.   George,    enlisted    August    22,    1862. 
Stone,  Jonali,  enlisted  August  22,   1862. 
Shipler.    Peter    W.,    enlisted    August    22,    1862. 
Stone,    Monterville,    enlisted    August   22,    1862. 
Walters.    Henry,   enlisted   August    22,    1862. 
Wright.    William    M.,.  enlisted    August    9.    1862. 
White.    Henry,    enlisted    August    22.    1862. 
Wiley,  William,   enlisted  August   5,    1862. 

Company  G. 

Captain. 
John   D.    Rouse,    commissioned   September  2.    1862. 
Licutcuants. 

First,  Charles  Island,  commissioned  September  2, 
1862. 

First,  Henry  T,  Wyman,  commissioned  March  i, 
1863. 

Second,  Hiram  M.  Barney,  commissioned  March 
28.   1863. 

Sergeants. 

First,  Hiram  Barney,  enlisted  July  22,  1862;  pro- 
moted. 

John    Loynbee.    enlisted   August    5,    1862. 

Henry  Wyman,  enlisted  August  5,  1862;  pro- 
moted. 

Edward   Burt,   enlisted  August  9,   1862. 

William    W.    Miller,    enlisted    August    14,    1862. 

Corporals. 
Henry  G.  Huey,  enlisted  August  9,   1862. 
Hugh   Smart,    enlisted  August    7,    1862. 


Joseph    S.    Nightingale,    enlisted   August    15.    1862. 
Timothy   Martindale,   enlisted  August   5,    1862. 
Stephen   J.    Cook,   enlisted   August   5,    1862. 
John    Curran.    enlisted   August  8.    1862. 
Thomas  W.   Beckett,   enlisted  August  7,    1862. 
Hitz   B.   Petres,   enlisted  August   13,    1862. 

Musicians. 
Wesley  R.    Andrews,    enlisted    August    12,    1862. 
Robert   Cooper,   enlisted  August  21,    1862. 

Privates. 
Aten,    Adrian    R.,    enlisted   August    13,    1862. 
Aldrich,   Delos,  enlisted  August   12,    1862. 
Bailey,   Jacob,   enlisted   August  6.    1862. 
Belford.    Franklin,    enlisted    August    7,    1862. 
Beck,  Daniel,  enlisted  August   11,   1862. 
Burt,    Moses,    enlisted   August    13,    1862. 
Barnes,  Henry,  enlisted  August    13,    1862. 
Burnell,    Eleazer,    enlisted    August    14,    1862. 
Brassfield.    Henry  C,   enlisted   August   15,    1862. 
Baronett,    David,   enlisted  August    18,    1862. 
Curran,    William,    enlisted    August   5,    1862. 
Campbell,    David    O..    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Campbell,   Charles   L.,   enlisted  August  8,    1862. 
Campbell,    Samuel   W.,    enlisted   August  8,    1862. 
Camp.    Joseph   J.,   enlisted    August    8.    1862. 
Cady,   Henry   F..   enlisted   August    11,    1862. 
Com,    Charles  W..   enlisted   August    1 5,    1862. 
Darby.    Russell,   enlisted   August   8.    1862. 
Doty.   Hiram   B..    enlisted   August   13,    1862. 
Davidson,    John,    enlisted   August    1 5,    1862. 
Dustin,    Austin    M.,    enlisted    August    14,    1862. 
Dimmick,    Francis    O.,    enlisted    August    22.    1862. 
Eaton,    William,    enlisted    August    14.    1862. 
Fisher,  Moses,  enlisted  August  7,    1862. 
Flemming,    James,    enlisted    August    12,    1862. 
Flower,  Fayette,  enlisted  August   14,    1862. 
Gilbert,    Erastus,   enlisted   August    11,    1862. 
Gillins,    James,    enlisted    August    14,    1862. 
Hanna,    William    H..    enlisted    August    13,    1862, 
Hart,    David,    enlisted    August    12,    1862. 
Hackenburg.     Jacob,     enlisted    August     12,     1862. 
Hatsell,   Thomas,   enlisted   August    13.    1862. 
Jones.    Romeo    VV.,    enlisted   August   8,    1862. 
Johnson,    Frederick    R.,    enlisted    August    12,    1862. 
Lawson,    William,    enlisted    August    5,     1862. 
Lambertson.     William     M.,     enlisted 
1862. 

Lauchlin.    Heslip   W..   enlisted  August 
Mendall,  John  A.,   enlisted  August  8, 
Moore,    Heiirv    P.,    enlisted   August    1 1 
McComb,    William,    enlisted    August    10,    1862. 
Onslott.    William,   enlisted   August    19,    1S62. 
Purcell,    James    T..    enlisted    August    9,    1862. 
Robison,    tiavlord,    enlisted    August    11.    1862. 
Rogers,    Joseph,    enlisted   August    1 5.    1862. 
Swan.    Tohn,    enlisted    August    5.    1862. 
Sbinmell,    Daniel   W..  enlisted  August    12.    1862. 
Shull.    Joseph,    enlisted    August    12,    1862. 
Shull.    John,    enlisted   August    12,    1862. 
Shade,    Daniel,    enlisted    August    12,    1862. 
Slocum,    Joseph    W..    enlisted   August    12,    1862. 
Stanton,    Franklin,    enlisted    August    13,    1862. 
Smith.   Francis,   enlisted  August  22,    1S62, 
Stock  well,    Cyrus    H..    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Tanner,    Joseph,    enlisted    August    13,    1862. 
Ward,  John   M.,   enlisted  August   5.   1862. 
Wilson,   Washington,    enlisted    August    12,    1862, 

Recruits. 
Bolen.    Michael,    enlisted   February   20,    1S64. 
Clougli.    Cassius    RL,    enlisted    January    27,    1864. 
Clough.    Caleb    G.,    enlisted    January    27,    1864. 
Griswold,    Francis   \\'. 

Hunter.    Bcniamin   G..    enlisted    November    5,    1863. 
Hunter,    Joseph,    enlisted    November    1 1,    1863. 
Huffman.    George   W.,    enlisted   January   27,    1864. 
Williams.   Benjamin   F.,   enlisted  January    18,    1864. 

Company   H. 
Recruit. 
Joseph    H., 


August     I 

14,    1862. 
1862. 
1862. 


Knickerbocker, 
1864. 


enlisted    January    25, 


L 


Company 
Captain. 
Wayne     O' Donald,     commissioned     September 
1862;    mustered    out    at    consolidation. 


First.    Silas 
ber    2,    1862. 


Lieutenants. 
Wagoner,    commissioned    Septem- 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


233 


First,     John     H.     Eno,     commissioned     March     17, 
1863. 

First,    George    W.    Cone,    commissioned    Tune    22, 
1863. 

Second,    John    H,    Eno,    commissioned    September 
2.    1862. 

Second,    GeorRe    \V.    Cone,    commissioned    March 
17,    1863. 

Sergeants. 

Imlo    L.    Eno,    enlisted   August    14,    1862. 

George  W.    Cone,   enlisted  August    14.    1862. 

George   L.    Lucas,   enlisted  August    14.    1862. 

Robert  J.    Briggs.   enlisted   August    14,    1862. 

Corporals. 

Edward     F.     Bartholomew,     enlisted     August     14. 
1862. 

Rufus    Atherton.    enlisted    August    14.    1R62. 
Rli    H.    f'lowman,    enlisted    August    14,    1862. 
Toseph    M.    Lee,    enlisted    Aupust    14.    1862. 
Tohn    T.    Rose,   enlisted   August    14.    1862. 
Tohn    Willis,    enlisted    August    14.    1862. 
John    McMuIlen,   enlisted    August    14,    1862. 
Alfred    B.    Reed,    enlisted   August    14,    1862. 

Musicians. 
Tasper   S.    Baker,  enlisted   August    14,    1862. 
Jacob   H.    Snyder,   enlisted  August    14,    1862. 

Wagoner. 
Alonzo  G.    Klsworth.   enlisted  August    14.    1862. 

Privates. 
Aten.    Austin    C,    enlisted    August    iS.    1862. 
Bevans,    Lewis  J.,   enlisted  August   22,    1862. 
Beeny,    Frederick,   enlisted   August   24,    1S62. 
Bentley,    William   H.,  enlisted   August    14,    1862. 
Brown.    Isaac,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Biggs,   John  T.,  enlisted  August    14.    1862. 
Clark,   John    H.,   enlisted   August    14.    1862. 
Cook.    Asa  A.,   enlisted   August    14.    1862. 
Cadwell,    Tames    D..    enlisted    August    15.    1862. 
Cowley,    Richard,    enlisted    August    22.    1862. 
Oarnell,    George,    enlisted    August    14.    1862. 
Frisbie,   Enos,  enlisted  August    15,    1862. 
Fisher.   Jacob,    en'isted   August    15,    1862. 
Fox,   Joel  J.,   enlisted  August   14.    1S62. 
Fox,    Hiram   B..   enlisted  August    14.    1862. 
Furguson.    William    H.,    enlisted    August    14.    1862. 
Gibbs,    Ichahod   O..    enlisted   August    14.    1862. 
Hand,   Lemuel,   enlisted   August    15,    1S62. 
Hyne.  John,  enlisted  August   15.   1862. 
Humphrey.    Eli.    enlisted "  August    14.    1862. 
Huffman.    Joseph,    enlisted    August    14,    1862. 
Higbee,    Homer    H.,    enlisted   August    14.    1862. 
TIand.    Burner,  enlisted  August   14.    1862. 
Horner,   Benedict  M.   S..   enlisted   August    15.    1862. 
Jacobs,    Thomas    F.,   enlisted   August    14.    r862. 
Jones.    Butler    K..    enlisted   August    14.    1862. 
Jarman,    Theodore   P..    enlisted    August    14.    1862. 
Moore.    James    C,    enlisted   August    14.    1862. 
McCann.    George  W.,  enlisted  August    14,    1862. 
Macey,   Micajah    C-.   enlisted   August    14.    1862. 
Murphy,    Richard,    enlisted   August    21.    1862. 
Nunn.    Milton,    enlisted    August    21,    1862. 
Poe,    John    \V..    enlisted   August    15.    1862. 
Pense.   Garrett   D.,   enlisted    August    14,    1863. 
Richardson.  William  H..  enlisted  August  15,    1862. 
Rockingfield.    Scout    H.,    enlisted    August    14,    1862. 
Rockincficld.   Cleves   S..  enlisted   August    15.    1862. 
Redfield.    Frank   A.,   enlisted    August    15.    1862. 
Randall.    John    A.,    enlisted    August    15.  "1862. 
Smith.    Lyman    H.,    enlisted   August    15.    1862. 
Smith.    George    S..    enlisted   August    14.    1862. 
Smith,    Mvron    C.    enlisted    August    14,    1862. 
Scanlan.    Robert,   enli'ited   August   22,    1862. 
Talen,   William,  enlisted  August   15,   1862. 
Widner,    Tohn    C.    enlisted    August    14,    i86r. 
W^arne.    William    H.,    enlisted    August    15.    1862. 
Wiley.    T^eman   TT.,   enli'ited    August    15,    1862. 
Wasson.    Jacob    P..    enli'Jted    August    14,    1862. 

Recniits. 
Bigelow,  Frank  E..  enlisted  December  30.  i86^. 
Cone.   Wi'liam    D..   enlisted  June  4,    1864. 
Jacobs.    William   W, 

Murphy,    Daniel    T>.,    enlisted    December   23.    1863. 
Pratz,   William   W.,   enlisted  February   29,    1864. 
Whitehead.   Wesley  J.,   enlisted  January  25,    1864. 


Company   K. 
Captains. 
Ephraim    E.    Rynearson,    commissioned    September 


1862. 
William  K.  White,  commissioned  October  21 


1862. 


Lieutenants. 

First,  William  K.  White,  commissioned  Septem- 
ber 2,   1862. 

First,  Sylvester  S.  Edwards,  commissioned  Octo- 
ber  21,    1862. 

Second,  Marcus  O.  Harkness,  commissioned  Oc- 
tober  21.    1862. 

Sergeants. 
Survetus   Holt,  enlisted   August  g,    1862. 
John    Vinger,    enlisted   August    12,    1862. 
George  Edwards,  enlisted   August  7,    1862. 
Harvey   R.    Brackett,   enlisted   August   9,    1862. 

Corporal.'i. 
John  White,  enlisted  August  8,    1862. 
Francis   Shroder,   enlisted   ^\ugust    12,    1862, 
John   AL    Harper,    enlisted   August    11,    1862. 
George    W.    Aurl.    enlisted    August    12,    1862. 
Enlee    E.    Coulson.    enlisted   August  9,    1862. 
Andrew   J.    Vleet,   enlisted   August   8,    1862. 
Oswell    B.    Green,    enlisted  August    14,    1862, 
Richard   M.    Holt,  enlisted  August  9,   1862. 

Musicians. 
Daniel    Slane,   enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Charles   E.   Lines,  enlisted  August   11,    1862, 

Wagoner. 
Clement    S.    Padget,    enlisted    August    22.     1862. 

Privates. 
Beck,    William,    enlisted   August   8,    1862. 
Brown,    Eli,   enlisted  August    12,    1862. 
Brown.   J.    ITenry,    enlisted   August    13,    1862. 
Brown,   Patrick,   enlisted  August   7,    1862, 
Behrens.    Harry,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Camp,  John,  enlisted  August  8,    1862. 
Cronan,   John,    enlisted    August   9,    1862. 
Clayton,    William,   enlisted   August    12.    1862. 
Donnelly.    William,    enlisted    August    22.     1862. 
Dumhaugli,    Uriah,    enlisted    August    9,    1862. 
Enders.    John    A.,    enlisted    August    8,    1862. 
Frank.   Jacob,   enlisted    August    16.    1862. 
Greenhalch.    John,    enlisted    August    12,    1862, 
Gilson.    Frederick,    enlisted    August   9,    1862. 
Greenough.   Roger,  enlisted   August  9,   1862. 
Gurtcrti,   Auxilius,  enlisted   August    12,    1S62. 
Haynes,  Jolin,    enlisted  August    11,    1862, 
Harper,   William    S.,   enlisted   August  9,    1862. 
Holt,    Richard    M.,    enlisted   August   8,    1862. 
Harding,    Adam,   enlisted   August    13,    1862. 
Holt.   Thomas  J.,  enlisted  August  8.    1862. 
Hollings worth,    Warner,    enlisted    August    9.    1862. 
Hoffman.    Peter,    enlisted   August    11,    186^. 
Ibick,    John,    enlisted    August    17,    1862, 
Thick,    Lawrence,    enlisted    August    1 1,    1862. 
Kingsley.    Charles,    enlisted    August    11,    1862. 
King,  Joseph    M.,   enlisted   August    16,    1862. 
Kirkman,    Samuel,   enlisted   August    13,    1862. 
King,    Levi  H..    enlisted   August   9.    1862. 
King,    William    W.,   enlisted    August   0,    1862. 
Kingsley,    Alonzo,    enlisted    August    7.    1862, 
Lafollett.    John,    enlisted    August    9.    1862. 
Lafolletl,    Jacob,   enlisted   August    1 1,    1862. 
Landes,   George,  enlisted  August  9,    1862. 
T.argent,    Henry,    enlisted  August   9,    1862. 
Largent.   Madison,  enlisted  August   15,    1862, 
Miller.    James,   enlisted    August    11,    1862. 
Morris,    Richard,    enlisted    August    12,    1863. 
Moody,    Tames    AI.,    enlisted    August    9,    1862. 
Merilt,   Tohn,   enlisted  August     9.   1862. 
Meek.    Andrew   J.,   enlisted    August    12,    1862. 
Mulvancy,    William,   enlisted   August  8.    1862. 
Nelson,    I*eter.    enlisted    August    1 5,    1862. 
Parnham.    Charles,    enlisted    August    13.    1862. 
Perry.    Tlenry.    enlisted    August   9,    1862. 
Powell.    Samuel    B.,    enlisted    August    13,    1862. 
Potts.    Joseph,    enlisted    August    11.    1862. 
Pr  it  chard,    John,    enlisted    August    16.    1862. 
Rynearson.   Francis,   enlisted  August    15,    1862. 
Rench.  I-yman  T.,   enlisted  August   11.   1862, 
Race,   Williaip,   enlisted   August  8,    1862. 


234 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


1862 


1863. 


1864. 

3-  1863. 


Roberts,    John,    enlisted    August    12,    1862. 

Sleeth,    Thomas,    enlisted    August     10,    1862. 

Smith.    George    W.,    enlisted    August    15,    1863. 

Sherwood,    Samuel   J.,    enlisted   August   8,    1862 

Shcpard,   Ephraim  R.,  enlisted  August  9.    1862 

Sharkev,    Samuel,   enlisted    August    22.    1862. 

Shorden,    John,    enlisted    August    8,    1862. 

Sheibling.    August,   enlisted   August    15.    1862. 

Throp,    William,   enlisted  August    14,    1862. 
Thompson.   Robert,  enlisted  August    15.   1862 
Whale  or   White.   Ed  P.,   enlisted  August    15. 
Walker,  Austin,  enlisted  August   13.    1862. 
Wholstenhohm,  John,  enlisted  August   15.   1862 
Yerby,   Joseph,    enlisted  August    12.    1862. 

Recruits. 
Archdale.    George,    enlisted    December    24.    186 
Caulson,   Henry. 

Haines,  John,   enlisted  January    5,    1864. 
Hamilton,  John  H.,  enlisted   December  3, 
Halstead,    Edward. 
Morris,    Henry    S. 

Orr,    Isaac,  enlisted  January  25,   1864. 
Parker,   Thomas,  enlisted    April    7,    1864. 
Powell,    Lyman    J.,    enlisted   January   20, 
Rynearson.   Robert  J.,  enlisted  December  , 
Stevenson.   William. 
Somers,     Edwin     R..     enlisted    January    2.     1864. 
Thurston.    George,    enlisted    February   29,    1864. 
Wholstenhohm,  John   D.,    enlisted  April   5,    1864. 

Unassigned   Recruits. 
Wilson,    John,    enlisted    March    i,    1865. 
Atkins,    Richard,    enlisted    Maich    i,    1865. 
Bun,    Thomas,    enlisted   March   2,    1865. 
Bennett,   James,    enlisted   March    i,    1865. 
Brown,  William  H.,  enlisted  February  26,    1864. 
Conners,    James,    enlisted    March    2,    1S65. 
Flannigan.    Patrick,    enlisted    September    9,     1864. 
Folz,   William. 
Grunman,    Chauncey  W. 

Haley,   James,    enlisted   February  28,    1865. 
Hurbert,   John,    enlisted   March  2,    -'863. 
Hayes,   John,    enlisted    March   2,    1865. 
Hayes.   William,  enlisted  January   30,    1S65. 
Kerr,    Silas,    enlisted    February   24,    1865. 
Kelley,    Daniel,    enlisted    March    2,    1865. 
Kahli'ng,    Alfred,   enlisted    February    27,    1865. 
Karmany.    Henry    M. 

Miller,    John,    enlisted    February    28,    1865. 
McElhenry.    Hugh    F.,    enlisted    March    14.    1865. 
McGru,   Jolm,    enlisted   January    13,    1864. 
McManus.    Henry    P.,    enlisted    February    29,    1864. 
Percival,  George   H. 
Pemble,    David    B. 

Sorner,    Andrew,    enlisted    February    28,    1S65. 
Sowders,    William,    enlisted    January    30.    1865. 
Shurry,  John. 
Stewart,   John    G. 
Sanford,    Louis. 
Wardsworth,    Samuel. 

SEVENTY-SEVENTH     INFANTRY      (CONSOLI- 
DATED). 
Colon  eL 
David  P.  Grier,  commissioned  September  12,   1862. 

Major. 
Edwin   Stevens,  commissioned  July   15.    1865, 

Quartermaster. 
David     McKinney,     commissioned     September     12. 
1862. 

Company  E. 
Captain. 
Edwin   Stevens,   commissioned    September   2,    1862. 
Lieutenant. 

First,  Samuel  J.  Smith,  commissioned  September 
2,   1862. 

Second,  Henry  L.  Bushnell,  commissioned  March 
28,    1863. 

Company  G. 
Captain. 
John   D,    Rouse,  commissioned  September   2,    1862. 

Lieuteyiant. 
First.    Henry   J.    Wyman,    commissioned    March    1. 
1863. 


Company   K. 
Lieutetxant. 

Second,    Marcus    O.    Hark/iess,    commissioned   Oc- 
tober 21,    1862. 

EIGHTY-SECOND    INFANTRY. 

Assistant    Surgeon. 
First,     Emil     Brendil,     commissioned     August     20, 
1862. 

Company    B. 
Lieutenant. 
First,    Charles   Lanzendorfer,   commissioned   March 
12,    1863. 

Company  D. 
Captain. 
Rudolph    Mueller,    commissioned   October    7,    1863. 
Company  E. 
Corporals. 
John    Zimmermann.    enlisted    August    9,    1862. 
Joseph   Schwabe,  enlisted  August   11,   1862. 
Sebastian    Winterer,   enlisted  July    13,    1862. 

Privates. 
Barth,  Jacob,   enlisted  August   12,   1862. 
Borkhauser.  Theodore,  enlisted  August  9,    1862.. 
Bevechle,    Anton,  enlisted  August   ji,    1862, 
Dening,    Henry,   enlisted  August    13.    1862. 
Diefenbach,   John,   enlisted  August    15,    1862. 
Geiger,    Joseph,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Geisser,  John,   enlisted  August    12,    1862. 
Gingericli,  Christian,  enlisted  August  5,   1862. 
Goerges,    Peter,   enlisted   August   9,    1862. 
Kessler,    Francis  J.,    enlisted   August   9,    1862. 
Leuke,  Ferdinand,  enlisted  August  8,    1862. 
May,  Christian,  enlisted  August   15,   1862. 

Moorsberger,    ,    enlisted    August    14,    1862. 

MunighofF.    Theodore,    enlisted    August    13,    1862. 
Navy,  Nicholas,  enlisted  August   15,   1862. 
Nagele,    Charles,    enlisted    August    13,    1862. 
Odenwalder.   John,    enlisted   August    13,    1862. 
Pauly,    Frederick,   enlisted   August   9.    1862. 
Ritth'aller,    Michael,    enlisted   July    24.    1862. 
Schelikoph,    Joseph,    enlisted   August   9,    1862. 
Schoner,    William,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Seifker,    Adolf,    enlisted    August    14.    1862. 
Simmemmacher,    Adam,    enlisted    August    6,    1862. 
Stawitzky.    Thomas,   enlisted   August   4,    1862. 
Walker.    Conrad,    enlisted    August   4,    1862. 
Wall.    Nicholas,    enlisted    August    4,    1862. 
Wetschell,    John,    enlisted    August    14.    1862. 
Zimmerman,  Andrew,  enlisted   August   15.    1862. 

Company   G. 
Musician. 
Theodore    Werth,    enlisted   August    2,    1862. 
Company  H. 
Privates. 
KnaufT,   George  F.,  enlisted  August  7.    1862. 
Company  K. 
Privates. 
Blank,    Victor,    enlisted   August    s.    1862. 
Bischoff,    Ferdinand,   enlisted  July    28.    1862. 
Kuhn.    Frederick,    enlisted   August    13,    1862. 
Kohler,    Morand,   enlisted  August    18,    1862. 

EIGHTY-THIRD    INFANTRY. 

Company   I. 
Recruit. 
Brown.   James  W.,   enlisted  March  22,    1865. 

Unassigned    Recruit. 
Higgins,    Patrick,   enlisted   February  6,    1865. 

EIGHTY-FTFTH  INFANTRY. 
The  Eighty-fifth  Illinois  Infantry  Volunteers  was 
organized  at  Peoria.  Illinois,  in  August,  1862,  by 
Colonel  Robert  S.  Moore,  and  mustered  into  service 
August  27,  1862.  Ordered  to  Louisville,  Kentucky, 
September  6.  1862.  and  assigned  to  Thirty-sixth  Bri- 
gade. Eleventh  Division,  Third  Army  Corps,  Colo- 
nel D,  McCook  commanding  division,  and  Major 
General  Gilbert  commanding  corps.  The  Eighty- 
fifth  marched  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy  under  Gen- 
eral   Bragg,    October    i,    1862,    and   was   engaged   in 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


235 


the  battle  of  Champion  Hills,  at  Perryville,  Ken- 
tucky, October  8th,  and  moved  with  tlie  army  to 
Nashville,  Tennessee,  arriving  November  7.  186^;. 
Regiment  mustered  out  June  5,  1865,  at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.  and  arrived  at  Camp  Butler,  Illinois, 
June  II,  1865,  where  they  received  final  payment 
and  discharge. 

Company    A. 
Private. 
Harrison,    William    C,    enlisted    August    10,    1863. 
Company  C. 
Recruit. 
Dunn,  Joseph,   enlisted    September    i,    1862. 
Company   F, 
Corporals. 
John  O'Brien,   enlisted  June    16,    1862. 
George   Deford,    enlisted  June   21,    1862. 

Privates. 
Hamilton,   Reuben,  enlisted   Tune  2,   1862. 
Hamilton.    David,    enlisted    Tune    21,    1862. 
Jones,    Ed.,    enlisted   June    21,    1862. 
Landers,   Maurice,   enlisted  June   21,    1863. 
Quinlan.   William,  enlisted  June  21,    1862. 
Wrest nour,    Fitzhugh,    enlisted   June    16,    1862. 


Greteron,   John, 


Recruit. 


Company   K. 
Privates. 


Burr,  Nelson,  enlisted  August  15,    1862. 
Kelso,  James  A.,   enlisted  August    15,    1862. 

EIGHTV-SIXTH    INFANTRY. 

The  Eighty-sixth  Infantry  Illinois  X'olunteers  was 
organized  at  Peoria,  Illinois,  in  August,  1862,  by 
Colonel  David  D.  Irons,  and  mustered  in  August 
27th.  Moved  for  Louisville  and  camped  at  Jo  Holt, 
on  the  Indiana  side.  September  10,  1862.  Was 
assigned  to  Thirty-sixth  Brigade,  Colonel  D.  ^Mc- 
Cook.  with  Fifty-second  Ohio  and  Eighty-fifth  Illi- 
nois and  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  Illinois. 
Eleventh  Division,  Brigadier  General  P.  H.  Sheri- 
dan commanding.  Marched  from  camp  October  ist 
and  on  the  8th  was  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Perry- 
ville, losing  one  killed  and  fourteen  wounded. 
Moved  thence  to  Crab  Orchard  and  to  Nashville, 
arriving  November  7th.  Soon  after  moved  to  Mill 
Creek.  Returned  to  Nashville  December  loth. 
Moved  to  Brentwood,  April  8,  1863.  Returned  to 
Nashville  June  3d.  On  the  30th  moved  to  Murfrees- 
boro.  Returned  July  igth.  Marched  August  20th 
via  Franklin  and  Columbia  to  Huntsville,  Alabama, 
and  on  the  4th  of  September  marched  to  Chatta- 
nooga. The  Eighty-sixth  was  here  assigned  to  the 
Reserve  Corps  under  Major  General  Gordon  Gran- 
ger. Engaged  in  the  battle  of  Chickamauga.  Sep- 
tember 19,  20  and  21.  Brigade  assigned  to  Second 
Division,  Fourteenth  Army  Corps.  Moved  into 
Lookout  Valley  October  2gth.  In  the  night  of 
November  23d  crossed  the  river  on  a  pontoon  and 
camped  at  the  foot  of  Missionary  Ridge.  Pursued 
the  enemy  on  the  26th  to  Ringgold  and  was  then 
ordered  to  Knoxville.  Tennessee.  Marched  as  far 
as  Little  Tennessee  river  and  returned  to  Chatta- 
nooga December  iSth  after  a  most  severe  march. 
Was  engaged  on  the  reconnoissance  to  Buzzard 
Roost  Gap  near  Dalton,  February  24,  1864.  fighting 
the  enemy  two  days.  Lost  one  man  killed  and 
seven  wounded.  March  6th  moved  to  Lee  and  Gor- 
don's Mills  and  May  3d  joined  General  Sherman's 
army  at  Ringgold,  Georgia.  Was  engaged  at  Buz- 
zard's Roost,  ^lay  g,  10  and  1 1 ;  Resaca,  May  14 
and  15;  Rome.  May  1 7 — six  killed  and  eleven 
wounded;  Dallas,  from  May  27  to  June  5;  Kenesaw 
Mountain  from  June  11  to  27,  losing  one  hundred 
and  ten   killed   and  wounded. 

Was  again  engaged  with  the  enemy  on  the  banks 
of  the  Chattahoochie  on  the  i8th  of  July;  at  Peach 
Tree  Creek  on  the  igth  and  near  Atlanta  from  the 
20th  to  the  22d.  Engaged  in  the  siege  of  Atlanta, 
Colonel  Dills  worth  commanding  brigade,  Brigadier 
General  J.  D.  Morgan  commanding  division,  and 
Brevet  Major  General  Jefferson  C.  Davis  command- 
ing the  corps.  Engaged  at  Jonesboro.  September 
ist.  September  2qth  moved  by  rail  to  Athens,  Ala- 
bama, and  marched  to  Florence,  driving  Forrest 
across    the    Tennessee.      Moved    to    Chattanooga    and 


thence  to  Galesville.  Alabama,  Kingston  and  to  At- 
lanta, arriving  November  15th.  Commenced  the 
march  to  the  sea.  November  i6th.  Arrived  at  Sa- 
vannah, December  21st.  Moved  January  20,  1865, 
on  the  campaign  of  the  Carolinas,  Brevet  Brigadier 
General  B,  D.  Fearing  commanding  the  brigade. 
Engaged  in  the  battle  of  Averysboro.  March  i6th 
and  of  Bentonville,  igth  and  20th.  and  arrived  at 
Goldsboro.  March  23d.  March  to  Raleigh,  April 
loth.  After  the  surrender  of  Johnson  marched  via 
Richmond  to  Washington  City,  at  which  place  it 
was  mustered  out  of  service,  June  6,  1865,  by  Lieu- 
tenant George  Scroggs,  and  ordered  to  Chicago,  Il- 
linois, where  it  received  final  pay  and  discharge. 
Died,  killed  and  wounded,  346;  marched  3,500 
miles;   by  rail,   2.000  miles. 

Colonel. 
David  D.   Irons,  commissioned  August  27.    1862. 

Lieutenant   Colonel. 
David   W.   Magee,   commissioned  August  27,    1862. 

Majors. 
James    S.    Bean,    commissioned    August    27,    1862. 
Joseph  F.   Thomas,  commissioned  March   25,    1864. 

Adjutant. 
James  E.  Prescott,  commissioned  August  27.   1862. 

Quartermaster. 
Charles  IL   Deane.  commissioned  August   11,   1862. 

Surgeon. 
Massena    M.    Hooton,    commissioned    August     27, 
1862. 

Assistant  Surgeon. 
First.   Israel  J.  Guth,  commissioned  July   14.    1864. 
Company  A. 
Quartermaster   Sergeants. 
John  C.  Adams,  enlisted  August  4.   1862. 
Charles  Magee,  enlisted  August    11,    1862. 

Privates. 
Brown,  Jasper   A.,  enlisted  August  28,    1862. 
Company  B. 

Corporal. 
George  W.   Berdim,  enlisted  August   11,    1862. 

Privates. 
Berdim,    Walter   I.,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Brown.    Harvey    S..    enlisted    August    13,    1862. 
Crouch,  Ansel,   enlisted   August    13.    1863. 
Lee,   Charles,   enlisted  August   12,    1862. 
Lemons,   George,   enlisted  August   13.    1862. 
Sham,   John   W.,    enlisted   August    13.    1862. 
Warren,    James,    enlisted    August    15.    1S62. 
Wallace,   Alexander,   enlisted  August    13.    1862. 

Company  C. 

Captains. 
Joseph  F.   Thomas,  commissioned  August  27.    1862. 
William    G.    McDonald,    commissioned    March    25. 

1864. 

Lieutenants. 

I'iv^t.     lohn    IL    Bachelder,    commissioned    August 
27,    1862.  ,    . 

Second,    Reuben    B.    Beebe.    commissioned    August 
27,    1862. 

Second.    Edwin    C.    Stillman,     commissioned    June 
12.    1865. 

Sergeants. 

Alfred  S.   Proctor,  enlisted  August    13,   1862. 

Corporals. 
William   Arnsworth.   enlisted   August    13,    1862. 
James  Mitchell,   enlisted  August  9,    1862. 
Stephen  L.    Easton.   enlisted   August   8,    1862. 
Isaac   M.  McCulley,  enlisted  August  8.   1862. 

Musicians. 
Abel  W.   Brown,  enlisted  August  12,    1862. 
Benjamin    Swigger,   enlisted   August   7.    1862. 

Wagoner. 
John    Buggs,   enlisted   August    13.    1862. 

Privates. 
Beebe,   William  J.,   enlisted  August  5,    1862. 


236 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


Bowers,  Joseph,  enl.stetl  -V'S"''  .'t' s'  ^862 
BlanJ,  William  J.,  enl.sted  A"B"5t  ?■  '»^'- 
Bland,  John,  enl.sted  August  ».    'f"-  „, 

Baldwin,    W.lliam   J.,   enl.sted   A"KUSt    .5,    1862. 
Bell,    John   H..   enl.sted   August   ■'.    -S^^- 
Bell,    James,    enlisted   August   1 1,    1862. 
Carver,    Horace    C.   enlisted   Augitst    -3.    -SS^- 
Carter,    Elhert   S..   enlisted  August    '2.    'S^^- 
Clawson,  Henry,   enlisted  August   ii,   .862. 
Clark    Cvrus  C,  enlisted   August  9,    loo-^-     „, 
Rlwell,  'George'  W.,    enlisted   August    .2     1862. 
Damon.  Hiram  S.,  enl.sted  August   .3.   1862. 
Dray,   Henry   S..  enlisted  August   8.    'Sfi^- 
Do.iovan,    Michael,    enl.sted  August    8     .862. 
Easton.   William   D.,    enl.sted  August  8,     862 
Furguson,   James    B..   enl.sted   August   8     >862 
Flanders,   Chauncey   H.,   enlisted  August   .3.   -862. 
Glaze.  Isaac,  enlisted  August   .2.   i8b2. 
Gallop.   Ralph   P..  enlisted  August   13,    186^. 
Hutchinsonl    Enoch    H..    enlisted   August    .3.    1862. 
Hunt.    Isaac,    enlisted    August    8,     iBU^- 
Harrington,   John,    enlisted   August    14.    '»6-=- 
Jenkins.    Albanus   L.,   enl.sted   August    12.    1862. 
Jenkins,   William  M.,    enl.sted   Augijst    11,    1862. 
Mason,    John,    enlisted    August   9,    1862- 
Marsh,   tames,  enlisted  August  8,   1862. 
Maxson,"  Mathew.    enlisted   August   8,    1862. 
Nurs,   Henry   H.,   enlisted  August  7,   1862. 
Parsons,    Ahraham    S..    enl.sted    August    8,    1862. 
Putman,  Allen,  enlisted  August    12.   1865. 
Prentiss.   Benjamin,   enl.sted  August  7,    1862. 
Root.   Cvrus.    enlisted    August    11.    1862. 

Rutherford,    Jacob  J.,    enl.sted    August    5.    1862 

Rutherford,    Andrew    J.,    enl.sted    August    5,    1862. 

Robertson,   Tames,   enlisted   August  0,    1862. 

Stowell,    Oscar,    enlisted   August    n-    '862. 

Sarver,   Jacob,    enlisted    August    7.    1862. 

Sarver,    John,   enlisted   August   8,    1862. 

Sanger,   Adna  T.,   enlisted  August    ■'.■«<'-■ 

Sexton,    Frederick    I-.,    enl.sted    August    11,    186-. 

Selders.    John    B..    enlisted    August    5.    1862. 

Selders.    Thoitias   B..    enlisted   August    13,    186- 

Sirlott.   James,   enlisted   August    13.    1862. 

Stewart,    John,   enlisted    August    13,    '862 

Stittman,  Anson  P..   enl.sted  August  8     1862 

Stittman,    Sanford   H.,   enlisted   .August   8,    1862. 

Thomas,    John,    enlisted    .\ugust    8,    1862 

Troxell,    William,   enlisted   August   8,    1862. 

Troxell.  Absalom,  enlisted  August  8,    1862. 

Vining,   William   H..   enlisted  August   13.    1862 

Weldman.    Charles   E.,    enl.sted   August  8,    1862. 

Wilson,    Loren    J.,   enlisted    August    14,    1S62. 

Wilson.    George"  N..    enlisted    August    .,■;,    1802. 

Young.    Charles   M.,    enlisted   August    ...    186.. 

Recruits. 

Brown.    Harvev   L.  Wallace,    Alexander. 

Shane,   John   W.  T.e.non.    George. 

Company  D. 

Caftaln. 

Frank   Hitchcock,    commissioned    August    27,    1862. 

Lieutenant. 
Second,    William    H.    Hall,    commissioned    August 

27,    1862. 

Sergeants. 

Augustus    \^    Johnson,    enlisted    August    '3,    1862. 
Samuel    Y.    Horine,    enl.sted    August    14,    1862. 
John  Kiefman,  enlisted  August   11,   1862. 

Corporals. 
Lemuel    R.    KHiot.   enlisted   August    1 1.    1862. 
George   R.    Davis,   enl.sted  August  8,    1862. 
Robert  M.    Tones,  enlisted  August   13     1862. 
Thomas   Cobb,    enlisted   August    12,    1862 
William    Treeley.    enlisted    August    13,    1S62. 
Mfred    M.    McKenney.    enl.sted    August    14.    18O2. 
John    Decker,    enlisted    August   9,    1862. 
Tsaach  H.  Moore,  enlisted  August  15.   1862. 

Musicians. 
Frank  G.   Luther,   enlisted    August    14,    1862. 
Richard   McCarty,    enlisted    August    8,    1862. 

Wagoner. 
Daniel    W.    Johnson,    enlisted    August    15.    1862. 

Privates. 
\nderson.    David   IL,   enlisted   August    13.    1862. 
Arnold.    William    B..    enlisted    August    14.    1862 
Bickford.    Leonard    B.,    enlisted   August    it,    1862. 


Bohanan,    James   W.,   enl.sted   August    .1       862. 

Boshwick,  W.lliam  K.,  enl.sted  August  14,     862. 

Bauman,     Keinhart,    enl.sted    August     .1,     1862. 

Beal,    George,    enlisted    August    II,    1862. 

Bennett.   William,   enlisted  July   21,   1862 

Crane,   Asa   F.,    enlisted  August   13,    1862 

Conrad,  Ezra  K.,   enlisted  August  9,    1862 

Conrad.    Elias   H..   enl.sted   August    '■.    '862. 

Cobb,    Daniel,    enlisted    August    11,    1862. 

Cramer.  Arthur,  enlisted  August  14,   '8'>2- 

Champ,    Victor    R..    e.^li^'^'i    A"8U"t    '4.    1862. 

Duffield.    William,  enlisted    August    11,    1852. 

DiUaplaine,    John  W..   enlisted  August   12,    1862. 

Dailev,    Henry,   enlisted  July   30,    1862. 

Frank,  Tesse,  enlisted  August   11,    '862. 

Greenhaigh,  Richard  W.,  enl.sted  Angus     .3,  1862. 

Gregory,   John  F..  enlisted  August   15.    1862 

Graham.  Abram  S..  enlisted  August    ■■■    -862. 
Graham.    William,    enl.sted   August    15,    1862- 
Hart.  Tohn  W.,  enlisted  July  24,   '8*>2 
Hartman,   Henry,   enlisted  August  8,    1862. 
Hartman.    Christopher,    enlisted    August    8,    1862. 
Kingon.   Perry,   enlisted  Aueiist    11,   1862 
Kennedy,  William   S.,  enlisted  August   14.    186-. 
Krouse,   Martin,   enlisted  August    14.    1S62. 
Krouse.   Tohn.   enlisted   August  9.    "862 
Kingon,  'John,    enlisted    August   9,    1862 
Kribbler.'Tohn.    enlisted    August    13,    1862 
Kimsey.   Joel    L.,   enlisted   August    14.    1862 
Love,   Samuel   D.,   enlisted   August    i4.    1862. 
Lee    William  D..  enlisted  August  11,   1862 
Long.   Thomas  M.,    enlisted   August    I.     1862. 
Lobaugh.   Abraham,   enlisted  August   15,    .862 
Moore,    Francis    R..    enlisted    August    I S.    1862. 
Magee.    Charles,  enlisted    .\ugust    i .,    1862 
McCov,  Thomas,  enlisted  August   15.    i8b2. 
Miller,    Samuel,   enlisted   August   8.    1862 
McManus.   James   J.,    enlisted   August    '4.    '«62. 
Morris.   Tames   F.,   enl.sted   August   ^''    [^^z. 
Miller,   George,  enlisted  August   "•   '862 
McCoy,   Lerov   S..   enl.sted  August   11,    1862 
Memeyer.  William  F     enl.sted  August  ,1     .862. 
Palmer.    Rosaloo.    enlisted    August    14,    i«t>2. 
Priston,   Martin,   enlisted  August    11,    1862. 
Root    Merritt  R..  enl.sted  August  9.    1862. 
Rkhardson.  William  M.    enlisted  August   14,   .862, 
Stoffer    Alva,  enlisted   August   11,    i8b2. 
Thatcher,  Tacob  B..  enlisted  August  .4.  1862. 
Taylor.   Charles  E.,   enlisted  August  8,    1862. 
Taggart.   Robert,  enlisted  .\ueust    "•    ■''^-A,, 
Wesrott.    Chariton,    enl.sted    August    .8.    1862. 
Williamson.    John,   enlisted   August    12,    1862 
Wriglev,   William    E.,   enl.sted  August    .2,    1862. 
Wescott.   Horatio,  enlisted  August  8    '862 
Williamson,    Joseph,    enl.sted    August    ■    ■    '86- 
Wridev.    Joseph,   enl.sted   A"R"5'    ','•    'j,?°^- 
Wikoff.  William,  enl.sted  August  ■'■    "^b^-    „,, 
Wilson     William    E.,    enlisted    August      5.    1862. 
Young.   William   M..   enl.sted  August   11,    1862. 

Recruits. 

Fry.  William  F.  M.  „, 

Friik     Henrv,    enlisted    December    29,    i863- 
Hal  m'ever    Tokeph.   enlisted   December   16,    1863. 
Ke. pie'   Charier  B.,   enlisted   December   29.    .863. 
Pres  on,   Tohn  R.,  enlisted  December  29,   1863. 
Preston     David,   enl.sted   December  22,    1863. 
Walker.    Benjamin    F.,    enlisted    January    2,    1863. 

Company  E. 

Captain. 
Frederick  A.  Woldorf.  commissioned  December  26, 

1862. 

Sergeant. 

Iram   Murray,   enlisted   August    13.    1862. 

Prirates. 
Ghert.  Ambrose,   enlisted  August   .3.    1862. 
Graham,    Tohn.   enl.sted   August    13.    1862. 
Mallon.    Tames,   enl.sted  August   '3,   1862. 
Sumner.  Thomas  J.,  enlisted  August  13.   1862. 

Recruits. 
Anderson.    Joseph,   enlisted   January   30,    1865. 
Bridegroom,   Julius,  enlisted  January    .9.    1864. 
Sumner,    Anthony  W.  ,„     ,0/:, 

Smith.   Benjamin   F.,   enlisted  January    19.    -864. 

Company  G. 

Private. 

Upshaw.  Thomas  J.,  enlisted  August  22.    1862. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


237 


Recruits. 
Cain,   David   L. 

Hindbaugh,    Philip,   enlisted   January   4,    1864. 
Sandern.    Charles,    enlisted  January  2,    1S64. 

Company  H. 

Caf>taiti. 
John    H.    Hall,    commissioned    August   27.    1862. 

Lieutenants. 
First,   Edwin    E.   Peters,   commissioned  August  27, 
1862. 

Second,    Davilla    W.    Merwin,    commissioned    Au- 
gust  27.    1862. 

Second.    John    II.    Henderson,    commissioned    Tune 
12,    1865. 

Sergeants. 
Mathew  Murdock.   enlisted  July  31,    1862. 
John   C.    Adams,    enlisted   August  4,    1862. 

Corporals. 
W^illiam  T.   Keener,  enlisted  August   5,   1862. 
William  C.  Stewart,  enlisted  August    11,    1862. 
Jonathan    Haley,    enlisted    August    i,    1862. 
John  T.   Geerling,   enlisted   August    16,    1862. 

Musician. 
Salem  E.  Martin,  enlisted  August   i,    1862. 

J(  agoner. 
George  Farnsworth,   enlisted  July    19,    1862. 

Priz-ates. 
Anthony,    Jacob,    enlisted    August    6,    1862. 
Alger,   Josiah   J.,   enlisted   August    11,    1862. 
Buck,    William,    enlisted   July    18,    1862. 
Buck.   Millar,   enlisted  July   18,    1862. 
Bremer,  John,   enlisted  August   1.   1862. 
Black  well,    Thomas,    enlisted   July    31,    1862. 
Beasemore.    Robert   G..    enlisted  July   29,    1862. 
Blundcl,    William,    enlisted   July    26,    1862. 
Brings.  William,  enlisted  July  22,    1862. 
Cole.   Oliver   W.,   enlisted"  August  6.    1862. 
Cain,   David    L.,    enlisted  July   28.    1862. 
Claver,    David,    enlisted   August    13.    1862. 
Church,  Andrew  G.,  enlisted   August   13,    1862. 
Charles,    H.    Charles,   enlisted   August   27,    i86j. 
Dolan,  John,  enlisted  July  31,    1862. 
Edwards,    Evans,    enlisted   August    i,    1862. 
Ewing.  John  W.   H.,   enlisted   August  4.    1862. 
Flick,    Erwin,  enlisted  July  8,    1862. 
Foster,   Robert,  enlisted  August  6,   1862. 
Fullerton,  James,  enlisted  August  2,    1862. 
Fuller.    George,  enlisted   August   6,    1862. 
Flagler,  John  W..  enlisted  July  31,    1862. 
Faskitt.    Byron   O..   enlisted    August   4.    1862. 
Faskitt,   Lyman   W..    enlisted   August    13.    1862. 
Gasney,    William,   enlisted    August    6,    1862. 
Hackan,    Sebalt,    enlisted    July    19,    1862. 
Jayne,  Jacob,   enlisted   August   2.    1862. 
Kellogg,    Lewis    F.,    enlisted    August    5,    1862. 
Kellogg.   William   P.,   enlisted  July    18,    1862. 
Keack,   Daniel  C,  enlisted  August  2,   1862. 
Kruger,    Edward    H..    enlisted    August    11,    1862. 
Kilver.  Henry  J,,  enlisted  August   13,    1862. 
Ley.   William  L.,   enlisted  August    15,    18G2, 
Mason.    Richard,  enlisted   August  7,    1862. 
Macinley.    William  A.,    enlisted  August    1.    1862. 
McFarland,    Tames   A.,    enlisted   July    18.    1862. 
McConncll,    Robert    A.,   enlisted   August    6,    1862. 
McKone.  John,   enlisted  August    13,    1862. 
McMahan.    Sylvester,   enlisted    August    14,    1862. 
McGee.    Charles,   enlisted   August    11,    1862. 
Nowlon,    William   W..   enlisted    August    5.    1862. 
Oburph,    Francis   V..    enlisted   August    5,    1862. 
Place.    Emerson,    enlisted    August    5.    1862. 
Place.   John    N.,  enlisted  August   5.    1862. 
Peters.    Andrew    W.,    enlisted    August    11.    iSfij. 
'^onk,    Ch.irles.    enlisted    August   6,    1862, 
Reed.    An?us    M..   enlisted    August   6.    1862. 
Ramsay.    Harrison,    enlisted   August   11.    1862. 
Stone.    Ely.    enlisted    August   2,    1862. 
Smock,    William,    enlisted    July    30.    1862. 
Schleigh.   John  J.,   enlisted  August   5.    1862. 
Slocum.   George,    enli'^ted   August   6,    1862. 
Scott,    James,    enlisted    August    6.    1862. 
Sharpnerk.    William,    enlisted    August    11,    1862. 
\'anpatten.    Emerson,   enlisted   August   6.    1862. 
Wayne.   Isaac  T^.,  enlisted  August  6.    1862. 
Wayne.    Samuel,    enlisted    August    6,    1862. 
Wallace.   Charles,  enlisted  August  6,    1862. 
Wilkins,    John    J.,    enlisted    August    13.    1862. 
Zimmerman.   Jesse,   enlisted   August   6,    1862. 


Recruit.<. 
Bennett,  William. 
Darley,    Henry. 
Moore,  George  M. 

Company  I. 

Corporals. 
Thomas  J.   Love,   enlisted   August   9,    1862. 
William   P.   Parker,   enlisted   August  9,    1862. 

Privates. 

Clark.   William   L..    enlisted    August   9,    1862. 
Clark.    John,    enlisted    August    9.     1862. 
Jones.    Francis   M.,   enlistetl    August    14,    1862. 
Lemaster,    Isaac,    enlisted    August    9,    1862. 
Lindenberger,     Ernst    F.    C,    enlisted    August    o, 
1862. 

Slick,   Ezra,  enlisted  August  9,    1862. 
Sill,   William    P.   J.,   enlisted    August   22.    1862. 
Sill,   George   D.,   enlisted   August   14,   1862. 
Sill,   Isaac   M.,   enlisted  August    15.    1862. 
Thomas;   David,   enlisted  August    12,    1862. 

Recruits. 
Cromwell.    John,    enlisted    December    28.    1863. 
Green,    Andrew    S.,   enlisted    December   28,    1863. 
Glassford.    John,    enlisted    December   28.    1863. 
Glassford,    George,    enlisted    December    28.    1863. 
Johnson,    Cyrus,    enlisted    December   29,    1863. 
Kelley,    Nelson,    enlisted    February    21,    1865. 
I*etty,    Ezekiel.   enlisted    December   28.    1863. 
Petty.  John    R.,   enlisted    December  28,   1863. 
Sayler,  William  C,   enlisted  January  25,    1864. 
Wolf,  Jonathan   B.,  enlisted  October  11,    1864. 

Company  K. 

Captains. 

John   F.  French,  commissioned  August  27,   1862. 

Levi  A.    Ross,   commissioned   April  20,    1865. 
Lieutena7its. 

First,    James    B.    Peet,    commissioned    August    27, 
1862. 

First,    John     Morrow,     commissioned    August     20. 
1865. 

Second,  Henry  F.  Irvin,   commissioned  August  27, 
1862. 

Second.    John    McGinnis,    commissioned    Tune    12, 
1865. 

Sergeants. 
First,    Peter   H.    Snyder,    enlisted  August   7,    1862. 
Alexander  Buchanan,   enlisted   August  9,    1862. 
Elijah  Coburn.   enlisted  August  7,    1862. 

Corporals. 
John  Carter,  enlisted  August  9,  1862. 
Edwin   L.    Smith,   enlisted  August  7,    1862. 
Levi  A.    Ross,  enlisted  August  9,   1862. 
John    Z.    Slone,   enlisted   August   9,    1863. 
Kbenezer  M.   Armstrong,    enlisted  August  8,    1862. 
Samuel   Bohrer,   enlisted   August   8,    1862. 
John    J.    Anderson,    enlisted    August   7,    1862. 
William   H.   Anton,   enlisted   August   7,    1862. 

^llusiciiins. 
David   Smith,    enlisted   August   9.    1862, 
John   E.   White,  enlisted   August  9,    1862. 

Wagoner. 
John   Dukes,   enlisted  August  7,    1862. 

Prizxttcs. 
An  ten,   George,    enlisted   August   9,    1862. 
Alter,  Charles  E.,  enlisted  August  8,   1862. 
Andrews,  Henry  A.,  enlisted  August  8,   1862. 
Aten,   Charles  S.,  enlisted  August  9.   1862. 
Anderson,    Warren    T.,    enlisted    August    7,     1862. 
Butler,    Sylvester,    enlisted   August   11.    1862. 
Beach.    Frank,   enlisted    August  7.    1862, 
Bickner,   Andrew  J.,  enlisted   August  8.   1862. 
Blanchard.    William    H.,    enlisted    August    7,    1862. 
Burgess.   Green,  enlisted  August  9,    1862. 
Butler,    Henry,   enlisted    August   8,    1862. 
Burns,  Patrick,   enlisted  August   12,    1S62. 
Coburn,    Samuel    C.,   enlisted   August   7,    1862. 
Cook.  George,  enlisted  August  8.    1862. 
Cowley,    John    J.,   enlisted    August    12,    1862. 
Dinesmore.    Peter,    enlisted    August    7,    1862, 
Debord.    Jefferson,    enlisted    August    9.    1862. 
Debord,   Nelson,   enlisted  August  7.    1862. 


238 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


Deal     William,   enlisted   August  9,    ^f/- 
Debord,    John,  .-'-''■''.^AuKUSt      3,    .86^. 
Foley,    Hezekiah,   enhsltd   A>^«"f  /•    '° 
Kram-is    loseph,  enlisted  August  9,    i8«- 
G  adfither!  Jacib.  enUstcd  August  7,   ■86^- 

Hnre    Henrv  H.,  enlisted  August  8,  iSb.. 

R^     'u  „     (Vnrse  W  ,   enlisted   August  9.^>«o2. 

SX""v-in.am'H.  enlisted  August  9,    .86.. 

Ke   e       Emanuel,    enlisted   August    7,    .86^. 

Ke   er    Andrew,  enlisted   .\ugust  7.     86^. 

K^   er    Edmund,  enlisted  August  7.   -S^J- 

h,v     Andrew  J  ,  enlisted  August   7.    '862. 

^H^s,    Ben  Imiil' enlisted  August  9,-86.. 

T   ttle     Henry,   enlisted  August  8.    1862. 

M  lie;    James    enlisted  August  7.   "862. 

^    Mman,"john,  enlisted  August  7,   .86 

Parents    Joseph,  enlisted   August   7.   .862. 
Pots    Wlliam.    enlisted   August   7.    .862. 

Pons  John  T:..„!="l'"f„,,4XAug'us     9  '.862. 
frgt'w."l^a^''renlstr4u^u"s\^2,•^62. 
Ru^ssell    lames  A.,   enlisted  August  8     1862 
Russe       "James   M.,   enlisted  August   8,   .862. 
Reed!    Philander,    enlisted    August    8      .862. 
Roney,   Hugh,   enlisted  Augus     8.     862. 
Roney    Peter,  enlisted  August  8,    1862 
Rook    William,   enlisted  August    .2     1S62 
Mea,    Simon    W..    enlisted   August   8     .862. 
Smith    John  W.,  enlisted  August  8,   1862. 
Sm    h    Isaae  L.,  enlisted  August  7.   .862- 
levies     Moses   M..    enlisted   August    L,    .862. 
lay  e  :  Thomas,   enlisted  August    .1     .86.. 
pTfer'    ^ElUai/B '^"nli^te-ltu  u'st''.'!-  :862. 
!;;;'?' Archii'ald.  enlisted  August  8    ■862. 
sSger.  Madison,  enlisted  August  7,     &6z. 
Sahin     John  M..  enlisted  August   7,    .»62. 
|™n '  And"ew  j..   enlisted  August  9.    .86.. 
Timnons,   Francis,   enlisted  August  7,    .862 
Wa"tson\TamesSenhsted  Augusts, ^^8^ 

^'Hre?^Vl1iia^'''l^^%ef  A"f  r  ■862-''^- 

Wh    e     James  E.,  enlisted  August  8     1862. 
Wiley    Charles,  enlisted  August  9.   'f6^- 
Young.  Harrison,  enlisted  August  .■■  .86|. 
Zikr    Jeremiah  C,  enlisted  August   u,   .862. 

Recruits. 
Dehord     Henry,    enlisted   August    19,    '^62. 
Hladtetier     Abert,    enlisted    February    .,    .864. 
Hughs     William,    enlisted   February    ..    -864. 
"lafrs     Joseph   D.,   enlisted   January   23,    .865. 
Lynch    tames  A.,   enlisted  January  23,     865. 
Nail!  William  T.,   enlisted  January  2.,    1864. 
EIGHTY-EIGHTH    INFANTRY. 
Unassigned   Recruits. 
\mbler,  Monroe,   enlisted   December  6.   .863. 
Brwn!  Chester   F.,   enlisted  October  22.    1863. 
EIGHTY-NINTH   INFANTRY. 
Company  A. 
Recruits. 
Smith,  Samuel,   enlisted  August  13,    .862 
Urie,  David  R.,  enlisted  August  13,   .86-. 
Company  G. 
Private. 
Baves,   Adelbert,   enlisted  November.    1863. 

Recruit. 
Hunt.  James,  enlisted  November  28,   1863. 
NINETY-THIRD   INFANTRY. 
Company   C. 
Recruits. 
Corwin,  Thomas  R.,   enlisted  April   12.    1865. 
Pa™ons,  John,   enlisted  December    5.     864. 
Parker,  James,  enlisted  April   11,   .865. 


Ryon,  John,   enlisted   March  31.    '865. 
Timmons,   John,   enlisted  April    12,   1865. 

Company  K. 
Recruit. 
Godfrey,   Michael,   enlisted   March   31,    .865- 

Unassigned    Recruits. 
Baker.   James,    enlisted   April    11,    1865. 
Cody,   Patrick,   enlisted   April    11,    1865. 
Clark,  Thomas  J.,   enlisted  April    1 1,   1865. 
Dougherty,    lohn,    enlisted   March  9.    .865. 
Flynn.    Frank,  enlisted   March  9.    1865. 
Farrington.    George,    enlisted    March    29,    .865. 
Higgins.  John,   enlisted  April    11.    .865. 
Hellvard.  Thomas,  enlisted  March  22.    1865. 
Jenkins.    William   K..  enlisted  March    ...    .865. 
Mulcahy.    Patrick,    enlisted    April    ...    '865. 
Morgan.  James,   enlisted   March    ii.    .865. 
O'Brien.   Patrick,  enlisted  March  9.   .865. 
Powers.  William,  enlisted  March  9,    1865. 
Welsh.    James,    enlisted    April    11,     1865. 
Zonowski,   Louis,  enlisted  March  22.    1865. 

ONE   HUNDRED   AND    EIGHTH    INFANTRY. 
Colouel. 
John  Warner,  commissioned  August  28.   1862. 

Major. 
Lyman  W.   Clark,  commissioned  October  26.    1864. 

Adjutants. 
Benjamin    T.     Foster,     commissioned    August    23. 

'^Henry   C.    Fursman,   commissioned  June   23,    1864. 
Quartermaster. 
George  W.  Raney,  commissioned  August   18,  1862. 

Sergeant  Majors. 
John  E.  McDermot,  enlisted  August  i.   1862. 
tdward  Pratt. 

Quartermaster  Sergeants. 
George   B.   Raney,    enlisted  August   15,    1862. 
Anson  Adams. 

Commissary    Sergeants. 
John  M.   Dodge,  enlisted  August  22,    1862. 
George  Hindson. 

Hospital   Steward. 
Henry    C.    Fursman,    enlisted    September    15,    .862. 

Principal  Musician. 
Frederick  Wham. 

Company    B. 
Privates. 
Coons,    Andrew    J.,    enlisted    A"gust    M,    .862. 
Coons    Martin,  enlisted  August   .1,    '86.. 
Crall    William   H..   enlisted  August     4,    .86-. 
Horton     Joseph  W.,   enlisted  August    11.    1862. 
Ingalls.-  WiUiam   R.,   enlisted  August   .4,   .862. 
Company  E. 
Captain. 
Sylvester    V.     Dooley.    commissioned    August    28, 

1862. 

Lieutenants. 

First.    Patrick    Moore.,   commissioned    August    28, 
'^lecond.  Thomas  Lynch,   commissioned  August   28. 
'^Peter  Young,  commissioned  August  i,   1865. 
Sergeants. 
Patrick   Lvnch.    enlisted    August   7,    '862. 
Fames   Freeman,   enlisted   August    .5,    .862 
Akxander   Pitcher,    enlisted   August    .3,    .862. 

Corporals. 
George    Simons,    enlisted   August    '5.    '862. 

Tohn   Mangan,  enlisted  August    .5.    .862. 
£-"ku^SU^Aigusl^":   -62. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


239 


Musicians. 
Tames  Brophy,  enlisted  August  22,   1862. 
James   Byan,   enlisted  August    15,    1862. 

Wagoner. 

Henry   Hammond,   enlisted  August  9.    1862. 
Priz-ates. 

Bradley,   Robert,  enlisted  August  9.    1862. 

Brophey,    John,    enlisted    August    11,    1862. 

Barnard,   James,    enlisted   August    15,    1862. 

Burke,    John,    enlisted    August    8,    1862. 

Carroll,    Michael,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 

Corbet,   Joseph,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 

Crass,   James,    enlisted   August    13,    1862. 

Cranson,  John,  enlisted  August  14,  1862. 

Chamblin,    Elisha,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 

Crowder,   John,    enlisted   August    13,    1S62. 

Cation,    William,    enlisted    August    22,    1862. 

Dodd,  George,  enlisted  August  9,   1862. 

Davis,   livan,   enlisted  August  22,    1862. 

Dodge,  John,   enlisted   August   22,    1862. 

Don,    Levy    Joseph,    enlisted    August    22,    "1862. 

Driscal,    Dennis,    enlisted    August    15.    1862. 

Dickerson,    I'Vank.    enlisted    August    18,    1862. 

Diving.    Cyrus,  enlisted   August   14,    1862. 

Ewing.  George  \\ .,   enlisted  August   3,    1862. 

Eads.   Thomas,   enlisted  August    22,    1862. 

Fentrop,    Henry,    enlisted    August   22,    1862. 

Fleming,    Michael,    enlisted    August    22,    1862, 

Flanagan,   Thomas,  enlisted  August  22,   1862. 

Gross,    Daniel,    enlisted    August   22,    1862. 
Groatatoaut,  Jesse,   enlisted  August   15,   1862. 
Guppy,    Samuel,   enlisted   August    15,    1862. 
Gillit.    Julien,    enlisted    August    14,    1862. 
Graves,    Isaac,    enlisted   August   22,    1862. 
Higgins,   John,   enlisted  August    15.    1862. 
Hidson,  George,  enlisted  August   15.  1862. 
Hutchinson,    Samuel,   enlisted  August  22,    1862. 
Hogan,    Barnard,    enlisted    August    14,    1862. 
Hughes,   George,  enlisted  August    13,    1862. 
Jones,  Avrein.  enlisted  August  5,   1862. 
James,  John,   enlisted  August   16,    1862. 
Jenkins,  John,  enlisted  August  13,    1862. 
Kelley,  James,  enlisted  August  8,   1862. 
Kenny,  James,   enlisted  August    15,    1862. 
Lushman,    Thomas,   enlisted  August   22,    1862. 
Loomis,   Michael,   enlisted  August  22,    1862, 
Loinan.    Thomas,   enlisted   August   22,    1862. 
Lockland,   Michael,    enlisted   August    15,    1862. 
Murphy,    William   H.,    enlisted  August   15,   1862. 
McKone.    Michael,    enlisted    August    13,    1863. 
^IcComb,  James,  enlisted  August  7,   1862. 
Moore,    John,    enlisted    August    22,    1862. 
McCarty,   John,    enlisted    August    11.    1862. 
Merry,    Edward,    enlisted   August   22,    1862. 
Ml  Knight.  James,  enlisted  August  8,    1862. 
Roberts.    George,    enlisted    August    S.    1862. 
Rice,  George,  enlisted  August   16,    1862. 
Simons,  John,  enlisted  August   15,    1862, 
Strately,    James,    enlisted   August   7,    1862. 
Simmers.    John,   enlisted   August   12,   1862, 
Smith.    Edwin,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Summers,   William,   enlisted  August    13,    1862. 
Thorp,    Charles,   enlisted  August    15.    1862. 
Taylor.    Tames,    enlisted    August    17,    1862. 
Upton.  James,  enlisted  August   15,    1862. 
Whitty,    Samuel,    enlisted   August   14.    1862. 
Walters,    Andrew,    enlisted   August   22,    1862. 
Walters.   John,   enlisted   August  22.   1862. 
Yost.   Bartholomew,   enlisted  August  22,   1862. 

Company  D. 
Prifates. 
Gabriel,   Philip,   enlisted  August   11,    1862. 
Hartman,    William,   enlisted   August    n,    1862. 
Kellogg.    Nathan,     enlisted    August    8,    1862. 
Pank.    Alexander,    enlisted   August   20.    1862. 
Page,    James   H.,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Snyder,   James,   enlisted   September    5,    1862. 

Recruit. 

Greenwell,    George,   enlisted   February   23.    1S65. 

Company  F. 

Privates. 
Doman.  John,   enlisted  August   15,    1862. 
Edwards.    Henry  O.,   enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Everingham.  Joseph  H..  enlisted  August   15,    1862. 
Fursman.    Henry   C.    enlisted    September    18,    1862. 
Kirkner.    George,    enlisted    August    1 5.     1862. 
McKown,    Robert,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 


Phillips,  George,  enlisted  August   15,    1862. 
Perdue.    Wil.iam    F..    enlisted   August    15,    1862. 
Stine.    George    A.,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Sonderland,    Olof,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Twigs,   James   L.,   enlisted   August    15,    1862. 

Recruit. 

Kyle,   John,    enlisted    January    26,    1865. 
Company  G. 
Captains. 
George  R.   Haglitt,  commissioned  August  28.   1862. 
Samuel    H.    Harts,   commissioned  January    13,    i86j. 
Henry    C.    Somniers.    commissioned    May    30,    1863. 
John   E.   McDermott.   commissioned  June   13,    1864. 

Lieutenants. 
First.    James*    H.     Wynd.    commissioned     lune     13, 

Second.    James    Bradshaw,    commissioned    Aucust 
I.    1865. 

Sergeants. 
First.  George  W.  Morris,  enlisted  August  12,  1862. 
George  Angus,   enlisted   August  9,    1862. 
John  S.  Phillips,  enlisted  August  12,   1862. 

Corporals. 
Sylvanus   H.    Williams,    enlisted  July   28,    1862. 
William  R.   Caldwell,   enlisted  August  15,   1862. 
Alfert    F.    Simons,    enlisted   August    15,    1862. 
Lewis    Elwell,    enlisted   August  9.    1862. 
Clinton    \'.    B.    Reader,    enlisted   August    15,    1862. 
Lewis   Mitchell,    enlisted  August    15,    1862. 
Samuel  K.  Mobery,  enlisted  August  15,   1862. 
Aaron   T.    Sharp,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 

Musicians. 
Ephraim    Bartlett,    enlisted   August    11,    1862. 
William    C.    Mawberry,    enlisted   August    15,    1862. 

IVagoncr. 
Anson  Adams,   enlisted  August    15.    1862. 

Privates. 
Atkinson,    Henry,    enlisted    August    15,    1862, 
Berdine,    George    W.,    enlisted   August    11,    1862. 
Buchard.   Thomas,  enlisted  August    15,    1862. 
Brown.    Reuben   W.,   enlisted  August    15,    1862. 
Bowers.   Isaac,   enlisted   August    15,    1862. 
Bradshaw.    W  illiam,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Blanchard,    Robert    A.,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Brummel,   Charles,   enlisted   July    16,    1862. 
Broomfield.    Obadiah.    enlisted   August    14,    1862. 
Brown,  John  H.,  enlisted  August  14,   1862. 
Conroy,   Charles  AL,  enlisted  August   15,    1862. 
Craig,    Hiram    D..    enlisted    August    14,    1862. 
Conroy,   James  A.,   enlisted  August   15,    1S62. 
Curtis.    James,    enlisted    August     15,     1862. 
Crouch,   John   A.,   enlisted   August    11,    1862. 
Cochran,   James,    enlisted  August   15,    1862. 
Dunne,  James,  enlisted  August   i,   1862. 
Easter,    I'ranklin.   enlisted   August    13.    1862. 
Easter,    Noah,   enlisted   October    12,    1862. 
Frazier.    Thomas   J.,   enlisted   August    11,    1862. 
Grundy,  James,  enlisted  August   15,   1862. 
Homer,    Landow,    enlisted   August    12,    1S62. 
Harris,  Charles  T.,  enlisted  August  12,   1862. 
Hartley,  John  J.,  enlisted  August    15,    1862. 
Holmes.  Jesse  N.,  enlisted  August   15,    1862. 
Johnson.    William,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Kippenbrock,  Lewis  AL,   enlisted  August  11,    1862. 
Keefer,    Jacob,    enlisted    August    12,    1862. 
Kirkman,    Clement,    enlisted    August    1 1,    1862. 
Kippenbrock,  Henry  A.,  enlisted  August  11,    1862. 
Lewis,  Barney,  enlisted  August   15,    1862. 
Lewis,    Charles,   enlisted   August    13,    1862. 
Long,  Joseph  M..  enlisted  August   13,    1862. 
Lama.  John,   enlisted  August  8,    1862. 
Larimar,   James,   enlisted   August    14,    1862. 
I^yton.    Sylvester,    enlisted    August    14,    1862. 
Mitchel.    Martin,    enlisted   July   22,    1862. 
Meyer.  John,   enlisted  August '11.   1862. 
Meyers,  William  J.  D.,  enlisted  August  17,   1862. 
McDermot.  John  E.,  enlisted  August  r,   1862. 
Moore.  John    S.,   enlisted  July   28,   1862. 
McComb.    Andrew,    enlisted    August    15.    1862. 
Owens.    Robert,    enlisted    August     13,    1862. 
Owens.    Pleasant,    enlisted   July    15.    1862. 
Odell.    George,    enlisted    August    11,    1862. 
Penny,   Brayton  A.,  enlisted  August   13,    1862. 
Porter.    Jackson,    enlisted   August    7,    1862 
Pernell,  Jam.es  M.,   enlisted  August    14.    1862. 


240 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


1862. 
1862. 
1862. 


Powell,    lidward,   enlisted   AuKUSt    12.    1862 
Phillips,   Valentine,   enlisted   August   15,    >»02- 
Ranev,   George    B.,   enlisted   August    is, 
Randall,    Icremiah   E.,   enlisted   July   28, 
Rose     Washington,    enlisted    August    15, 
Rice,    George,    enlisted    August    15,    >862 
Stock,  Valentine,   enlisted  August  6,    1862. 
Sommers,  William,  enlisted  August  5,    1862 
Sommers.    Leonard,    enlisted   August    ■  5.    1862. 
Staples,   Toshua,   enlisted   August    is.    1862 
Sherwood,    Samuel,   enlisted  August    10,    1862. 
Tipton,    James    R.,    enlisted    August    19,    1862 
Webell,   George  W.,   enlisted   August    IS,   1862. 
Watts,    Robert,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Wright,    William,    enlisted    August    is,    1862. 
Worth,    Samuel   R.,   enlisted   August   14,    1862. 
Zuber,    .Tohn    J.,    enlisted   July    28,  ^1862, 

Recruits. 
Aldrich,   George,   enlisted  March   6,    1865. 
Bailey,   Henry   C  enlisted  March  6,    1865. 
Butler,    John,  enlisted   March  6,    i86s. 
Fox.    Reed,   enlisted   March  6.    1865. 
Guyer,  George,   enlisted  March  6,   1865. 
Hibbs,    Evan,    enlisted    March    6,     1865. 
King,    Joseph,    enlisted    March    6,    1865. 
Prior,  'Richard,   enlisted  March  6,   1865. 

Company    H. 
Kirby,   Patrick,  enlisted  September   5.    1862. 
Moran,   Michael,   enlisted   September  20,    1862. 

Company  I. 
Cat'tains. 
Tohn    W.    Carroll,    commissioned   August   28.    1862. 
Patrick  Needham,  commissioned  March  28,  1862. 

Lieiite)wnt. 

First  Richard  Scholes,  commissioned  August  28, 
'862.  ... 

Second,  Daniel  Dulanv.  commissioned  August  28, 
1862. 

Edward    Pratt,    commissioned    August    I,    l86s. 

Sergeants. 
First,   John   S.    Stater,   enlisted   August   2,    1862. 
James   Sook,    enlisted   August    11,    1862. 
'Dauphin  H.   Kendall,  enlisted  August  13,  1862. 

Corporals. 
Tohn    Smith,   enlisted   August  8,    1862. 
David    Rockford,    enlisted    August   8,    1862. 
Richard   Walsh,  enlisted   August    15,    1862. 
Noal   Hungertord,    enlisted  August    15.    1862. 
George   Myers,   enlisted  August,    1862. 
Thorhas  Byron,  enlisted  August   14,    1862. 
Edward    Grant,    enlisted   August   14,    1862. 
John   Kearns,  enlisted  August   14,    1862. 

Musicians. 
Harvev    Steele,    enlisted    August    13.    1862. 
Frederick   Wham,   enlisted   August   27,    1862. 

Wagoner. 
Dudley  Willits.  enlisted  August  11.   1862. 

Privates. 
Briggs,    Samuel,    enlisted   August    14,    1862. 
Bachus,  Francis,   enlisted  August    11,   1862. 
Brown,  Thomas,  enlisted   August  8,    1862. 
Barry,    Daniel  L.,  enlisted  August  17,   1862. 
Cook,   Henry  H..   enlisted  August   14.    1862. 
Curtis.  George  P..  enlisted   August    15.    1862. 
Crews,    Thomas   M.,   enlisted   August    10,    1862. 
Carey,    Tames,    enlisted   August    16,    1862. 
Cullen,    Mathew.    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Dnnningan.    Alpbeus.    enlisted  Aygust    14,    1862. 
Dillon,   Edward,  enlisted  August   15,  1862. 
Delong.  William  H.,  enlisted  August  11.  1862. 
Dillon.    Christopher,   enlisted  August   14,   1862. 
Dunne.   Patrick,   enlisted  .\ugust    14,    1862. 
Eagan.   William,  enlisted  August   15.    1S62. 
Evans.    David,    enlisted   August   9.    1862. 
Gabriel,   Andrew,   enlisted   August  ll.    1862. 
Grimes.    Terrence,   enlisted   ,\ugust   15.    1862. 
Hodees.   Alexander,   enlisted   August    15,    1862. 
Harding.    Samuel   C.   enlisted   August    13,    1862. 
Heyers,  Reuben,  enlisted  August   14.   1862. 
T^armon.    John,    enlisted    August,    1862. 
Hirsh.   Beniamin   F.,   enlisted   September   22.    1862 
Jackson.    Victor,    enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Jones,  John,   enlisted   August    13,    1862. 


Kershau,   Thomas,  enlisted  August  8,    1862. 
Kinney,   James,    enlisted  August    is,    1862. 
McGinnis.  Green,   enlisted  August  8.    1862. 
Murphy,   Michael,   enlisted  August   9,    1862. 
Moore,    John    S..    enlisted    August    9.    1862. 
Murphy,    lames,   enlisted   August,    1862. 
Orr,    William,  enlisted   August    11,    1862. 
Phillips,    Andrew,   enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Powers,   Thomas,   enlisted  September   1.    1862. 
Phillips,  William,  enlisted  August  is,  1862. 
Rockford,    David,  enlisted  August    12,    1862. 
Ryan,  James,  enlisted  August   u,   1862. 
Roystcr,  Joshua,  enlisted  August  8,    1862. 
Ransom,    Henry,   enlisted  August    11,    1862. 
Rodgers,    Tames,  enlisted   August  9,    1862. 
Ryan,  William,  enlisted  August  12,   1862. 
Skidmore,    William,   enlisted  August  29,    1862. 
Sommers.   Leonard,   enlisted  ,-\ugust  29,    1862. 
Shultz,    Samuel,    enlisted    August    28,    1862, 
Sedgwick,  Charles,   enlisted  August  9.   1862. 
Smith,   John,   enlisted  August  20,    1862. 
Shomaker,    William,  enlisted  August   12,   1862. 
Smythe.   Charles,    enlisted  .\ugust  9,    1862. 
Sealer.   Anthony,   enlisted   September    i,   1862, 
Sill.    William   M.,  enlisted  August    11,    1862. 
Thenne.  Mathias.  enlisted  September  17,  1862. 
Turner.   John   G.,    enlisted   August    16.    1862. 
Taggert,   Robert   M.,   enlisted  August  20,    1862. 
Tvler.    Cassius   M.,    enlisted   August    18,    1862. 
Van   Volson,  Joshua,   enlisted  .August   11,    1862. 
Walker,    Samuel,    enlisted  August    18.    1862. 
Wasterman,   Charles  C,  enlisted  August    19.   1862. 
Walsh,    Edward,  enlisted  August   12.    1S62. 
Walsh,    Tohn,    enlisted   September    17,    i5i62. 
Walsh.    Tames,    enlisted   September    17,    1862. 
Walsh.   William,  enlisted  September    17.    1862. 

Company    K. 
Captain. 
Lyman  W.   Clark,   commissioned   August  28,    1862. 

Sergeant. 
Preston   H.    Bnrch,   enlisted  February    15.   1862. 

Corporal. 
James   Balfour,   enlisted  August   15,    1862. 

Privates. 
Alder,   George,  enlisted   August  28.    1862. 
Alexander.  Gilbert,  enlisted  August   12,   1862. 
Carroll,   Michael,  enlisted  July  22,    1862. 
Cliver.   Thomas    H.,    enlisted   August   28,    1862. 
Evans.    David,    enlisted   August  4,    1S62. 
Guy,  Samuel  S.,  enlisted  August  12,   1862. 
Howard.   John,   enlisted   August   28,   1862. 
Huien,    Patrick,    enlisted    August   22,    1862. 
King,    Alexander,    enlisted   July    28,    1862. 
Leonard,    Tohn    C.    enlisted   August    15,    1862. 
O'Neil,    Peter,    enlisted   July    17,    1862. 
Pattee.   John    F.,    enlisted   August    15,    1862. 
Robbie.    August,    enlisted   August    11,    1862. 
Snyder,    Daniel    H.,   enlisted   August   6.    1862. 
Tinker.    Daniel    A.,    enlisted   .August    IS,    1862. 
Vandover,    Gilbert,   enlisted    August    15,    1862. 
Wham    John  L,  enlisted  August  28,  1862. 
Yaw,   George  L.,   enlisted   August    12,    1862. 

Unassigned  Recruits. 
Davidson,   Tames,   enlisted   February   24,    i86s. 
McOuirk,  Bernard,  enlisted  September  22,  1864. 
Swartwood,    Henry. 

ONE    HUNDRED   AND   TWELFTH    INFANTRY. 
Company    D. 

Privates. 
Keazel.    Tohn    D.,    enlisted   August    12,    1862. 
Sergeant',  Jeremiah,   enlisted  August    12,    1862. 
Dardis,  Michael,  enlisted  January  24,   i86s. 

ONE  HUNDRED  AND   THIRTEENTH 
INFANTRY. 
Sergeant    Major. 
Samuel  A,   Wilson. 

Company    B. 
Lieutenant. 
T'irst      John     Teffcoat.     commissioned     August    26, 

'^''3-  '  r-     .       , 

Corporals. 

Miltnn    W.   Ronnsaviille.   enlisted  August  9,    1862. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


241 


Loyal    S.    Blair,   enlisted   August  8,    1862. 
John    R.    Blanchet,    enlisted    August    11.    1862. 

Aliisiciaiis. 
Albert  '1".    Nicholas,   enlisted  August    15,    1862. 

Prirates. 
Tleech.    Rilev  V.,  enlisted  August  6,   1862. 
Carroll,    Thomas,    enlisted    August    9,    1862. 
Fundy,   John,   enlisted   August  9,    1862. 
Shays,   George   E.,   enlisted  August  5.    1862. 
\'^an    Valkenburg.    George    T.,    enlisted    August    7, 
1862. 

Wheel.    Alexander,    enlisted  August    13.    1862. 

Company    E. 
Recruits. 
Bit  tie.    Melcheur,    enlisted    March    3.    1865. 
Behrens.    Ferdinand,   enlisted   March   8.    1865. 
Deitz,   Andrew,   enlisted    March    10,    1865. 
Edller,    Lawrence,  enlisted   March   S.    1865. 
Steelig.    Christian,    enlisted   March   8,    1865. 

Company    F. 

Recruit. 

Wilson.    Samuel    A.,    enlisted    November    4.     1863. 

Company    H. 

Private. 

Hall,    Moses  W.,   enlisted   August    1 1.    1862. 

L'tiassigncd    Recruit. 
Schulze,  John  G.,  enlisted  February  24.    1863. 

ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FOURTEENTH 
INFANTRY. 
Company    E. 

Lieutenant. 

First,    Lewis    R.    Hedrick,    commissioned    May    27, 
1865. 

Sergeant. 
Ashley    Pettibone.    enlisted    August     1 1.    1862, 

Privates. 
Contrail,   Edward  D.,  enlisted  August    11.   1862. 
Lemows,    Joseph,    enlisted    August    15.    1862. 
Petticord,    Higginson,    enlisted    August    ji.    1862. 
Rhodes.    William   K.,    enlisted   August    11,    1862, 
South.  Leonard,  enlisted  August  14,   1862. 
Wells,  John,  enlisted  August  13,    1862. 

Recruit. 
George.   James    XL,    enlisted    August    11.    1862. 
Company   L 
Corf^ora!. 
Woodron.    Samuel,   enlisted  July   25,    1862, 

Privates. 
Atkinson.    Robert    V..    enlisted    July    25,    1862. 
Johnson,    Orren    D.,    enlisted   July   25.    1862. 
McCane.   William,  enlisted  July  25,    1862. 
Savle.  Amos,  enlisted  July  25,   1862. 

ONE    HUNDRED    AND    SIXTEENTH 

INFANTRV. 
Company    G. 
Corporal. 
\'olney    Prosper,   enlisted   August    14,    1862. 

ONE   HUNDRED   AND   EIGHTEENTH 
INFANTRV. 
Rccruil. 
Mark  Feary,  enlisted  February   16,   1864. 

ONE  HUNDRED  AND  TWENTY-THIRD 

INFANTRY. 

Vnassigned  Recruit. 

Murray,   James,   enlisted    March   23.    1865. 

ONE  HUNDRED  AND  THIRTIETH  INFANTRY. 

Company    F. 

Captain. 

John  D.  Rouse,  commissioned  September  2.  1862. 


ONE   HUNDRED   AND  THIRTY-SECOND 
INFANTRY. 

Company    D. 
Lieutenant. 
First,     H.     A.    Anderson,     commissioned    June     i, 
1864. 

Sergeant. 

First.   AiKlrew  V.   Gibson,  enlisted  May   2,    1864. 

Musician. 
William   Thatcher,   enlisted   May   9,    1864. 

Wagoner. 
John    Darnel,    enlisted   May   9,    1864. 

Privates. 
Bradshaw.   Charles,   enlisted  May   13,   1864. 
Beesm.    Charles  N.,   enlisted   May  5,    1864. 
Darby.    Henry    H.,    enlisted    May   8,    1864. 
Eaton.    Robert   N..    enlisted    May    5.    1864. 
Furman.    Warner,    enlisted   May    27.    1864. 
Herbert.   Daniel   K.,   enlisted  May  6,    1864. 
Humphrey,    T.    T.,    enlisted    May    5.    1864. 
Jay,  W.   Scott,  enlisted  May   5.    1864. 
Lockwood.   W.    P.,   enlisted   May  5.    1864. 
Oldham,   Charles  T..  enlisted  May  25,    1864. 
Plummer.  Charles  H.,  enlisted  May   10.    1864. 
Robinson.    James,    enlisted    Mav    2.     1864. 
Richardson,   E.    D.,  enlisted  May    5.    1864. 
River,    Matthew,    enlisted    May    26,    1864. 
Smith.    William,    enlisted    Mav    2,     1864. 
Welton.   Charles   P..   enlisted  May   s.    1864. 

Recruit. 
Bartholomew.   A.    G. 

Private. 
Freudenburger.  Edward,  enlisted  May  12,   1864. 

ONE    HUNDRED    AND    THIRTY-NINTH 
INFANTRY. 
Colonel. 
Peter   Davidson,    commissioned   June    i,    1864. 

Adjutant. 
David  N.  Sanderson,  commissioned  June   i,   1864. 

Quartermaster. 
John    Bryner.  commissioned  May   18.    1864. 
Company    A. 
Sergeant. 
Edward    B.    Dunbar,   enlisted   May   7,    1864. 

Corporal. 
Thomas  Entz.  enlisted  May  9,    1864. 
Privates. 

Clifton,  Joseph  H..  enlisted   June   i,    1864. 
Farden.    James,    enlisted    May   9,    1864. 
Leonard.   John    R.,   enlisted   May  9,    1864. 
Shaw,  James   F.,   enlisted  May  9.    1864. 
Shepard.   Mortimer  H.,   enlisted  May   10,   1864. 
Thompson.   Henry   B.,  enlisted  May  9.    1864. 
Thomas,  Charles  H.,  enlisted  May  9.   1864. 

Company    C. 

Privates. 
Campbell,   James  B.,  enlisted  May  5,    1864. 
Lawless.   Thomas,   enlisted    May    5.    1864. 
Lynch.  James,  enlisted   May   7,    1864. 

Company    B. 

Captain. 

George   W.    Odell,   commissioned   June   i,    1864. 

Lieutenants. 

First.  Henry  M.  Evans,  commissioned  hine  i. 
1864. 

Second.  Alonzo  Attwood,  commissioned  Tune  i, 
1864. 

Sergeants. 
Thomas   E.    Horslcy,   enlisted   May   27.    1864. 
William    Orr,    enlisted    May    7,    1864. 
John    Uppole,    Sr..    enlistee!    May    20,    1864. 
Albert   Soper.  enlisted  May  2:7,   1864. 


Vol.  T—  1  C 


242 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


Corf^OKils. 
Francis  A.    Claridge.   t'tilisted   May    lo,   1864. 
Ebon   Curran.   enlisted   May  4.    1864. 
Alvah   Moffatt,   enlisted   May   4,    1864. 

Miisiciiins, 
Reuben  M.  Grove,  enlisted  May   ig.   1864. 
John  W.   Crandall,   enlisted   May    14,    1864. 

Wagoner. 
Earl    Brooks,   enlisted  May    5,    1864, 

Friz'ales. 
Barfoot,   Edward  A.,   enlisted  May  6,    1864. 
Barnes,  Tames  H.,  enlisted   May    14,    1864. 
Breed,    William    H.,    enlisted    I\[ay    10,    1864. 
Cook,  James  H.,    enlisted  April  27,    1864. 
Couse,    Irvin,    enlisted   May   S.    1864. 
Cummins.  Thomas,  enlisted  May  23,  1864. 
Camp,  James   M.,   enlisted   May  30,   1864. 
Dunlevy,   Andrew,   enlisted   May    i,    1864. 
Deel,   William,    enlisted   May    6.    1864. 
Douglas.    Samuel,   enlisted    May   14.   1864. 
Dukes.    William,    enlisted    May    17.    1864, 
Deal.    James   N.,   enlisted    May   23,    1864. 
Dubord.    William    P.,    enlisted    May    18.    1864. 
Dubord.   William  H..   enlisted  May   19.    1864. 
Ellington,   George,   enlisted   May    17.    1864. 
Haley.   William,   enlisted   May   i'6.   1864. 
Hedrick.    Simpson,   enlisted   May    14,    1864. 
Hedrick.   Thomas  J.,    enlisted   May   14.    1864. 
Hayes.    William,   enlisted   May   23.    1864. 
Hardin.  Charles,  enlisted  May  24.   1864. 
Hart,    Pliny    M..    enlisted    May    23.    1864. 
Hackney.   Washington,  enlisted  May   14,    1864. 
Harseby.  Zebulon.   enlisted  May   18'.    1864. 
Hitchcock.    F..   enlisted   May    18.    1864. 
Harrison.    Ira    D.,    enlisted    May    18.    1864. 
Hill.    John,   enlisted   May    18.    1864. 
Kinnah.  Joseph,  enlisted  May   17.    1864. 
King,  James,  enlisted   May  4,    1864. 
Livingston.  William  M.,  enlisted  Mav  5,   1864. 
Lmsey,   Abraham    D..    enlisted   May  '17.    1864 
MofFatt.  Joseph   W.,  enlisted  May  4,    1S64. 
McMaster,   Henry,   enlisted   May   9,    1864. 
Martin,  Bradley,  enlisted  May  4,   1864. 
McClown,    Joseph,    enlisted    Mav    6.    1864. 
McGinley,    Edward,    enlisted   May   16,    1864. 
McDaniels,    Stadden,   enlisted   May    16,    1864. 
Mohrmon,   Casper,   enlisted   May   24.    1864. 
Opdyke.   Benjamin,   enlisted  May  3,   1864. 
Richardson,  Christopher  C,  enlisted  May  29.  1864. 
Russell,   Joseph,    enlisted   May   24,    1864, 
Roth.    Henry,    enlisted    May   30.    1864. 
Shepard.   Benjamin,   enlisted   May   17,    1864. 
Stondminger.  Charles,  enlisted  May  3.   1864. 
Sweely.    Michael,    enlisted    May    17'.    1864. 
Sheeler.   William    R.,   enlisted   Mav   24.    1864. 
Sonders.   John    P..    enlisted   May  '31.    1864. 
Tuthill.    Samuel,    enlisted    Mav   24,    1864. 
Uppole.    John,   Jr.,   enlisted   May   20,    1864, 
Uppole,   Henry,  enlisted   Mav  20,    1864. 
Walker,    Thomas,    enlisted    Mav   6,    1864. 
Wakefield,    Henry,   enlisted    May   25,    1864. 
Wilson,    Richard,    enlisted    May    25',    1864. 

Company    F. 

Herman    W.   Snow,   commissioned  June    i,    1864. 

Lieutenatits. 

First.  Appleton  K.  Fitch,  commissioned  June  i. 
1864. 

Second,  James  C.  McKenzie,  commissioned  Tune  i, 
1864. 

Sergeants. 
First.    Samuel    D.    Scholes.   enlisted  May    13.    1864. 
Levi    A.    Tapham.    enlisted    May    12.    1864. 
George   R.   Carter,  enlisted  Mav   16,    1864. 
William   O.  Wann.  enlisted  May  14,    1864. 

Corporals. 
Robert  L.  Farr,  enlisted  May  16,    1864. 
Thomas   J.    Scholes,    enlisted    May    14,    1864. 
John    B.    Frost,    enlisted    May    24.    1864. 
Charles    F.    Rummell,    enlisted    May    19,    1864. 
Robert  J.  Stilwell.  enlisted  May  25,   1864. 


Musician. 
Calvin    G.    Towers,   enlisted   May    12,    1864. 

Privates. 
Abbott.  George   S..   enlisted   May    ig,    1864. 
AUemony.    Robert,   enlisted   May    14.    18^4. 
Austin.  Charles  S.,   enlisted  May   12.    1864. 
Avling,  Charles  W.,  enlisted  May   18,    1864. 
Bliss,    William   E.,    enlisted    May    24,    1864. 
Ballance,    Charles,   enlisted   May  30,    1864. 
Baringer,    Horatio  G.,   enlisted  May    12,    1864. 
Boyd,    John,    enlisted    May    12.    1864. 
Barnum.   William   C.  enlisted  May    12.    1864. 
Brooks.  Thomas  G.,  enlisted  May   12.    1864. 
Brown.    Charles,  enlisted   May    ig,    1S64. 
Barstow,   Alfred,   enlisted   May    12,    1864. 
Cowell,  Joseph    H.,   enlisted   May    12,    1864. 
Caffyn.    Tames,    enlisted    May    21.    1864. 
Comegys,   Charles  M..   enlisted  May    16.    1864. 
Conrad.  Oliver,  enlisted  May  12.  1864. 
Clarke.  Emit  M.,  enlisted  May  21,   1864. 
Clauson,  Henry  T-,  enlisted  May  20.   1864, 
Day,  Fred  J.,   enlisted  May   13,    1864. 
Day,   William   H.,    enlisted    May   12,    1864. 
Davis,  Edward  L.,  enlisted  May  13,  1864. 
Elson.    Martin,    enlisted    May    12,    1864, 
Fuller,   Tonas,  enlisted   Mav    19,    1864. 
Fuller,   Jonas  J.,   enlisted    May    19.    1864. 
Feighmer.   Francis  L..   enlisted   May   13,    1864. 
Gray,  Bushrod,  enlisted  May   16.  1864. 
Gillet.    Edward,    enlisted    May    11.    1864. 
Gray.   James  A.,    enlisted   May    11.    1864. 
Hamaker.  Abram  G..  enlisted  May  17.   1864. 
Hoag.   Albert    S..   enlisted    May    I'S.    1864. 
Horendin,   George  W..    enlisted   Mav    16.    1S64. 
Hunter,  William  F..  enlisted  May  14,   1864. 
Harsch,    Goodly,    enlisted    May    14.    1864. 
Hotchkiss.   James   M.,    enlisted  May  20.    1864. 
TelTries.   Thomas,  enlisted   May   21.'    1864. 
Keelcr.   Edmond.  enlisted  May   ig,  1864. 
Kent.    George   V.,  enlisted   May   13.   1864. 
Loomis,   Charles  M..   enlisted  May  20.   1864. 
Lathy.  T.  F..  enlisted  Mav  12,  1864. 
Morrow,    Nathan,  enlisted   Mav  23,    1864. 
McKenzie,  William,  enlisted  Mav   11,    1864. 
Moore,    Herschel    J.,    enlisted    May    16,    1864. 
■  Miller,    Charles,    enlisted    Mav    12,     1S64. 
Moore,   Thomas  F.,   enlisted    Mav    11.    1864. 
Paige,    Kascoe  F.,    enlisted    May' 26.    1864. 
Patten.    Joseph    G.,    enlisted   Mav    12.    1864. 
Patten,   Robert,   enlisted  Mav   12,    1864. 
Quinn,   Frederick,   enlisted  May    16,    1864. 
Rauschkolb,    Peter    C    enlisted   May    20,    1864, 
Rouse,   Rudolphus.  enlisted  May   12,   1864. 
Steel.  Lewis  G..  enlisted  Mav  21,   1864. 
Smith,    Franklin,    enlisted    May    12.    1864. 
Sharp,    William,  enlisted    May    12,    1864. 
Steinke,   Theodore  G.,  enlisted   May  26,    1S64. 
Stowell,   Albert   N.,   enlisted   Mav   24,    1864. 
Thompson,   James   B.,    enlisted   May    13,    1864. 
VanDoren,    Tacob.    enlisted   Mav    16,    1864. 
Wertzel,   William,    enlisted    May    16.    1864. 
Whitham.  Toseph  S..  enlisted  May  16,   1864. 
Wilbur,   Charles  B.,   enlisted  Mav   16,    1864. 
Williamson.    Franklin,    enlisted   Mav   16,    1864. 
Weigand,    Philip,   enlisted    Mav    :2,"   1864. 
Wright,    Roswell    B.,    enlisted 'May    14,    1864. 
Whittlesey,    Henry    B..  enlisted   May    14,    1864. 

Company    G. 
Priz'ates. 
Britton,    Andrew,   enlisted   Mav  30,    1864. 
McCraw,   George,   enlisted  Mav  '20,    1864. 
Wilcox,  Charles  L.,  enlisted  May  30,    1864. 

Company    H. 
Prii'ates. 
Burns.    Quinstus,   enlisted   May   24,    1864. 
Cox,    Thomas,    enlisted    Mav    31,    1864. 
Dolstrum,    Tohn,    enlisted    May    24,    1S64. 
Plum,    Daniel,    enlisted    Mav   24,    1864. 
Richmond,    Austin,    enlisted    May   24,    1864. 
Shellenbarger.    Charles   T-.  enlisted   Mav   24.    1864. 
Williamson,    David,    enlisted   May    23,    1864. 
Watson,  James  T.,  enlisted   May  30,   1864. 

Company  I. 
Private. 
Hittle.    Henry,   enlisted    May    24,    1864. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


243 


ONIC    HUNDRED    AND    FORTY-SIXTH 

INFANTRY. 

Company  F. 
Privates. 
Frazee,    Henry,   enlisted   September    15.    1S64. 
Gilstrap,  Levi,  enlisted  September   15,   1864. 

Company    G. 
Privates. 
Bybee,   William  H.,  enlisted  September  5,    1S64. 
Barkley,    Henry,    enlisted   September    5,    1864. 
Button,   Almon    M.,    enlisted    September    6.    1864. 
Cassel,   George,   enlisted  September  6,    1S64. 
Heller,  Daniel  H.,  enlisted  September  5,   1864. 
Jerome,    Samuel,    enlisted    September    5,    1S64. 
Jerome,    Elias.    enlisted   September    5.    1864. 
Lisenby,  John  W..  enlisted  September  5,  1864. 
Lisenby,   George   W..   enlisted  September   s,   1864. 
Miller,   John    H.,    enlisted    September    5,    1S64. 
Orton,   Luther   M.,   enlisted    September    5,    1864. 
Ramsay.   William  R.,  enlisted   September  5,    1864. 
Sharp,    William  F.,    enlisted   September   5.    1864. 
Shell,    Milton,    enlisted    September    5,    1864. 
Stutes,    Perry,    enlisted    September    5,    1S64. 
Thomas,  Daniel  C,  enlisted  September  5,  1864. 
Thorp,  John   W.,   enlisted  September  5,    1864. 
Wren,   Oscar,   enlisted   September   5,    1 864. 

Company    I. 

Lieutenant. 

Second,    John    D,    Heckathorn,    commissioned   Jan- 
uary  29,    1865. 

Sergeants. 
Samuel   P.   Murchant.   enlisted  August  30,    1864. 
John  C.   Barber,  enlisted   September  2,    1864. 

Corporals. 
Martin  V.   Smith,  enlisted  September  2,    1864. 
William  M.   Cloud,  enlisted  August  30,   1864. 

Musicians. 
George  M.   Gass,  enlisted  August  24,   1864. 
Frederick  H.    Pitt,    enlisted   August  30,    1864. 

Privates. 
Aukland,    Shadrach,   enlisted   August   31,    1864. 
Adleman,   Charles,   enlisted   September    i,    1864. 
Beasmore,  Robert  G.,  enlisted  September  6.   1864. 
Beatty,    John,    enlisted   August    31,    1864. 
Burt,    Edward    R.,    enlisted   August    26.    1S64. 
Barnes,   Joshua,   enlisted  August  29,    1864. 
Brown,   Millard   F.,   enlisted   September   5,   1864. 
Bamber,    Robert,    enlisted   September   5,    1864. 
Boden.   Simon  J.,  enlisted  September   i,    1864. 
Culp,    Franklin    B.,    enlisted    August    31,    1S64. 
Conrad,   William   E.,  enlisted   September  5,    1864. 
Cress,    Andrew    J.,    enlisted    August    31,    1864. 
Donahue,  Charles  M.,  enlisted   September  6,    1864. 
Dunbar,    Robert,   enlisted  September  8,    1864. 
Dougherty,  Samuel  H.,  enlisted   September  9.    1S64. 
Forbes.    Henry,    enlisted    September    13,    1864. 
Fosdick,    John,    enlisted    Se[itember    6,     1864. 
Gates,   James    F.,    enlisted    September    7,    1864. 
Hipgins,    Oscar   S.,    enlisted    September    i,    1864. 
Hiner,    Isaac,    enlisted    August    24,    1864. 
Hartz.  John  H.,  enlisted  September  2,   1864. 
Holt,   Jonah   F..  enlisted   September  2,    1864. 
Jones.    Amos   P.,   enlisted   September    1,    1864. 
Long,   Thomas,   enlisted   September  5,    1864. 
McCulloufih,  Isaac  P..  enlisted  September  25,  1864. 
Merrill.    Joiin,    enlisted    September    6,    1864. 
McMullin,   Absalom,   enlisted   September   5,    1864. 
McMuIlin,  Charles  E.,  enlisted  September  i,    1864. 
Robinson.  Thomas  H.,  enlisted  August  29,  1864. 
Rogers,  James,  enlisted  September  5,   1864. 
Rogers,    David,    enlisted    September    5,    1864. 
Reed,   Campbell   XL.  enlisted   September   10,   1864. 
Storey,  Jacob,   enlisted  September  29,    1864. 
Schleigh,    Robert  P.,   enlisted   September   6.    1864. 
Schradcr,  William,  enlisted  September  5,   1864. 
Stilwtll,   John,   enlisted    September  9,    1864. 
Tussing,  Joseph  A.,  enlisted  September  8,   1864. 
Upton,    Thomas   S.,   enlisted  August  25,    1864. 
Watts.   George   W.,   enlisted  August   30.    1864. 
Westerfield.   Samuel  F.,  enlisted  August  31,  1S64. 

Recruits. 

Crawford.  George,  enlisted   September   13,    1864. 
Smith,   Wade,   enlisted  March   22,    1865. 


^^       ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FORTY-SEVENTH 
INFANTRY. 

Company    B. 

Corporal. 

McGregor,    William,   enlisted    February    1,    1865. 

Company  I. 

Private. 

Milbun,  August,  enlisted  February  ^,    1865. 

ONE  HUNDRED  AND   FORTY-EIGHTH 
INFANTRY. 

Company  C. 

Corporal. 
Smith,   James   W.,   enlisted   February,    1865. 

Privates. 
Clark.   Thomas  M.,    enlisted    February  8,    1865. 
Griffer,     Eugene,    enlisted    February    8,     1865. 
Haley,   Wool  ten.    enlisted    February   8,    1865. 
Hill.    John,    enlisted    February    8,    1865. 
Harbers,    Hair    C,    enlisted    February   8,    1865. 
Hillier.    Edgar,    enlisted    February    8,    1865. 
McClary,  John   P..  enlisted  February  8.    1865. 
Shepherd.   John  M.,  enlisted  February  8,   1865. 
Shofe,  John   W.,   enlisted   February  8,    1865. 
Smith,   Robert    S.,   enlisted    February   8,    1865. 
Saylor,  Joseph   F.,   enlisted   February  8,    1865. 
Taylor,    William   F.,    enlisted   February  8,    1 865. 

Company    F. 

Corporal. 
George  W.  Armor,  enlisted  February  11.  1865. 

Prizmtes. 
Blake  well,    John,    enlisted    February    11,    1865. 
Coe,    Samuel    K.,    enlisted    February    1 1,    :865. 
Dixon.    Harrison    W.,    enlisted    February    11.    1865. 
Eddings,   Martin  M.,   enlisted  January  30,   1S65. 
Myers.   Jacob    S.,    enlisted    February    1 1,    1865. 
Phelps.    George,    enlisted    February   2,    1865. 
Reed,    Morrow    P.,    enlisted    Febrviary    11,    1865. 
Reed,   John    C,    enlisted    February    11,    1865. 
Rounds.    William,    enlisted    February    n,    1865. 
Snyder,    Martin   H..    enlisted    February    11,    1S65. 
White,  George,  enlisted  February  n,    1865. 

Company    G. 
Priz-atcs. 
Moffatt,   Joseph   W.,   enlisted   February   2,    1865. 
MotTatt.    Aquilla,    enlisted    February    6,    1865. 
Ray,    Charles,    enlisted    February    8^    1865. 
Robertson,   George,   enlisted    February  4,    1865. 
StJlwell,    Robert   J.,    enlisted   January    26.    1865. 
I'Ppole.    William    H.,    enlisted    February    4,    1865. 
L'ppole,    John,   enlisted    February   4,    1865. 
Wheeler,   Lewis,  enlisted  February  i,  1865. 

Company  1. 
Private. 
Walter,   V.   W.,  enlisted  February   11,   1865. 

ONE  HUNDRED  FORTY-NINTH  INFANTRY. 
Company    A. 

Privates. 
Brown,   Jacob,    enlisted   January   27,    1865. 
Goodrun,   Herbert,   enlisted  February    i,    1865. 

Company    F. 
Private. 
Welch,   John,    enlisted  January   26,    1865. 

ONE    HUNDRED    FIFTY-FIRST   INFANTRY. 

Lieutenant    Colonel. 
Herman   W.    Snow,  enlisted   February  25,    1865. 

Principal    Musician. 
Henry   C.    Pierce. 

Company    A. 

Lieutenant. 

Second,    Harrison    Elliott,    commissioned    February 
21.    1865. 


244 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


Sergeants. 
Merwin.    DoviUa   W.,   enlisted    February    'I-    -865. 
Hulse,  Henry    N.,   enlisted    1-ebruary   6,      865. 
Mason,    Isaac    I'.,    enlisted   February    9,    1865. 

Corporals. 
Samuel  S.  DeWitt.  enlisted  February  '■■   >865. 
lUuk.    William,    enlisted    l-ebruary    6,    1865. 
ilammet.   William   H.,   enhsted   February   9     .865- 
Walters,   Joseph,    enlisted   February   9,    i865- 

H^agoner. 
Joseph   McCowan,    enlisted   February  9.    1865. 

Prwates. 
Anderson,  Simeon,  enlisted  February  1 5-   1865. 
Amsler,  William,  enlisted  February  9.   1865. 
Aj-ends,    Henry,   enlisted   February    11,    1S65. 
Bates,    Chauncey,   enlisted  February    10,    1865. 
Buck,    John    M..    enlisted    February    11,    1865. 
Birkle, 'William,  enlisted   February   9.    1865. 
Boerchus.  Lohurtus,  enlisted  February    11,    1865. 
Brown,    John,    enlisted   February    9.    '865. 
Crow.    Isaac    INI.,   enlisted    February    11,    1865. 
Crotz,  Baltzer  B.,  enlisted  February  3.    '865: 
Clayton.   Isaac,  enlisted  February   15.    1865. 
Davis,    Isaac,    enlisted    February    i,    1865. 
Dowdell,    Tackson,   enlisted   February    2,    1865. 
F.l-  ards.    Thomas  II.,   enlisted   February   14.    '865. 
Errion,    Richard,    enlisted    February    11.    1865. 
FJliott     Harrison,    enlisted    February    9.    1865. 
Farnstock,  Charles,  enlisted  February    10,   1865. 
Graham,    Andrew,   enlisted   February    15,    1865. 
Hunt.    Arctus   L..    enlisted    February    2.    1865. 
Hay.    George,    enlisted    February    2.    1865. 
Howard.    Tames    L..    enlisted    February    9,    1865. 
Keady,   Alexander,   enlisted   February   15-    '865. 
KinR,    Daniel,    enlisted    February    14,    '865. 
I.ottmann.    Henry,    enlisted    February    11,    1865. 
I.aiiton,   Edward,  enlisted  February   11,    1865. 
Lamav,   Joseph,   enlisted  February   10,    1865. 
Largent.'  Sanford,   enlisted  February   14,    1865. 
Morse,   Samuel    M.,   enlisted    February   6,    1865. 
Martin.    Bradlev.    enlisted    February    11.    1865. 
Martin.  Amos  K..  enlisted  February   15,    1865 
Stockton.   Tames  C,  enlisted   February   14.    1865. 
Smith.    Tohn    W..    enlisted    February    14,    i86.|. 
Thomas,   James  W.,   enlisted  February   13,   186s. 
Vanpatten.  Washington,  enlisted  February  9-  '865. 
Wakefield,   Tohn  T..  enlisted   February   15.   1865. 
Woods,   Patrick,   enlisted   January  30,    "865 
Wilson,    Edward   T..   enlisted  January   31.    1865. 
Woodruff,  Ambrose  H.,  enlisted  February  2,   1865. 

Company    B. 
Prl^'otes. 
Barringer.  William,   enlisted   February  9,    1865- 
Wilson,    William,    enlisted    February    6,    1865. 

Company    E. 
Captain. 
Snow,    commissioned    February     23, 

Lieutenant. 

Carter,    commissioned    February 


Herman    W. 
1865. 


First,    George    R 

26,    1865. 

Sergeant.i. 

Charles  L.   Ballance.  enlisted   February   15,    '865. 
Tames  Gray,   enlisted  February  9.   1865. 
William   E.   Neadles,    enlisted   February   9,    i865. 

Corporal.^. 
Francis  G.   Darr.  enlisted  February   13.   1865. 
Charles  M.  Comegss.  enlisted  February  10.  1865, 
Franklin  Smith,   enlisted  F'ebruary   15,   1865. 

Musician. 
Joseph   Clifton,   enlisted   February    18,    1865. 
Privates. 

Barron.    Tohn.   enlisted   February    11,    1865- 

Carroll,  tohn   W..  enlisted  February    10,    1865. 

Cameron,   Tohn,  enlisted   February  15,    1S65. 

Buck,    Tam'es   A.,   enlisted    February    10,    1865. 

Clark,  Emmett   M.,  enlisted  February  9.  i865- 

Clark    T.   O.  A.,    enlisted  February   13.   1865 

Crandall,   Moses  H.,  enlisted  February   13,   1865. 

Carter,  George   R.,   enlisted  February  17,    ■865. 

Desmond,   Patrick,   enlisted  February    11,    1865. 

DriscoU,    Thomas,    enlisted   February    10,    1865. 

Dugdall,    Edward,   enlisted   February    9.    1865. 


Eaton,  Edward  F..  enhsted  February   10,  1865. 
FeighAer.  Francis  L..  enlisted  February   10,   1865. 
Frye.   Samuel,  enlisted   February   14.    1865- 
Fuller,    Jonas,    enlisted    February   9.    '865- 
Fuller,    Ephraim,   enlisted   February    14,    1865. 
Groffy.    George,   enlisted    February    16,    1865. 
Griggs,  W^illiam  H.,  enlisted  February   10,   1*65. 
Green,    Silas    T.,    enlisted    February    10,    1865. 
Hogan.    William,    enlisted   February    U.    i865- 
Kain.    Barney,    enlisted    February   6,    i8b5- 
Nave,    Peter,    enlisted    February    13,    i»05. 
Opie,   Henry,    enlisted    February    to,    >865- 
Selser.    William,    enlisted    February    10.    1865. 
Sanders.  John  P..  enlisted  February   10,   1865. 
Vanpatten.  William,  enlisted  February  17,  i865. 
Van  Norman,  William,  enlisted  February  17,   1865. 
Watson,  William,  enlisted  February    10.    1865- 
Wetzler.   Adam,   enlisted   February    i,    1865. 

Company    G. 
Sergeant. 
James  Macfarlane.  enlisted  February  16.   1865. 

Musician.';. 
Thomas  I    McCormick,  enlisted  February  14.   1865. 
Henry  C.   Pierce,   enlisted   February   16.    1865. 

Priz-ates. 
Dredge,  Henry  W.,  enlisted  February   16,   1865. 
Hanna,  W'illiam  H.,  enlisted  February    16.   1865. 
McHenry,    John,   enlisted    February   20.    1865. 
Murry.    Elijah,    enlisted    February    14.    1865. 

Company  I. 
Privates. 
Hills,   William,   enlisted   February   6,    1865. 
Morgan,   James,   enlisted    February  6,    1865. 

Company    K. 

Dunlap,    John,   enlisted    February   4.    1865. 

ONE  HUNDRED  FIFTY-FOURTH  INFANTRY. 

Company    G. 

Pri-vates. 

Grav,    Noah   E.,   enlisted  February    17.    '865. 

Miff'ord,  Andrew  J.,  enlisted  February  17,  1805. 

Company    H. 
Privates. 
Hazell,  David,  enlisted  February  20,    1865. 
Peterson,  George,  enlisted  February   20,   1865. 

ONE    HUNDRED    FIFTY-FIFTH    INFANTRY. 
Company    A. 

Captain. 

Jacob     B.     Yeagley,     commissioned     February     2f 

■8'6s. 

Privates. 

Deering,   Paul,  enlisted   February   22,   1S65, 
Oachsle,    Matthias,  enlisted   February  20,   1865. 
Schuster.   Frank,  enlisted  February  22,   1865. 

Company    F. 

Private. 

Watson.  William  B.,  enlisted  January  23,   1865. 

Company    G. 

Lieutenant. 

First      John    Miller,    commissioned     F'ebruary     2 

1865. 

Sergeants. 

Francis  M    Wood,   enlisted  February   20.    1865. 
George   Helmbolt,   enlisted  February  21.    1865. 
Tohn    Berry,   enlisted  February    23,    1865. 

Corporals. 
James   Burke,    enlisted   February   20,    1865. 
Peter  Kelsey,   enlisted  February   20,    1865. 
P    M     Wells,    enlisted    February   22,    1865. 
Edward    Cadlin.   enlisted   F'ebruary   20.    1865. 

Privates. 
,\dam     Robert   H..   enlisted   February  20.    1865. 
Barnes,    Tames,  enlisted  February  20,   1865. 
Burnes,  Patrick,  enlisted  February  20,   1865. 
Brown.  George  H..  enlisted  February  24,  1865. 
Buyrne.    Tames,    enlisted    February    20.    1865. 
Canady,    John,    enlisted   February   24,    1865. 
Crawley.    Dennis,   enlisted   February  23,   1865. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


245 


Cosmer  or  Cashman,  David,  enlisted  February   17, 
1865. 

Davidson,    Robert,    enlisted    February    23.    1865. 
Dailey,  Thomas,  enlisted    February   24,    1S65. 
Dickson.   John,    enlisted    February    20,    1865. 
Eagan,  James,   enlisted   February  23,    1865. 
Failey.    John    H.,   enlisted    February   20,    1865. 
Fairfield,   Ksterfier.  enlisted   February  20,    1865. 
Frost,   John,   enlisted    February   24,    1865. 
Hurley.   Thomas,  enlisted    February   21.    1865. 
Ives,    Thomas,   enlisted    February    23.    1865, 
Jones.    George,    enlisted    February    22,     1865. 
Killey,    Thomas,    enlisted    February    20,     1865. 
Leonard,    Richard,    enlisted    February    20,    1865. 
Lynch,    Michael,    enlisted    February   20,    1865. 
Morris,    Henry,    enlisted    February    23,     1S65. 
Moore,    John,    enlisted    February    23,    1865. 
Maloy,    John,    enlisted    February    23,     1865. 
Miller,   John,   enlisted    February   20,    1865. 
Neagle,    Augustine,    enlisted    February    21,    1865. 
Neadon,    William,    enlisted    February   28,    1865. 
Neeley,    William,    enlisted    February    20,    1865. 
Reiley,    John,    enlisted    February    20,    1865. 
Reed,   James,   enlisted    February   20,    1S65. 
Reedman,    Henry.    enliste<l    February    24.    1865. 
Shutt,   Paul   C,   enlisted   February  23,   1865. 
Smitli,  James  H.,  enlisted  February  23,    1865. 

SECOND    CANALRV. 
Company    A. 

Recruits. 
Underwood,  James  A.,  enlisted  January  4.  1S64. 
Wright,    Benjamin   L.,    enlisted   January   4.    1864. 

Uitassigncd    Recruit. 
Bates,    John    A.,   enlisted   December   23,    1864. 

THIRD   CAVALRY. 
Company    B. 
Sergeant. 
William  C.   Dorwin,  enlisted  August  13.    1861. 

Corfyoral. 
William   J.    LaBour,   enlisted  August    13.    1861. 

Pri-i'atcs. 
Erwin,   Richard,   enlisted  August    13,    1861. 
Erwin,   Philip,   enlisted  August  13,    1861. 

Veteran   Recruit. 

Wagoner,    Frederick,  enlisted  August    13,    1861. 

Company    K. 

Veteran   Recruit. 
Harkness,   Kelton  W.,  enlisted  August  12,  1862. 

THIRD    CONSOLIDATED    CAVALRY. 
Company    B. 

Recruit. 
Burke.   James,    enlisted  January    24,    1865. 

Unassigned    Recruits. 
Bain,   John,   enlisted   March   25,    1865. 
Rowen.  Frank,  enlisted  March  2,   1865. 
Connors,    Henry,    enlisted    February   24,    1865. 
Connay,    Martin,    enlisted    March    2,    1865. 
Donley,    Joseph,    enlisted    March    2,    1865. 
Evers,    William,    enlisted    March    10.    1865. 
Greer.   William,   enlisted   April    i,    1865. 
Jackson.   Jolni   M.,   enlisted   Marcli   2,    1865. 
Kelly,    James,    enlisted    March    25,    1865. 
Parks.    John,    enlisted    February    24.    1865. 
Phillips.    John,    enlisted    April    5,    1865. 
Rogers.  George  W^,  enlisted  March  21,  1865. 
Stout.    Jerry,    enlisted    March    31,    1865. 
Smith,   Charles,   enlisted  March  31,    1865. 
Spicer,  John  C,  enlisted  March  3.    1B65. 
Sulli\-an.  George,  enlisted  February  24,   1865. 
Tide.   William  H.,  enlisted  March  2,    1865. 
Williams.   Franklin,  enlisted   March  2,    1865. 

FOURTH    CAVALRY. 

Company    G. 

Pritfate. 

Durkee.    Daniel,    enlisted   October    15,    1861. 

Company    H. 

Recruit. 

Durst,  Edwin  S.,  enlisted  November  15,  1861. 


SIXTH    CAVALRY. 

Surgeon. 
John   N.   Niglas,   commissioned  October   i,    1861. 

Company    B. 

Veteran   Recruit. 
Wlnte.    George,    enlisted    April   3.    1865. 

Company    C. 

Veteran    Recruits. 
Vincent.  Thomas  D.,  enlisted  March  22,   1865. 
Wall.  Hardin  J.,  enlisted  March  22,    1865. 

Company    E. 

Veteran    Private. 

Niglas,   Ignatz,   enlisted   March   10,    1864. 

SEVENTH    CAVALRY. 
Surgeon, 
Clark   D.   Rankin,   commissioned  October  28,    1861. 

Company    A. 

Veteran    Recruit. 
miey.   James,    enlisted    March    20,    1865. 

Company    G. 
Recruits. 
Hames    or    Ilawes,    William,    enlisted    March    31. 
1865. 

Little.   William   H.,    enlisted   March    31,    1865. 
Roberts,  John  E.,  enlisted  March  31,  1865. 
Smith.    Frederick,   enlisted  March   31,    1865. 
Wise.   Columbus,    enlisted    March    31,    1865. 

Company    I. 

Recruit. 
Wilson,   William    N.,    enlisted   March   22,    1865. 

Unassigned  Recruits. 
Brown,    James,    enlisted    March    2,    1865. 
Connover,    Frank,   enlisted   March   31,    1865. 
Fralicks,   William,  enlisted   March   2,    1865. 
Gorman,   Thomas,   enlisted   April    11,    1865. 
Gell,    Henry,   enlisted  April   11,    1865. 
Gorman.    James,    enlisted    March    6,    1865. 
Grant,    Charles,    enlisted    March    i,    1865. 
McCarty,    Michael,    enlisted    March    6,    1865. 
Moody,   Michael,   enlisted   March   30.    1865. 
Smith,    Frederick,    enlisted    March    31.    1865. 
Towner,    Sims  S.,  enlisted  January  20.   1865. 
Ward,    William,  enlisted  March   31,    1865. 

EIGHTH  CAVALRY. 
Company    G. 
Quartermaster    Sergeant. 
Walker   Inglis.  enlisted  September    14,   1861. 

Corporals. 
Horace  J.  Capron.  enlisted  September   14.  1861. 
William    Gouda.    enlisted    September    14.    1861. 

Privates. 

Ajinis.    Judson,    enlisted    September    14,    1861. 

Barlow,    Robert,   enlisted   September   14,    1861. 

Barfoot,   James,   enlisted   September    14.    1861. 

Comeys.  Benjamin  F.,  enlisted  September  14. 
i86r. 

Cottingham,  Thomas  S.,  enlisted  September  14. 
1861. 

Emerson,   Luther   W..   enlisted   September   14,    1861. 

Kennedy.    S.    P.,   enlisted   .September    14.    1861. 

Morris,  James,  enlisted  September  7.   1S61. 

Pray,   Louis  C,  enlisted  September  7,   1861. 

South  wick,    Hamilton    B. 

Sherman.    Henry   J.,   enlisted   September    14,    1861. 

Speers,   J.    S..  enlisted   September   14,    1861. 

Westheffer,  William,  enlisted  September  14.   1861. 

Vetcratis. 
Goudy,  William  L.,  enlisted  November  30,  1863. 
Kennedy,  Richard  H.,  enlisted  November  30,  1863. 

Company    K. 

Unassigned  Recruit. 
Foster,    Walter,    enlisted    December    16,    1864. 


246 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


NINTH    CAVALRY. 
Company  G. 

Recruit. 
McCormick,    John,    enlisted    March    30.    1865. 
CoMP.^Ny    L. 
Recruits. 
Gordon,   Richard,   enlisted   March   21,    <865. 
Tarman,  Thomas  P.,  enlisted  February  7,   1864. 
Jones,    Joseph,    enlisted    March    21,    1865. 
Mathewson,   John,   enlisted    February    i.    1864. 
Rilev,  Anthony,  enlisted  December  28.   i8b3- 
Waterhouse,     George     E.,    enlisted    December     10, 
1861. 

Unassigned   Recruits. 

Ryan,  Edward,  enlisted  March  31.   '865 
Murray,   Andrew,   enlisted  March  31,    1865. 

TENTH  CAVALRY. 
Company    E. 
Lieutenaut. 
Second,    Edwin    B.    Neal,    commissioned    May    31. 
1862. 

Company  G. 
Veterans. 
Clark,    Willard,    enlisted  January   3,    1864. 
Elgan,   William,   enlisted   January   3,    1864. 
Lasure,  William,  enlisted  January  3,   1864. 

Company    M. 
Recruit. 
Hall,  Willis  A.,  enlisted  January  14.  1864. 
TENTH    CAVALRY    (as    Consolidated.) 
Company  C. 
Ca[>lain. 
Edwin  R.   Neal,  commissioned  December  31,   1864. 
ELEVENTH  CAVALRY. 
Colonels. 
Robert    G.     Ingersoll,     commissioned    October    22, 

Otto  Funke,  commissioned  April  8,  1865. 

Lieutettant  Colonels. 
Balzil  D.  Meek,  commissioned  October  22,   1S61. 

Majors. 
Sabine   D.   Puterbaugh,   commissioned   October   22, 

David    J.    Waggoner,    commissioned    October    25, 

James  F.  Johnson,  commissioned  October  25,  1861. 
Philip  F.  Elliott,  commissioned  March  28.   1865. 
Theophilus     Schaever,     commissioned    August     31, 
1865. 

Adjutants. 
David  T.   N.   Sanderson,   commissioned   September 

6,     1862.  .      .  .        T^  u  o 

Joseph     Robinson,      commissioned     December     28. 
1863. 

Quartermasters. 
William    Currie,   commissioned   October   22,    1861. 
Eugene   RoUman,   commissioned  June  30,    1864. 

Company    A. 
Captains. 
Otto  Funke,  commissioned   December  20,    1S61. 
Anthony      Rochrig,      commissioned     November      i, 

Theophilus  Schaever,  commissioned  September  18, 

John    E.    Fraesenius,    commissioned    September    18, 
1864. 

Lieutenants. 
Second,   Herman  Herold,  commissioned  November 
I,    1862.  ...       ,     ,     •, 

Second,    Louis    Ludwig,    commissioned    April     20, 
1861. 

Quartermaster    Sergeant. 
John    Edwards,    enlisted    October    20,    186 1. 

Sergeants. 
Herold  H.    First,   enlisted   October    i.    1861. 
Frederick  Kallenberg,  enlisted  November  7,  1S61. 


Corporals. 
William  Mester.   enlisted   September  21,    1861. 
Tobias  Indermaur,  enlisted  October  11,    1861. 
Julius  Klenboehl,  enlisted   September   22,    1861. 
Henry   Schmidt,   enlisted    November    14,    186 1. 

Blacksmith. 
Charles   Pfeifer,   enlisted   October  27.    1861. 

Privates. 
Beutel,  Adam,   enlisted  September  25,   1861. 
Brickwald.    Frank    H.,    October    24,     1861. 
Birkel.   Philip  J.,   enlisted  November  2,   1861. 
Bumiller.  Joseph,  enlisted  November   19,   1861. 
ueckerich.   Nicklaus.    enlisted   November   21,    1861. 
Brum,   Jacob,   enlisted   December    1,    1861. 
Carsens.  John,  enlisted  September  23,    1861. 
Dood,    Henry,    enlisted    October    i,    1861. 
Douk.  Henry,  enlisted  September  23.    >86i. 
Frey,    Charles,    enlisted    September    23,    1861. 
Gans,   George,   enlisted   November    12,    1861. 
Hill,    George,    enlisted    November    4,    1861. 
Iscrt.    John,   enlisted  November   21.    1861. 
Johnson,   Christian,  enlisted  November  23,   1861. 
Tillinghaus,  Frederick,  enlisted  September  20,  1861. 
Kehl,  Adam,  enlisted  October  27,   1861. 
Lowman.   George,   enlisted   November   12,    1861. 
Lutzelschvvai,  Charles,  enlisted  November  20,  1861. 
Limbert,    Fritz,    enlisted    December    19,    1861. 
Miller.  Jonn.   enlisted  September  21,    1861. 
Nehlig.    Henrv,    enlisted    September    2,3.    1861. 

Noark,    Frank,   enlisted  October  21,    1861. 

Potinius  H.  J.,  enlisted  October  21,   1861. 

Reiten.    Peter,    enlisted    October    15.    1861. 

Rockle.    Herman,    enlisted  November  9,    1861. 

Rollman.  Eugene,  enlisted  November  16,  1.^61. 

Rake.    Hervey,    enlisted    November   25,    1861. 

Scherkenbach.     Edward,     enlisted     September     23, 
1861. 

Seybold.   Frederick,   enlisted  September  23,   i56i. 

Tanner.   John,  enlisted   September   23,    1861. 

Umbrecbt.  John,  enlisted  October  11.   1861. 

Winter,  Jacob,  enlisted  October  21.    1861. 

Witman."  Anton,   enlisted   November   16.    1861. 

Zeisler.   Jacob,   enlisted   November   11,    j86i. 

Veterans. 
Breckwaldt.    Frank,    enlisted    December    20.    1863. 
Bumiller,   Joseph,   enlisted  December  20,   1863. 
Seitz.   Charles,  enlisted  December  20,   1863. 

Recruits. 
Dood,    Henry,    enlisted    December    28,    1863. 
Farrer,    Jacob,    enlisted    October    11,    1861. 
Gruebe.    Henrv.   enlisted   October    3.    1861. 
Harford.  T.   H..   enlisted   November    12,    1862. 
Hodapp,    Sebastian,    enlisted  January   5.    1865. 
Holder.    Leonhard,    enlisted    October    i.    1861. 
Harford.    F.   W..    enlisted   November    i.    1861. 
Keisenberg,    Charles,   enlisted   March    3.    1864. 
Mc.\ndrew,    John    M..   enlisted   February   28,   1865. 
Meyer,    Herman,    enlisted    April    13,    1864. 
Mandt.    August,    enlisted   March    31,    1864. 

Noark.   Frank,   enlisted  February   19,    1864. 

Pfannenshil.    Emil,  enlisted  February  14.  1S62. 

Stolzman,  William,  enlisted  March  30,   1864. 

Snell.   Henrv,   enlisted  March  31.    1864. 

Seitz.    Charles,    enlisted    January    10.    1S63. 

Wade.  Henry,  enlisted  December  23^   1863. 

Widemever.    Frank,    enlisted    February    28.    1865. 

Williams,    Tarkson.   enlisted   November   i,    1S62. 

Watroubeck,  Joseph,  enlisted  January  31.   1864. 

Zimmerman.  Fritz,  enlisted  March  31.   1864. 

Company    B. 

Corporals. 

Tohn  W.    Bumans.   enlisted   September   7,    1861. 

Thomas  T.    Sims,  enlisted  September   10,    1861. 

Charles  Campbell,   enlisted    September   7,    1861. 

Saddler. 
William  Julg,  enlisted  September  9.    1861. 

Prii'ates. 
Akin.  Tames  H.,   enlisted  November  8.    1861. 
Campbell.  William,  enlisted  September  7.    1861. 
Green     .Mbert.    enlisted    November    19.    1861. 
Hall.   William,    enlisted   December  7.    '861. 
Hart    Covington,   enlisted  November  23.   1861. 
Lawless,  Thomas,   enlisted  November  20.    1861. 
McCann.  Alexander  D..  enlisted  November  i.  1861. 
Miller,    Joseph,    enlisted    December    i.     1861. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


247 


Phillips,  George  T..  enlisted  December  3,   1861. 
Stinyard.  Augustus,   enlisted   November   8.    1861. 
Sims,   David   H..  enlisted  September  24.   1861. 
Sans,    Robert,   enlisted   October   12,    1861. 

Veterans. 
Akin,    Tames    H.,    enlisted    December    20.    1863. 
Hall,   William,   enlisted   December  20.    1863. 
Kinzey,  John  W.,   enlisted   December   30.    1863. 
McCann.    Alexander,   enlisted    December    20.    1863. 
Manning.   John  J.,  enlisted   December  31,    1863. 
Phillips.   George    F..   enlisted    December  20.    1863. 
Sims.   Thomas  T..   enlisted   December   28.    1863. 
Sims.    David  \V.,  enlisted  December  20.    1863. 
Stinyard,  Augustus,  enlisted  December  20,   1863. 
Teneycks,  Jacob,  enlisted   February    :,   1864. 

Recruits. 
Adams,   Joseph,   enlisted  September  25,   1861. 
Bonnivilie.   Gaylord.  enlisted  July   14.    1864. 
Castnor.    Joseph,    enlisted   January   23.    1864. 
Campbell,"  Alexander,  enlisted  January  29.   1004. 
Frank,   William  H.,   enlisted  January   25.    1865. 
Hitchcock.    Frank,   enlisted   September   3,    1861. 
Tones.    Robert    M.,    enlisted    October    n.    i8o4. 
Kimpey.    Tohn    W.,    enlisted    December    30.    1861. 
Lawrence!    John  G..  enlisted  January  2.    1862. 
Manning.  John  J.,  enlisted   December  31,  1865. 
Matthewson,   Byron,  enlisted  January  8,   1862. 
Teneycks.    Tacob,    enlisted    February    1,    i8b2. 


Company  C. 
Lieutenant. 
N.     Sanderson, 


commissioned 


First,     David     T. 
March   20,    1862. 

Privates. 
Burns,   Richard,   enlisted   October  29.    1861. 
Bunker,    Tames   M-.   enlisted   November  30.    1861. 
Hoover.    Christian,   enlisted  November  30,    1861. 
Hone.  John,  enlisted  October  30,   1861, 
Harmon,    Philip,    enlisted    December   20.    1861. 
Morris,   Amos,    enlisted    November    15,    1861. 
Myers.   John,  enlisted  November   9.    1861. 
Newell.  "Tudson   L..  enlisted  November  30,   1861. 
Williams;  Josenh  D.  S..  enlisted  November  4.  1861. 

Recruits. 
Cheal.   Tames  T..  enlisted  I-'ebruary   27,    1862. 
Craig,    Samuel,    enlisted    March    31.    1864. 
Fash,  James  M..  enlisted  August   13.   1862. 
Powers,   Martin,    enlisted  January   3,    1862. 
Snyder,  James,  enlisted  August  15,  1862. 

Company    D. 
Caf^tain. 
Louis   H.    Armstrong,    commissioned   December   20, 
1861. 

Lieutenant. 
First.    George    W.    Odell,    commissioned    December 
20.   1861. 

First,     Stephen    Andrews,     commissioned    May     5. 

Second.  William   P.  Armstrong,   commissioned   De- 
cember   20.    1861. 

Second,   John  E.  Hedrick,  commissioned  November 

6.    1862.       '  .     .        .     .r       u 

Second,     Stephen    Andrews,    commissioned    March 
28,    1865. 

Second,    William    N.    Peet,    commissioned    May    5, 
1865. 

Sergeant. 

First,     Ira     K.     Hopkins,    enlisted     September    23, 
1861. 

Corf>orals. 

Leonard  Wilmoth.   enlisted   September  23.    1861. 

Thomas    Jledrick.    enlisted    September   23.    1861. 

Charles    Stewart,    enlisted    September    24,    1861. 

William   C.   Ward,   enlisted   September   23,    1861. 

Horsley,   George   H.,   enlisted   September  24,   1861. 

Bugler. 
Joseph    Vandoren,    enlisted    September    23,    1861. 

Blacksmith. 
William  Warhust,    enlisted    September   24.    1861. 

U^a  goner. 
Elmer   Russell,    enlisted   November    17,    1861. 


Privates. 

Ames.  George  M.,   enlisted   September  24,    1861. 

Bronson,   Henry,   enlisted   September   23,    1861. 

Brown,  John   \V.,  enlisted  September  21,    1861. 

Brome,   George,  enlisted  September  24.    1861. 

Bruer,  Abram,  enlisted  November   12,   1861. 

Cain,    Matteson,   enlisted   October   2,    1861. 

Count,  Thomas,  enlisted  September  30.   1861. 

Carney,    Thomas,    enlisted    October    12.    1861. 

Corn  well,   Hughes,    enlisted   September  23,    1861. 

Coburn,   William,   enlisted   September  30,    1861. 

Cawley,   John,    enlisted    December    19,    1861. 

Clusson,  Josiah  H.,  enlisted  October  14,   1861. 

Drake.    Albert,    enlisted    September    25,    1861. 

Dwyer,    Dennis,    enlisted    November    30,    1861. 

Foreman,    James,    enlisted    September    25,    1861. 

Gumble,    Levi    D.,   enlisted   October    14,    1861. 

Glens.    George    K.,    enlisted    October    14,    1861. 

Hemming.  \VilIiam.  enlisted  September  30.    1861. 

Hooner,    Moses,    enlisted    December    16,    1861. 

Henderson.    Robert,   enlisted   September  24.    1861. 

Hubbard,  Sylvester,  enlisted  September  24,   1861. 

Hedrick,    Hiram,   enlisted  November  28,    1861. 

Heel,   Horace,  enlisted   November  27,    1861. 

Hoban,   William,   enlisted  October  22,    1861. 

Harris.    Nathaniel,   enlisted    December    16.    1861. 

House,    A\'iliiam,    enlisted   October    14,    1861. 

Knapp,    James,   enlisted    November    1 1.    1861. 

Kilver.  John  H,.  enlisted  November  26,   1861. 

Lambert,   \'ictor,  enlisted   October   17.    1861. 

Mahon,   John,   enlisted   November  28.    1S61. 

McMahen,    Alexander,    enlisted    October   23.    1861. 

McMillan.  James   C,   enlisted   September  24,    1861. 

Miller,    John,   enlisted    September    24,    1861. 

Myers,    Herman,   enlisted    September    23,    186 r. 

Northup,   Jonah,   enlisted   September  24,    1861. 

Osterhont,    Daniel,   enlisted    September  24,    1861. 

Oertley.  Leonard,  enlisted  September  24,   1861. 

Phillips,  James   N.,   enlisted   December    16.    186 1. 

Prentiss,    John    D..    enlisted    November    13.    1861. 

Price,   John   H..   enlisted   September  24,    1861. 

Pellman,   John,    enlisted    September   25,    1861. 

Purcel,    Thomas,   enlisted    September    24,    1861. 

Potts,   David,    enlisted   December   11,    1861. 

Reeves,    John    IL.    enlisted    December    5,    1861. 

Russell,  Conrad  E.,  enlisted  September  24.   1861. 

Russell,  George  W.,  enlisted  September  24,   186 1. 

Russell,  Ebenezer  F.,  enlisted  September  24,   1861. 

Randool.  George  W.,  enlisted  September  24.  1861. 

Smith,    Cyrus    S..    enlisted   September    25,    1861. 

Shceler.   John,    enlisted    September   24.    1861. 

Stewart,   William,  enlisted  September  20.   1861. 

Shire,    Jacob,    enlisted    December    16,    1861. 

Sheridan.    Edw^ard,    enlisted    September   24.    1861. 

\'anhousen.   Leonard,   enlisted  October   1 1.    1861. 

Whitley.    James,    enlisted    October    9.    1861. 

Whitley.  John,  enlisted  October  26,   1861. 

Welch,   James,   enlisted   October   22.    1861. 

Welch,    John,    enlisted    September    24,    1861. 

Ward,   Charles  W.,  enlisted  November  7,    1861. 

White,    Maxwell    A.    W.,    enlisted    September    25, 
1861. 

Zimmer,    Joseph    W.    N,.    enlisted    September    20, 
1861. 

Veterans. 

Andrew.  Stephen,  enlisted  December  20,   1863. 

Cornwell,  William  H..  enlisted  December  20,   1863. 

Peet.    William    N.,    enlisted    December   20.    1863. 

Redd,  James  W.,  enlisted  January  2.   1864. 

Smith,    Henry    AT.,    enlisted    December    20,    1863. 

Stewart.  Charles  H.,  enlisted  December  20,    1863. 

\'andoren.    Joseph,    enlisted    December    20,    1863. 

Whitby,    James,    enlisted    December   20,    1S63. 

Whitby,   John,   enlisted   December   20,    1863. 
Recruits. 

Alford,    Elmore,    enlisted    December    24.    1863. 

Alford.   William  J.,    enlisted    December  24.    1863. 

Alford,    Isaac  W..   enlisted   December  5.    1862. 

Ballard,  Anderson,  enlisted  December  20,   1863. 

Brush.    Henry    R..   enlisted    October    14,    1861. 

Chandler.    Henry,    enlisted    January    24,    1865. 

Dukes.  Cornelius,  enlisted  December  26.   1863. 

Dukes,    William,    enlisted    March    22.    1865. 

?Tare.   George,   enlisted   September  24.    1861. 

Hart.    T^ewis   C,    enlisted    January    24,    1862. 

Kanouse,    Tames   E..   enlisted    November   12,    1861. 

Mills.  William   H.,  enlisted   Tanuary   23,    1863. 

Murphy.    Ri<  Iiard.    enlisted   January    21.    1865. 

Morton.  William  H..  enlisted  September  23.   i86t. 

Morris.    John    B..    enlisted    September   23.    1861. 

Osborne,    N.    F.,    enlisted    December   20,    1864. 

Phillips,   Francis  M.,  enlisted  December  20,   1864. 


248 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


Redd,    lames  W..    enlisted  January   2.    1862. 
Smith. 'Franklin  D.,  enlisted  September  23,  1861. 
Smith,   Henry   M.,   enlisted  October   1,   1861, 
Staimet,    Reuben,    enlisted    March    1,     1862. 
Thurston,    William,    enlisted   December  20,   1864. 
Vanpatten,  Albert  J.,  enlisted  January  20    1865. 
Walla,    Edmund,    enlisted    January    23,     1865. 
Young,   John,   enlisted   September   23,    i86t. 

ELEVENTH  ILLINOIS  CAVALRY. 
Company  E. 
Company  E  of  the  Eleventh  Illinois  Cavalry  was 
organized  at  Peoria  and  left  camp  Lyon  under  com- 
mand  of  Captain  J.  R.  Zeigler  1-ebruary  21,  1862, 
and  arrived  at  Benton  Barracks,  St.  Loiiis,  Missouri 
about  the  ist  of  March,  and  reported  to  Colonel 
Eonyville,  commanding  post.  Erom  there  the  regi- 
ment went  to  Pittsburg  Landing  and  fought  in 
the  battle  of  Shiloh,  Tennessee,  under  General  Pren- 
tice. Thence  they  went  to  Purdy  and  captured  it 
March  15;  also  participated  in  the  siege  of  Corinth 
under  General  McKean.  The  company  engaged  in  a 
number  of  skirmishes  and  battles  in  their  advance, 
capturing  Boliver,  Pocahontas,  Shewally,  Kossuth, 
Ripley  and  Memphis,  making  long  and  wearisome 
marches  to  the  towns  about  Corinth,  Mississippi,  un- 
til the  15th  of  September,  1863.  On  the  25th  of  that 
month  the  command  under  Major  Buterbaugh  was 
surprised  and  most  of  the  members  of  Company  L 
were  captured  at  Hatchie.  At  the  second  battle  of 
Corinth,  what  men  were  left  of  the  company  acted  as 
orderlies  and  Captain  Zeiglcr  .served  as  adjutant  on 
the  staff  of  General  McArthur.  whose  brigade  formed 
a  part  of  General  Rosecrans'  division.  Company  E 
was  afterward  with  General  Grant  at  the  battles  of 
Cold  Water  and  Holly  Springs;  then  fought  General 
Forrest  in  numerous  skirmishes  and  battles  for  thirty- 
five  days,  between  Holly  Springs  and  Paducah, 
Kentucky.  At  the  battle  of  Cross  Roads,  Colonel 
Robert  G.  Ingersoll  and  Major  Kerr  were  captured 
by  General  Forrest.  After  engaging  in  the  siege  of 
Vicksburg,  Company  E  returned  to  Bethel,  Ten- 
nessee, and  while  there  several  months  marched  hun- 
dreds of  miles  in  guarding  the  Tennessee  river; 
and  had  a  number  of  skirmishes  near  Havana.  It 
was  also  at  Grand  Junction,  Saulsbury  and  La- 
grange, Tennessee.  In  August  they  captured  La- 
grange, Mississippi,  thence  returned  to  Vicksburg; 
thence  Oueen's  Hill  and  were  in  several  battles  and 
skirmishes.  The  company  was  mustered  out  at  the 
expiration  of  their  term  of  enlistment  but  reen- 
listed  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  Cap- 
tain retired  from  the  army  from  disability,  March 
-,    1864. 

Company   E. 
Captains. 

John  R.  Zeieler,  commissioned  December  20,   1861. 

Philip   F.    Elliott,    commissioned    March  7,    1864. 

Martin   L.    Calhoun,   commissioned  .April   20,    1865. 

Lieutenants. 
First,  Joseph    Swan,   commissioned  .\pril   20,   1865. 
Second,    Charles  L.  Eeardsley,   commissioned  June 
20.   1862. 

Second,    William    J.    A.    Buchanan,    commissioned 
April  20,   1865. 

Sergeants. 

George  Richard,   enlisted  October  4.    1861. 
Sylvanus  M.  Guchus,   enlisted  September  30,   1861. 
William  Wickwire,   enlisted   October  4.    1861. 

Corporals. 
William    Buchanan,    enlisted    September    7,    1861. 
Tames  T.  Wason,  enlisted   December  7,   1861. 
Nathaniel  Roberson.   enlisted  October   15.   1861. 
Tohn    Gingerich,    enlisted    October    2,    1861. 
Harrison    E.    Wiley,    enlisted    October    2,    1861. 
Henry    Gray,    enlisted    October    16.    1861. 
Henrv    .Summers,    enlisted    October   6,    1861. 
.Jasper   Ward,    enlisted   October    18.    1861. 

Buglers. 
Wilson    Barnes,   enlisted    October    7,    1861. 
Austin  J.  W.  Thomas,  enlisted  December   iS,   1861. 

Saddler. 
Charles  Geeger,  enlisted  December  4,   1861. 

li'agoncr. 
,\l))heus  Roe,   enlisted   October    l.s.    1861, 


Blacksmith. 
Amos    Waughop,    enlisted    November   8,    1861. 

Friz-ates. 
Allen,    Robert,   enlisted    December   7,    1861. 
Barber,    William,    enlisted   October    10,    1861. 
Baxter,   George,   enlisted   October    14,    1861. 
Brewer,    Joseph,    enlisted    October    15,    1861. 
Barnes,    Charles,    enlisted    November    5,    1861. 
Barber,    Elijah,    enlisted   November    5,    1861. 
Burt,    Willis    V.,    enlisted    November    20,    1861. 
Callahan,   John,    enlisted    November   8,    1861. 
Coleman,  lames  H..  enlisted  October  6,   1861. 
Callahan.    Edward,   enlisted  November   20,    1861. 
Cooper,   Joseph,   enlisted    November    15,    1861. 
Dubald,  James   M.,   enlisted   November    13,    1861. 
Dunlap,    Marshall    L.,   enlisted    December    7,    1861. 
Denman,   Alfred   V.,    enlisted    December    18,    1861. 
Dencius,    William,    enlisted    September   25,    1861. 
Engart,   De  Witt  C,   enlisted  October   28,    1861. 
Eich,    Conrad,    enlisted    October    7,    1S61. 
Edwards,  James  J.,   enlisted  November   19,  1861. 
English,    Robert    W.,   enlisted    December    19,    1861. 
Fisher,    Elijah  T.,    enlisted   November   4,    1861. 
Fulton,    Tames   K.,   enlisted   November  4,    1861. 
Gardner,'  William  H.,  enlisted  November   18,   1861. 
Casing,    Frederick,   enlisted   December    5,    1861. 
Garbarino,   Charles,   enlisted    November   28,    1861. 
Hickey,    John  S.,   enlisted   November    14,    1861. 
Harding,   Samuel   F.,   enlisted  November   20,    1861. 
Hall,  Joseph  A.   P.   F.,  enlisted  November  2,   1861. 
Harrison,    George,  enlisted  November  8,    1861. 
Hall,   John  M.   R.,  enlisted   November    2,    1861. 
Kirkni'an,    Alfred,    enlisted    December    4,    1861. 
Lynch,    Maurice,    enlisted    December    7,     1861. 
Mills,    John,    enlisted    October    3,     1861. 
McClintock,    John   C,  enlisted   November   3,    1861. 
Melson,   George  W.,   enlisted   December  2,   :86i. 
Newland,    John    M..    enlisted    October    25,    1861. 
Orr,    William,   enlisted    October    14,    1861. 
Patch,    Samuel,   enlisted  October  28,    1861. 
Redding,    James,    enlisted    November    13,    1861. 
Robinson,    Joseph,    enlisted    November   25,    1861. 
Roberts,    Peter,    enlisted    November    14,    1861. 
Ransom.    David,    enlisted    November    11,    1861. 
Reed,    Joseph    L.,    enlisted    September    11,    1861. 
Sulfa.    George,   enlisted   October    5,    1861. 
Southworth.  George  G.,  enlisted  November  4,  1861. 
Salsman.  Charles  A.,  enlisted  October    14,    1861. 
Scriver.    Aaron    S.,    enlisted    November    15,     1861. 
Stersenbaugh,    George    C,    enlisted    November    :8, 
1861. 

Slade.    Edwin,    enlisted    November    19,    1861. 
Slater.    Edward,   enlisted   November    i,    1861. 
Slater,    Thomas,   enlisted   November    i,    1861. 
Sullivan,    John,    enlisted    December    8,    1861. 
Ship,    Henry,    enlisted    December    15.    l86l. 
Todhunter,    Roberson,    enlisted    October    26,    1861. 
Taylor,    Henry,   enlisted   November    13,    1861. 
Teiian,  Jeremiah,  enlisted   November  2.   1861. 
\\'alsh.    Tames,    enlisted   October    16,    1861. 
Walsh.   Aaron   T..   enlisted   October    19.    1861. 
Williams.    William,    enlisted   October   28,    1861. 
Wason,    Daniel   C,    enlisted    December    2,    1861. 

Veterans. 
Ayers,    Arad    H.,    enlisted    January    2,     1864. 
Allen,    Robert,    enlisted    December    20,    1863. 
Bruer,    Joseph,    enlisted    December    20,    1863. 
Buchanan,  William  G..  enlisted  December  20,  1863. 
Barber,    Elijah,    enlisted    December   20.    1863. 
Burt,   Willis    \'.,   enlisted    December   20,    1863. 
Calhoun,    Martin   L.,    enlisted    December   20,    1863. 
Callahan.   John,   enlisted    December  20,    1863. 
Callahan,    Edward,    enlisted    December   20,    1863. 
Dural,    Tames    M..   enlisted    December   20,    1863. 
Denicus'.    William,    enlisted    December    20,    1863. 
Engart.   De   Witt   C.   enlisted   December  20.    1863. 
Eich,   Conrad,   enlisted   December   20,    1863. 
Fulton.   Tames  K..  enlisted   December  20.    1863. 
Gray,    Harrv,    enlisted    December   20,    1863. 
Guches,    Svivanus.    enlisted    December   20.    1863. 
Lynch,  Maurice,  enlisted  December  20.   1863. 
Nelson,    George   W.,    enlisted    December   20.    1863. 
Munholland,    Charles    P.,    enlisted    December    20. 
1863. 

Mills,  Tohn  M.,  enlisted  December  20,  1863. 
Patch,  Simeon  M..  enlisted  December  20,  1863. 
Potter,  Ephraim.  enlisted  December  20.  1863. 
Redding,  Tames,  enlisted  December  20,  1863. 
Reid,  Joseph  L..  enlisted  December  20,  1863. 
Rrece.  Humphrey,  enlisted  February  9,  1864. 
Robinson.    losepli.   enlisted   January   4,    1864. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


249 


Swan,    Joseph,    enlisted    December    20,    1863. 
Suffa.    George,    enlisted    December  20,    1863. 
Slade,    Kdwin   R.,   enlisted   December   20,    1863. 
Shipp.    Henry,   enlisted    December  20,   1863. 
Taylor.    Henry,    enlisted    December    20,    1S63. 
Tappan,    Asher   T.,   enlisted    February    5,    1864. 
Walsh,   James,   enlisted    December   20,    1S63. 
Williams,    William,   enlisted   December   20,    1863. 
Wasson.  James,  enlisted  February  9,    1864. 
Waughop,    Amos    E.,    enlisted    December   21,    1863 

Recruits. 
Ayers,  Arad   W.,   enlisted  January   2,    1862. 
Adams,  Thomas,  enlisted   September   16,    1861. 
Bailey,   John    M.,    enlisted   January   21,    1864. 
Burnet,   James,    enlisted  July   22,    1862. 
Bruce,    Charles    W.,    enlisted    September    13,    1864. 
Booton,   Asa,   enlisted   March   31,    1864, 
Childs,   Frank   B.,   enlisted  January   17,   1862. 
Clancy,    Michael,    enlisted    February    12,    1862. 
Cummings,    David  M.,   enlisted   October  10.    1861. 
C'ox,    Tilden,    enlisted    February    1 1,    1S62. 
Dougherty,  James  P.,   enlisted  September  8,    1862. 
Delong,    Edward   J.,    enlisted    November    23,    1861. 
Edmonds,    Thomas,    enlisted    November    20,    1861. 
Franklin.    Samuel    T..    enlisted    February    2,    1864. 
Fisher,    Hart   C,   enlisted   January   21,    1864. 
Freezce,   Caleb  M.,  enlisted  November   18,   1861. 
Fiefiehi,    William   E.,   enlisted  January  30,    1862. 
Cierrard,    William,    enlisted    December    6,    1862. 
Gill,    Thomas,    enlisted    February    2,    1864. 
Gesslcr,    Henry,    enlisted    October    8,    1861. 
Heniford,   John    L..   enlisted    Decemlier    2,    1861. 
Harding.    James    J.,    enlisted    November    18,     1861. 
Hines,    Lewis,    enlisted    h'ebruary    2.    1862. 
Kellogg,    Daniel    B.,    enlisted    January   4.    1865. 
Leland.    Francis  T..  enlisted   March  23.    1864. 
Lock.    William,    enlisted    January    24,    1S62. 
Marshall.   James  M..   enlisted   February  2,    1864. 
Moon.  Charles,  enlisted  June  24.  1865. 
MunhoUand,    Charles    P.,    enlisted    November    28. 
1861. 

Murphy,   Patrick,   enlisted   October   27,   t86i. 
Miller,    George,    enlisted    February    19,    1862, 
Paluliam.    Henry,    enlisted    September    13,     1863. 
Potter,     Ephraim,     enlisted     December    31,     1861. 
Robeson.   Columbus  A.,   enlisted   February  4,    1862. 
RudlofF,    Theodore,    enlisted    January    10,    1864. 
Reece,    Humphrey,    enlisted    February    19,    1862. 
Smith,    George    W.,    enlisted    February    3,    1864. 
Soady,    Zachariah,   enlisted    January   4,    1862. 
Smith,    Julius   P..   enlisted    February    5,    1864. 
Stem.  Charles,  enlisted  October  i.s,  1861. 
Sheely,    Robert,    enlisted    October    15,    1861. 
Shafer,    Frank,    enlisted    December  21,    1861. 
Thurston.    Frank,   enlisted   April   7,    1864. 
Tappan,    Asher.    enlisted    February    5,     1862. 
Wetheral.    Theodore,    enlisted   January    5,    1864. 
Wagner.    John    E.,   enlisted   November    15,    iS6r. 
West.    William,     enlisted    February    4,     1862. 
Washburn,    C.   H.,    enlisted   October    5,    t86i. 

Company   F. 
Lieutenant. 

Second,    William    Currie,   commissioned   March   24. 
1862. 

Privates. 
Abbott.    Tohn    C.    enlisted    December    13.    186 1. 
Brown,    Peter,    enlisted   November   3,    1861. 
Card.   Amos,   enlisted  November    13,    1861. 
Debine,    Dennis,    enlisted    November    5,    1861. 
Foley,    Michael,    enlisted    October    5,    1861. 
Johnson.    Thomas,    enlisted    November   24,    1861. 
Kennedy.    Nicholas,    enlisted    October    5,    1861. 
Moore.    Michael,    enlisted    October    16,    1861. 
Ryaxknell.  Michael,  enlisted  December   14.    1861. 
Slusher.    John    L.,    enlisted   September    26,    1861. 

Veteran. 
Tasser.   Andrew,   enlisted  December  4,    1861. 

Recruits. 
Crumbaker.    Tames,   enlisted  March  31,    1864. 
Church.    Milton,    enlisted    March    31,    1864. 
Dunn.   Joseph    K..    enlisted    February   3,    1862. 
Davidson.    William,    enlisted   January    10.    1862. 
Furlong.    Tohn,    enlisted   January   25.    1865. 
Higgins,    Thomas,    enlisted    December    2.    1861. 
Tohnson,   Charles  H..  enlisted    December  21,    1863. 
Redmond,    Michael,    enlisted    December    7.    1863. 
Waller,  John   H..   enlisted  January  21,    1864. 


Company  G. 

CapiaiH. 
Stephen  S.  Tripp,  commissioned  February  16,  1863. 

Privates. 
Quirk,    Cornelius,   enlisted   November   10,    i86i. 
Young.    W.    B.,    enlisted    November    14,    1861. 

Recruits. 
Barnes.   Samuel,   enlisted  August   14,    1S62. 
McNeel,    Samuel   A.,   enlisted  August   7,    1862. 

Company  H. 
Private. 

Williams,    John,    enlisted    December    12,    1861. 

Veterans. 
T)evine,    Charles  J.,  enlisted   February  6,    1864. 
Lowell,   Alfred,   enlisted   February   6,    1864. 

Recruits. 
Amend.   Moses  H.,  enlisted  March  31,   1864. 
Bernard,    Andrew    D..    enlisted   August  9,    1862. 
Courtenay,   John,   enlisted  July   22,    1862. 
Month.    Jacob,    enlisted    February   23,    1865. 
Peltier,    Dominick.    enlisted    August    7.    1862. 
Scruby,    William,   enlisted    August   9,    1862. 
Staltz.    Hubbard    L.,    enlisted    August   29,    1862. 
Scruby,    Frank,    enlisted  August  9,    1862. 

Company   I, 
Recruits. 
Ackerman.  John   H.,  enlisted  February  6,  1865. 
Brown,    Henry,    enlisted    January    i.    1862. 
Steele.    Isaac,   enlisted   December  28,    1861. 

Company   K. 
Privates. 
Haw,   James,   enlisted  November  6,    1861. 
Malone.    William,    enlisted    December    9,    1861. 
Quail,   John,    enlisted   November  6.    1861. 
Rowley.    Dexter    M.,    enlisted    December    18,    i86r. 
Rowley,   Samuel   I\..  enlisted  November  6,    1861. 
Rourke,    Charles,    enlisted    December    i,    1861. 
Sullivan,    William   H.,   enlisted    November   6.    1861. 

Recniits. 
.\dam,  Albert,    enlisted  February  20,   1862. 
iiuswell,   Nicholas   C,   enlisted   November   6.    1861. 
Lucas,  T.  Z..  enlisted  April  14,    1864, 

Company    L. 
Captain. 
Thomas    O'Hara,    commissioned   October    28,    1862. 
Lieutenants. 

First,    William    D.    Slater,    commissioned    October 
28.    1862. 

Second.    Daniel    I^.    Buck,    commissioned    Aiiril   20, 
1865. 

Quartermaster    Sergeant. 
Gilligan.    Thomas,   enlisted   September  25,   1861. 

Sergeants. 
William  H.   Falts.  enlisted  October  15,   1861. 
John    Martin,    enlisted    October   2,    1861. 

Corporals. 
Daniel    R.    Buck,   enlisted   October   5,    1861. 
Obed    F.    Wait,    enlisted    October   28,    1861. 
Isaac   Quiggle,    enlisted    October   25,    1861. 
l-".    J.    Turner,    enlisted   October  28,    1861. 

Hnsign. 
Willis    Emery,    enlisted    October    12,    i86r. 

Blachsmith. 
Samuel   Kemp,   enlisted  November  21,    1861. 

Privates. 
.Arnold,    William,    enlisted    November    6.     1R61. 
Adams.   Thomas,  enlisted   September   16,    1861. 
Bearer,    George,    enlisted    October    15,    1861. 
Calry.    Edward    A.,    enlisted    October   28,    186 1. 
Coats.   Robert,   enlisted   November  7,    1861. 
Curran,    James,   enlisted   November  20.    1861. 
Campbell,    William,    enlisted    December   7.    1861. 
Clayton,    William,    enlisted    October   5,    1861. 


250 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


Carrigan.    Patsy,    enlisted    November    20.    1861, 
Decker.    David   J.,   enlisted    November   20,    1861. 
Divens,'    Tohn.    enlisted   October   16,    1861. 
Deland,  Peter  J.,  enlisted  November  12.   1861. 
Gean,    Joseph,  'enlisted    October    23,    1861. 
Goodwin.    Tohn,    enlisted   November   2,    1861. 
Gutrix,    Tohn.    enlisted    December    14,    1861. 
Hickel,    Charles,   enlisted  November    18,    1861. 
Sherdan,    George,    enlisted    December    i,     1861. 
Shoon.  John,  enlisted  December  7.  1861. 
Vandcren,   G.   B..  enlisted  October   17.    1861. 
Washburn,   C.   H.,   enlisted   October   5.    1861. 

Veterans. 
Buck,    Daniel    R-   enlisted    December   20,    1863. 
Fultz.  William,  enlisted  December  20,   1863. 
Gheen,    Josiah.    enlisted    December    20,    1863. 
Gilligan,"  Thomas,    enlisted   December  20,    1863. 
Ghiles,   Rausler,  enlisted  January  3,    1864. 
James,    Benjamin    E.,    enlisted    January    5.    1864. 
Kearns,    Toseph   B.,   enlisted  January  2,    1864. 
Rogers.    VVillis,    enlisted    January    10,    1862. 
Luce.    Elihu,    enlisted    February    7.    1862. 
Marshall.    George,    enlisted    February    8,    1864. 
Paymod,     Tsadore.    enlisted    February    23,     1865. 
Powers.   John,    enlisted  January    22.    1862. 
Schrader.    George,    enlisted    January    4.    1865. 
Shuley.    Robert,    enlisted    October    23.    1861. 
Vautral.    William,    enlisted    February    21.    1862. 
Weaver,    Calv'in,    enlisted    November    27,    1861. 

Company  M. 
Captains. 
Adam    Stuber,    commissioned    December    20,    1861. 
Hugh     C.     Moffitt,     commissioned     November     18, 

Tohn  J.   Perry,   commissioned    December    19,    1564. 

hiexitenants. 
First,    George  A.    Quinn,    commissioned   November 
18,    1862.  .     .         ,     -r 

Second,     John     Tilby,     commissioned    January     0, 

Second,   William   F.  JenViings,  commissioned  April 
II,    1865. 

Sergeants. 

First,    Jackson    McCully,    enlisted    September    27, 
1861. 

Toseph  A.    McCully,   enlisted   September  27,    1861. 

Henry   Seeley,    enlisted    September  27.    1861. 

Corporals. 
Tames    B.    Merwin,    enlisted    November    8.    1861. 
Thomas  Ward,  enlisted  October  31,   1861. 
Sandrieper.    Henry,    enlisted    November     18,     186 1. 
Henderson.    James,    enlisted    December    5,    1861. 

Privates. 
Beck,    Henry,    enlisted    September    23,    1861. 
Barton,    Ira    A.,   enlisted   November  6.    i86i. 
Clark,    Silas   A.,   enlisted    November   28,    1861. 
Clifton,    Nelson,    enlisted    October    31.    1S61. 
Calhoun,    James    H.,    enlisted   November    13,    1861. 
Davidson,    Thomas,    enlisted    September    27,     1861. 
Deuffman,    Thomas,    enlisted    November    2,    :86i. 
Ellis.    Benjamin,    enlisted    September    27.     1861. 
Edelman,    John,    enlisted    September    23,    1861. 
Ford.   James,    enlisted   December    19,    1861. 
Garv'in"  Ambrose  D.,  enlisted  November  20,   1861. 
Goot.   John,   enlisted   November    11,    1861. 
Hendricks.   Peter,  enlisted  September  27.    1861. 
Hick,    Benjamin,    enlisted    October    8,     :86i. 
Ilorwold.   Joseph,  enlisted   September  27,    1861. 
Holiday,    Basil,   enlisted   November    18,    1S61. 
Holiday.  John  J.,   enlisted   November  25.    1861. 
Haley,    Dennis,    enlisted    October    10,    1861. 
Henry,    Dennis,    enlisted   October    10,    1861. 
Hickson.    George,    enlisted    September    27.    1861. 
Hesse,  Joseph,   enlisted   September   22,.    1861. 
Lawrence,    Charles,   enlisted    October   28,    1861. 
Mitchell.    George,    enlisted    December    3,    1861. 
Matlin,    Jacob,   enlisted   October    27,    1861. 
Noell,    Dennis,    enlisted    September    2-],    186 1.  . 
NefF,  Marks,  enlisted  October  21,  -1861. 
Owens.    Columbus,    enlisted   September    zy,    1861. 
Otto,   John    C..    enlisted   September  27,    1861. 
Phelps,  Harvey,  enlisted  October  27.    1861. 
Ricett,   John,   enlisted   November    i,    1861. 
Roberts.    George,    enlisted  October   31,    1861. 
Stenn,    Charles,    enlisted    October    15,     1861. 
Spicer,    David,   enlisted    September   27,    1861. 
Seipe,   Charles  F.,   enlisted   December   16.    i86r. 


Smith,   George  T..   enlisted  November   25.    1861. 
Tanner,    Merchant   F.,   enlisted  November  25,   1861. 
Wallace,    Henry,    enlisted    September   27.    1861. 
Welsh,  James,  enlisted  September  27,   1861. 
Watson,    Thomas,    enlisted    October   6,    1861, 
Winches.    Andrew,   enlisted    December   3,    1861. 
Wayson,    Beriah,    enlisted    November    25,     1861. 
Walker,    John,    enlisted    November    14,    1861. 
Yonger,  Adam,   enlisted  September  27,   1861. 

Veterans. 
Calvin,   John,    enlisted    December    20,    1863. 
Carter,    Herman    S.,    enlisted    December    20,    1863. 
Ley,    John,    enlisted    December    20,    1 863. 
liich.    William   C,    enlisted    December    20,    1863. 
Sandritter,    Henry,    enlisted    December    20.    1863. 
Ward.   Thomas,  enlisted   December  20,    1863. 

Recruits. 
Aspinwall,   Job,   enlisted    September    30,    1864. 
Aten.    Benjamin,    enlisted    March    23,    1865. 
Beebe,    Richard  H..  enlisted  March  28,   1864. 
Beebe,    James,    enlisted    March    28,     1864. 
Brady,    Charles,   enlisted    February   6,    1864. 
Brown,    Cary,    enlisted   March    17,    1864. 
Bettis,    VVilliam    F.,   enlisted   April    14,    1864. 
Beebe,    Alonzo,    enlisted    February    23,    1864. 
Cox,   Oscar   J.,   enlisted   February    i,    1864- 
Carr.  John,    enlisted  August  25,    1864. 
Crank,   John  H.,  enlisted  January  27,    1865. 
Davis,    Abel,   enlisted   February    15,    1864. 
Drake,    Phineas    B.,    enlisted    September    30,    1864. 
Desamo.   John    S.,    enlisted    September    27,    1861. 
Goddard,   William,    enlisted   January    5,    1S64. 
Garvin,    Barney,    enlisted    March    22,    1864. 
Groon,   John    W..    enlisted  January   27,    1865. 
Greeg,    James    G.,    enlisted   February   26,    1864. 
Hall,    Peter   A.,    enlisted    I-'ebruary    15,    1864. 
Kingdon,    William    H.,    enlisted    August    13.    1862. 
Keller,    Tacob   H.,   enlisted    December   28,   1861. 
Moffit.    William    E.,    enlisted    January    5,    1S64. 
McCully,  Joseph   A.,   enlisted  January   5,    1864, 
McCullv.    William   H..    enlisted   January   27,    1865. 
Mulbehill,    Jeremiah    C.    enlisted    August    14.    1862. 
McGraw,     Patrick,    enlisted    August     14.     1862. 
Nelson,    Elias,    enlisted    January    24,    1S64. 
Oakford,    Thomas    H..    enlisted    December    4,    1863. 
O'Neal,    Thomas,    enlisted   March   31,    1865. 
Putnam.   William,   enlisted    December  28.    1861. 
Putnam.     Luther,    enlisted    October    4,     1S61. 
Rome,     Nelson    E-.    enlisted    December     i,    1863. 
Rutherford,    George,    enlisted     March    31.     1864. 
Rich.    William,    enlisted    December   7,    1S61. 
Sirlat,    James,    enlisted   September    27,    1861. 
Simmons,    Habbie,    enlisted    October    6,    1S61. 
Swan,    James    C.    enlisted    March    9,    1864. 
Thompson,    William   R.,   enlisted   January    5,    1864. 
Thurston.    William,    enlisted    November    23.    1863. 
Teal.    William,    enlisted    September   27,    1861. 
Wheeler.    John    H..    enlisted    January    16,    1864. 
Waggoner,   John,    St.,    enlisted   March   31,    1864. 
Will.    Charles,    enlisted   January    5.    1S64. 
Webber,    Andrew,    enlisted    October    6,    1863. 

Unassigned    Recruits. 
Allen.    Francis,    enlisted    March    9,    1865. 
Brady,   John    J.,    enlisted    February   4.    1863. 
Crew,   Noah  J.,   enlisted   March  29,    1864. 
Carlton,    Edward,    enlisted    December    15,    1863. 
Cox.    Joseph,    enlisted    September    16.    1864. 
Conn.    Charles,    enlisted    November    18,    1864. 
Conner,    John,    enlisted    Fejsruarf     i.     1863. 
Delaney,    Thomas,    enlisted   March    21,    1864. 
Dowene,    Henry,    enlisted    March    29,    1865. 
Dane,    Christopher,    enlisted    March    9,    1865. 
Foster,    R.    N..    enlisted    November    12,    1862. 
Ford.    Charles    D.,    enlisted   April    14,    1864. 
Goddard.    Artemas   W..    enlisted    August    14,    1862. 
Jacob.    lienry.    enlisted   January    29,    1863. 
King.   Henry   A.,   enlisted  January   21.    1864. 
Kelley,    Tohn,    enlisted    February    5,    1865. 
Lainl,    Homer,   enlisted   August    14,    1862. 
Mitchell,    Harrison,    enlisted    November    18,    1862. 
McDaniel,    Tames,   enlisted   December    15.    1863. 
McGoan,   Harris,   enlisted   March  9,'  1865. 
Murphy,   Patrick,    enlisted  March   9,    1865. 
Nolin.    J.     D..    enlisted    November    18.     1862. 
Neuer,    August,    enlisted    December    7,    1863. 
O'Brien,    Tames,   enlisted    December    19,    1863. 
Phillips,     Charles,    enlisted    January    29,     1863. 
Peeper,   John    E.,    enlisted    April    9.    1864. 
Phillips,  "John,    enlisted    February    5.    1865. 
Preston,    Alfred    H.,   enlisted    December   6,    1863. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


251 


Slocum,   John,    enlisted    December    i,    iS6j. 
Shell.    Oliver    C-,    enlisted    September   29,    1S64. 
Snyder,    J.    C,    enlisted    February    2S,    1S65, 
Stewart,   Walter   F.,  enlisted   March    i.    1865. 
Smith,    James,    enlisted    March   9,    1865. 
Seymour,    John,    enlisted    March    9,    1865. 
Shields,   John,    enlisted   January    1 1,    1864. 
Wilson,    William,   enlisted  August    15,    1862. 
Young.    Adiah,    enlisted   January    5,    1864. 

FOURTEENTH   CAVALRY. 
Colonel. 

Horace    Capron,    commissioned    February    6,    1863. 

First   Assistant    Surgeon. 
George  A.   Wilson,  commissioned  January  7,    1863. 

Privates. 
Barfoot,    William,   enlisted    September    i,    1862. 
Eley,    Jefferson,    enlisted   December    12,    1862. 
Somers,    Alfred,    enlisted    October    12,    1862. 
Somberger.   George,   enlisted    November  2.    1862. 
Triplet,    William,   enlisted    October    12,    1862. 

Company   B. 

Captains. 
Paul    Distler.    commissioned   January   7,    1863. 
Henry   H.    Mayo,  commissioned   October    17,    1864. 

Lieutenants. 
First,    Henry    Heineke,    commissioned    January    7, 
1863. 

Second.     Philip    Smith,    commissioned    January    7, 
1863. 

Commissary    Sergeant. 
Charles    A.    Lettell,    enlisted   September    14,    1862. 

Sergeants. 
Louis    Ernst,    enlisted    September    18.    1862. 
William    Brown,    enlisted    September    16,    1862. 

Corporals. 
Paul    Helmel.    enlisted    September    15,    1862. 
Conrad    Dassell,    enlisted    September    18,    1862. 
Henry   Handshu,   enlisted  October  5,   1862. 
John    Boehm.    enlisted   September    18,    1862. 
Frank  H.   Westerman,   enlisted  January  5,    1863. 
Louis  H.   Smith,   enlisted  January  5,    1863. 

Teamster. 
Jacob   Gloring,    enlisted   September  30.    1862. 

Blacksmiths. 
John    Grove,    enlisted   November    10,    1862. 
Albert  Terohn,    enlisted   September   20,   1862. 

Saddler. 
Ferdinand   Misselhom.   enlisted   December    2,    1862. 

Wagoner. 
William    Huske,    enlisted    September   14,    1862. 

Privates. 
Altman,   William,  enlisted   November   29,    1862. 
Brauer,    John,   enlisted    September    16,    1862. 
Baikes.   Nicholas,   enlisted   September   28,    1862. 
Brown,    George,    enlisted    October   2,    1862. 
Barnet,    Timothy,   enlisted   December    i,    1862, 
Campbell,    Joseph,    enlisted    October    22,     1862. 
Dubois,    William,    enlisted    December    2,    1862. 
Drisler.   Frank,   enlisted   December  i,    1862. 
Ebert.  George,  enlisted  October   5,    1862. 
Folkers,  John  W..  enlisted  October  2.   1862, 
Fishbeck,    Herman,    enlisted    September    30,    1862. 
Froehlich,    Jacob,   enlisted   October    i,    1862. 
Gebhard.  William,   enlisted  November  20,    1862. 
Grebe,   Conrad,  enlisted  September  14,   1S62. 
Hauser.    Caspar,    enlisted    September    14,    1862. 
Huck,    Harmon,    enlisted    September    13,    1862, 
Johnston.    John,    enlisted    September    23.    1862. 
Klein.    Louis,    enlisted    November    12,    1862. 
Kimble,    Francis,   enlisted    September    15,    1862. 
Kowurtz.    Frank,    enlisted    December    t.    1862. 
Le   Genbre,    Felix,    enlisted   October    16.    1862. 
McPherson,    Henry    FL,    enlisted   October    5.    1862. 
Meyer,    Leopold,    enlisted    September   20,    1862. 
Mayn.    Louis,   enlisted    October   28,    1862. 
Naef,    John,   enlisted    September    16.    1862. 
Nickel,    George,   enlisted   December    15,    1862, 
Richter.    Charles,    enlisted    September    14,    1862. 
Ruibty,    George,   enlisted    December    15,    1862. 


Schneiderfritz,      Henry,      enlisted     September      18, 
1862. 

Spenke.    Henry,    enlisted    September    16,    1862. 
Seifert,    Julius,    enlisted    September    22,    1862. 
Tremmel.   John,    enlisted   October    5,    1862. 
Walter,    Lorenz.   enlisted   September  9,   1862. 
Weiland.    Sebastian,    enlisted    November    10,    1862. 
Weinheimer.    Philip,    enlisted    September    16,    1862. 
Ward,    Frank,    enlisted    September    15,    1862. 
Zeigler,    Gottlieb,    enlisted    October    i,    1862. 

Recruits. 

Frederick,    Charles,    enlisted    Januarv    14.  1864. 

Raver,    Christian,    enlisted    December    9,  1863. 

Stabler,   Christian,   enlisted   February  29,  1864. 

Company  C. 

Lieutenant. 

Second.    Henry    M.    Fvans,    commissioned    January 
7>    1863. 

Commissary  Sergeant. 

Seth    C.    Abell,   enlisted    September    18,    1862. 

Privates. 

Lynch.  Thomas,  enlisted  October  14,  1862. 
Prentice.  John   1).,  enlisted   September   14,    1862. 
Russell.  Robert,   enlisted  November  28,    1862. 
Webb,    Henry,    enlisted    November    25,    1862. 
Company    D. 
Tcar,tstcr. 
Clements,    Charles,    enliutcd    December    i .    1 862. 

Privates. 
Carter,    Robert  D..  enlisted   September   18.    1862. 
Elfcon,    C,    enlisted    December    i,     1862. 
Eversoll,   Samuel,  enlisted  December   i,   1862. 
Hansen,  Alonzo.  enlisted   November    i,    1862. 
Reynolds,  Alexander,   enlisted   December   15,    1862. 

Company   E. 

Priz'ates. 

Johnson,    Henry,    enlisted    December    10,    1862. 

Klasy,    George,    enlisted    December   20,    1862. 

Ranish.    Edward,    enlisted   September   22,    1862. 

Company   F. 
Privates. 
Beekman,   John   K.,  enlisted  January  4.    1863. 
Harrison.    Mitchell,    enlisted    January    8,     1863. 
Potter,    John    C,    eidisted    October   20,    1S62. 

Recruit. 

Bethrels,  William   H.,   enlisted   February  22,    1865. 

Company  G. 

Recruits. 

Freel.    Joseph    J.,    enlisted    March    i,    1865. 

Hedgepath,  Thomas  P.,  enlisted  January,   1865. 

Company   H. 
Blaklie,    Reuben,    enlisted    February    5.    1863. 
Beck,    Henry,   enlisted  Januarv    17,    1S63, 
Hamilton.    Claude   B..   enlisted"  February   2,    1863. 
Meyer.    Ferdinand,    enlisted    January   25,    1863. 
Schaefer,    Peter,    enlisted  July    21,    1863. 

Recruit. 
Lamb.   John,   enlisted   March    28,    1865. 
Company   L 
Privates. 
Birch,   George,   enlisted   October    18.    1862. 
Black.    John    J.,    enlisted    October    12.    1862. 
Casper,   James   R.,   enlisted   September  25,    1862. 
Moberry.   William,  enlisted   September   20.   1862. 
Miller.    George    A.,    enlisted    October    6.    1862. 
O'Sullivan.  John   B.,   enlisted  September   13,    1862. 
Phelps.    Chester,   enlisted    December   4.    1B62. 
Stewart.   Erastus  W.,  enlisted   November  5,    1862. 

Company    K. 
Sergeayits. 

First.     Edward    Groshen,    enlisted    September     14. 
1862. 

Albert   C.   Allen,  enlisted    December    i,    1862. 

Corporals. 
James    Barrow,    enlisted    September    14,    1862. 
Allen  W.   McKenzie,   enlisted   September   14,    1862. 


252 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


1862. 


Teamster. 
Thomas  J.   Sparroch.   enlisted   December    13. 

Privates. 
Bonnie,   Louis,   enlisted    September    "5.    iSS^- 
Brown     William,    enlisted    November    15.    '''6%,, 
Cos-ro've    Bernard   H..  enlisted  November   .     .86-r 
abbler.  'Emery    H      enhs.ed    October    .6,    .862. 
Loony    H..  enlisted  December   i.   1862. 
McCarty.    Tosepb,   enlisted   October    .0,    1862 
McCann     James,    enlisted    Noveniber    ,5.    .86^. 
NetT,    Tohn    C.    enlisted    November    15.    i862- 
Ricker'    Edward,    enlisted    September    14.     -862. 
Sbafer      Tohn,    enlisted    December    2.     1862. 
Sheen,    Michael,    enlisted    December    i,    1862. 

We"tco;..'^'winiam     W..     enlisted     November     ,5. 

1862. 

Company   L. 

Privates. 
Tackson.  James,  enlisted  Novernber  f^L   'S^^- 
Nevvmier,    Charles,    enlisted    November    =8.     '86- 
Parcell     Garrett   H.,   enlisted   January   8.    1863. 
Rogers!    David,   enlisted  January  8,    1863. 
Company  M. 

Caf^tains. 
Thomas     S.      Lupton,     commissioned     January     7. 

'   William    W.     Rowcliff,    commissioned    January    7. 

1863. 

Lieutenant. 

William   W.    Cowles.   commissioned   July    11,    1865. 

Sergeants. 
Alexander  Irvine,   enlisted    September    15.    1862. 
James    Anderson,    enlisted    September    15.    1802. 
Thomas   Putnam,    enlisted   October    5.    1862. 

Corporals. 
Charles  W.    Fowler,    enlisted   October    5.    '862. 
John  S.  Cleveland,  enlisted  October  5.  1862. 

Saddler. 
John    B.    Reed,   enlisted   September    15,    '862. 

Wagoner. 
James   Pitcher,  enlisted   September   20.    1862. 

Teamster. 
James   Laughlin,    enlisted    October    5.    1862. 

Privates. 
n.nnlv.    Philip,   enlisted    October    5.    1862. 
Banks,    John    D..    enlisted    September    20,    1862. 
Barker,    Tames    W..    enlisted    December    18,    1862. 
Colinderson,    Joseph,    enlisted    October    5.    1862. 
Cook.    George,   enlisted    September    20.    1862. 
Ceirtt.    Samuel,   enlisted   September  20.    1862. 
Connor,  Thomas,  enlisted  October  5.    1862 
Colender.    Peter,    enlisted    September     15. 
Dunn.   Thomas,   enlisted  October   5.    >862. 
Eseleston.    Tames,    enlisted    October    5.    1862. 
Folenwider.'John  R..  enlisted  September  20.   1862. 
Fernan,   Jam'es  A.,   enlisted  September  20.   1862. 
Hopkins,' Thomas,  enlisted  September  20.   1862. 
Hodgmon,    Isaac,    enlisted    September    20,    1862. 
Hamilton.    Tohn,   enlisted   December    1,    1862, 
Hattock,   Clinton,    enlisted   January    5.    1863. 
McClay,    James,    enlisted   October    5.    1862. 

McKee.    Jonathan,    enlisted   October   5.    1862. 

Ogden.   Ira   B..   enlisted   October   5.    1862. 

O'Shaughnessy.    Henry,    enlisted    October 

Price.    John,    enlisted    December    10,    1862. 

Russell!    Emery,    enlisted    September    20, 

Reeves.    Tohn,    enlisted   October    5.    1862. 

Sullivan,' Tohn,   enlisted   September   15,   1862. 

Simmons,"  Hobbe,    enlisted    January    8,     1863. 

Smiley,   Tames  M.,   enlisted   September   15,    1862. 

Shirley.  "Thomas   J.,    enlisted    September    20.    •"« 

Seed.   Andrew  T..   enlisted   September   20,   185)2. 

Somersett,    Tho'mas,    enlisted    October    5,    1862. 

Temple.    Charles  II.,   enlisted    September    15,    1862. 

Van   Hess.   Henry,   enlisted   October   5.    1862. 

Walters.  William,  enlisted  September  20,   1862. 

Walters,   Henry,   enlisted   September  20,    1862. 

Recruits. 
Miller.    Tames   M..   enlisted   February   20,    1864. 
Smith.    David   H.,   enlisted    February  28.    1864. 
Smith,    Harrison,   enlisted   February   2,    1864. 


1862. 


5. 
186, 


1862 


1862. 


Vnassigned   Recruits. 
Bennett.  James,  enlisted   March   23,    1865. 
Casson.   James,   enlisted   March  31.    1865. 
Connors.   James   H..  enlisted   March   23,    1865. 
Curter.    Andrew,   enlisted   March   24.    1865. 
Ford.    Michael,    enlisted    March    28,    1865. 
Hagan.   George,   enlisted    October   11,    1864. 
Haley,    Richard,    enlisted    March    23,    1864. 
Holton,    Frederick,    enlisted    March    9.    1864. 
Kane.    Patrick,    enlisted    March    23,    1865. 
Purdy,    Tohn,    enlisted  October    11,    1864. 
Pratt.    Henry,    enlisted    March    23.    1865. 
•Reed.    Robert,    enlisted    March    3',    '865. 
Seaver.    George,    enlisted    March   23.    1865. 
Williams.    Samuel,    enlisted   March    23.    1865. 
Wilkins,   Frank,   enlisted  March  28,    1865. 

FIFTEENTH    CAVALRY. 

Company   L. 

Privates. 

Shaffer.    Simon,   enlisted    February    16,    1862. 

Wilder,   MontreviUe,   enlisted   October   26,    1861. 

Recruit. 
Oakford.    Thomas,    enlisted    June    i.    1861. 

SEVENTEENTH  CAVALRY. 
Company    .\. 
Pri-.ate. 
Chandler,    Samuel    T.,   enlisted   November    6,    1863. 

Company  D. 
Quartermaster    Sergeant. 
William  G.   Frey,  enlisted  October  5,    1863. 

Commissary  Sergeant. 
Henry   M.   Furchison,  enlisted  December  15.    1863. 
Privates. 
Robert,    enlisted    October    5,    1863. 
Benah,    enlisted    November    23,    1863. 
George   E..   enlisted  October   15.    1863. 
John  O.,   enlisted   December   15,    1863. 

Recruit. 
Todd.  James,    enlisted   February    i,    1S64. 

Company   E. 
Commissary  Sergeant. 
Hermans.    Alfred   S.,   enlisted   December    11.    1863. 

BATTERY    A    ILLINOIS    LIGHT    ARTILLERY. 

Battery  A.  Second  Illinois  Light  Artillery  was 
organized  at  Peoria.  Illinois,  by  Captain  Peter  Da- 
vidson, and  was  mustered  into  state  service.  -May 
■.■!  1861.  Moved  to  Alton.  Ilhnois.  in  July.  1861. 
flience  moved  to  St,  Charles.  Missouri,  with  Gen- 
eral Pope  and  then  to  Mexico,  Missouri.  hrom 
this  place  sections  were  sent  to  different  parts  ot 
north  Missouri,  which  were  again  united  at  Jetter- 
son  Barracks.  Missouri,  at  which  place  the  battery 
was  mustered  into  United  States  service,  .-\ugust 
17  1861  Moved  to  Jefferson  City.  Missouri,  and 
on  the  ist  of  October  to  Boonville,  Missouri,  and 
thence  to  OttervWe.  Thence  marched  in  Kelton  s 
Brigade.  Pope's  Division  of  Fremont  s  army  to 
Springfield.  Missouri,  and  returned  to  Otterville. 
January  25,  1862,  in  Colonel  Julius  Whites  Brig- 
ade Brigadier  General  Jeff  C.  Davis'  Division, 
moved  to  Lebanon  and  with  Curtis'  army  to 
northwest  Arkansas.  Was  engaged  in  the  battle 
of  Pea  Ridge  March  7  and  8.  where  it  did  faithful 
and  brilliant  service.  .\  section  of  the  battery  at 
Neosho  and  Fayetteville.  moved  to  Helena,  -Arkan- 
sas, with  General  Curtis'  army.  flattery  A  was 
mustered  out  of  service  at  Camp  Butler,  Illinois, 
July  27,   1S65. 

FIRST    ARTILLERY. 

B.^TTERY     M. 
Priz'ates. 
Bonson.    Thomas,    enlisted    July   3,    1862. 
Hamilton.   Richard,   enlisted  July   3.    1862. 

SECOND   LIGHT   ARTILLERY. 

Major. 

Peter   Davidson,    commissioned   .\pril    11.    1863. 


Murphy 
Robbnis 
Tindall, 
Walker, 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


253 


Rattery    a. 
Caftains. 

Ilerniaii    Horris,   commissioned   April    ii.    1S63. 
William  W.   Campbell,  commissioned  July  3.    t865. 

Lieutenants. 

First,  William  J.  Gardner,  commissioned  May  14, 
i86i. 

First,  J.  Corwin  Hansel,  commissioned  January 
^5.    1862. 

First,  Frank  B.  Fen  ton,  commissioned  April  1 1. 
1863. 

First,  William  W.  Campbell,  commissioned  April 
II.    1863. 

First,  Rensselaer  W.  Ilinman,  commissioned  July 
3.    1865. 

First,   Walter  Bird,   commissioned  July  26,    1865. 

Second.  Abraham  B.  Batterson,  commissioned  Jan- 
uary   25,     1862. 

Second.  Samuel  Coburn,  commissioned  Tulv  26, 
1865. 

Second,  Denton  V.  Keys,  commissioned  July  26. 
1865. 

Quartermaster    Sergeant. 
Abraham   B.   Batterson,   enlisted   April    10,    1861. 

Sergeant   Major. 
Oliver   P.    Titcomb,    enlisted  April    ig,    1861, 

Sergeants. 
William    Patterson,    enlisted    April    ig,    186 1. 
Walter  W.    Campbell,   enlisted  April    19,    1861. 
William    L.    Gardner,    enlisted    April    19,    i86i. 
Tames    McGinnis.    enlisted    April    19.    1861. 
James   H.    Reddick,   enlisted    May  27.    1S61. 
Walter    Bird,    enlisted   April    19,    1861. 

Corf^orah. 
Stephen    E.    Baldwin,    enlisted    April    19,    1861. 
Joseph  G.   Bloomer,  enlisted  April  26,   1861. 
John    Dimond,    enlisted    April    24,    1861. 
John    W.    French,    enlisted    April    ig,    i86i, 
Nicholas    Held,    enlisted    April    9,    1861. 
William   M.    Lucas,  enlisted   May    14,    1864. 
William    Ranch,    enlisted    May   20,    1861. 
William  E.  Wilkinson,  enlisted  April   19,   1861. 

Bugler. 
Thomas    Drew,   enlisted    May    27,    1861, 

.-irtiftcers. 
Lair   Letz,    enlisted   April    19,    1861. 
Jeremiah    Smith,    enlisted    May    25,     186 1, 
Fritz    Scliierman.    eti listed    July    22.     1861. 
John    Stanger,   enlisted   June    18,    1861. 
Henry    Kreiling,    enlisted    April     19,    1861. 

Privates. 
Austin,   John    W.,   enlisted   April    19,    1861. 
Rarnaba,  John  W..  enlisted  April    19,    1861. 
Rauer,    Dick,    enlisted    May    5.    1861. 
Bustorf,    Frederick,    enlisted    June    19.    1861. 
Butler,    James,    enlisted    June    i.    i86r. 
Carney,    Stephen    W.,   enlisted   May    i,    1861. 
Chase,    Ira.    enlisted    April    19,    1861. 
Crandall,    William,    enlisted    May    17,    1861. 
Carman,    James    F.,    enlisted    July    10,    1861. 
Dempsey,    William,    enlisted    April    19,    1861. 
Dold,    Stephen,    enlisted    July    8,    1861. 
Farrer,  Joachim,   enlisted   April    19.    1861. 
Frost,    Enos,    enlisted   April    19,    1861. 
Gisart,  Jacob,  enlisted   May   17.    1861. 
Hoag,    Edwin,    enlisted    July    10.     1861. 
Johnson.   Samuel    M.,    enlisted    May   23.    1861. 
Haufman.    Martin    S.,    enlisted    April    19,    j86i. 
Lair.    William,    enlisted    April    19.    1861. 
Lair,    Noah,    enlisted    April    19,    1861. 
Lanigan.    Francis  M..    enlisted    April    19,    1861. 
Lupton,    Charles,    enlisted    June    18,    1861. 
ATann.    Martin,    enlisted    April    19,    1861. 
Maupin,    Robert    B.,    enlisted    April    ig,    1861. 
Meyer,     Philip,    enlisted    April     19.     1861. 
Morrow,    William,    enlisted    April    19,    1861. 
McVickar.    Hugh,    enlisted    May    27.    1861. 
Paul.    Anderson,    enlisted    April    19,    1861. 
Ploher,    Ferdinand,    enlisted    May    24,    1861. 
Ryan,    Laurence,    enlisted    April     19,    1861. 
Ryan,    Samuel,    enlisted    April     19.     1861. 
Ryan.   Parkinson,    enlisted   April    19.    1861. 
Shieman,  John,  enlisted  April    ig,    i86i. 
Shafer,    Solomon,  enlisted  April  30,    1861, 


Smith.    Morris,    enlisted    April    23,    1864. 
Sick,    John,    enlisted    June    14,     1864. 
Stowcll,     Henry,     enlisted    July    8.     1864. 
Wads  worth.    Berial.    enlisted   April    19,    1804. 
Ward.   James,   enlisted  July    i.    1864. 
Waresly,    John    J.,   eidisted    May    22,    1864. 
Wolfert.    Sebastian,   enlisted  June   22,    1864. 

Veterans. 

Sergeant. 
.Samuel   Coburn.   enlisted   February    i,    1864, 

Corf*oral. 
Denton   V.    Keys,   enlisteil  January    1.    1864. 

Bugler. 
James    F.    Carman,    enlisted   February    1,    1864. 

PriTates. 
Aldrich.   Horace    M.,   enlisted   February    i.    1864. 
Baldwin,    Stephen    E.,   enlisted  January    i,    1864. 
Barnaba.   John    W.,   enlisted  January    i,    1864. 
Rauer,    Dick,    enlisted    January    i.    1864. 
Millet,    Joseph,    enlisted    January     i,    1864. 
Nurs,  Roswell  J.,  enlisted  February  1.  1864. 
Speers,    William    H.,    enlisted   January    i.    1864. 
Sullivan,    Frank,    enlisted    January    i.    1864. 

Recruits. 
Ashbury,    Samuel,   enlisted    March    14.    1864. 
Ayres.    Maurice,    enlisted    September    20,    1862. 
Aldrick,  John  P.,  enlisted  October  28,   1862. 
Baker.    Philip,    enlisted    October   26,    1863. 
Bauer,    Henry,    enlisted    October    28,    1863. 
Roydslen,  New^ton   L..  enlisted   November  7,    1863. 
Bennett,   Samuel,  enlisted  March  14.   1864. 
Beers.    William   W.,   enlisted   March   31,    1864. 
Bobier,    William,    enlisted    March    22,     1864. 
Bachelor,    Neal.    enlisted    October   24,    1863. 
Becket.   John  M.,  enlisted  October   11,   1864. 
Best,    William,   enlisted    September  8,    1861. 
Bitner.    William,    enlisted   September   22,    1861. 
Burgess,    Henry,    enlisted    October    9,    1862. 
Campbell,    Charles    B..    enlisted    March    21.    1864. 
Cull.    William    H.,    enlisted    March    24,    1864. 
Heller.  Charles,   enlisted  January  4,    1864. 
Currier,   Arthur   T.,   enlisted   March   28,    1864. 
Conger,   Allen,   enlisted    December    16,    1864. 
Chase,    Edward,    enlisted    September    22,    1861. 
Coburn,    William,    enlisted    November    30,    1863, 
Dickenson,  Gritftth  A.,  enlisted  November   10,    1862. 
Drummond,   John    P.,    enlisted   January    4,    1864. 
Ellis,   Benjamin,   enlisted  January   18,    1864. 
Eayd,   Albert    P.,    enlisted    November  21,    1862. 
Elliott,    Jacob,    enlisted    October    29,     1863. 
Eastman.  Charles,  enlisted  September  22.   1861. 
Fitzgerald,   John,    enlisted  January   5,    1864. 
Ford,   Burton   S.,  enlisted  March   22,    1864. 
Ford,    Henry,    enlisted    March    23.    1864. 
Fowler,    Henry,    enlisted    September    8,     1861. 
Grotevant,    Robert,   enlisted   September    26,    1864. 
Howell,    Israel,    enlisted    March    21,    1864. 
Hawkins,  William   E.,  enlisted  October  28,    1863. 
Hurland.    William    R..    enlisted   August    25,    1862. 
Hull,   John    R.,    enlisted   September   24,    1862. 
Houser.    Christian,    enlisted    October    13,    1862. 
Jaggard,    Thomas,   enlisted   December  8,    1863. 
Johnson,  John  L..  enlisted  October  31,   1863. 
Keller,    Allen,    eidisted    Mart  h    24.    1864. 
Kissel,    Emanuel,    enlisted   September   26,    1862. 
Lutz,    Philip,    enlisted    March    8.    1864. 
Livingstone,    W^illiam.    enlisted    September   8,    186 1, 
Morrow,    Calvin,    enlisted    March    22,    1864. 
Nay  lor.    Flavins.    enliste<l    March    24,    i86d,. 
Orr,    William    B.,    enlisted    March    21,    1864. 
Parker,    Lewis    G..    enlisted    February    15.    1864. 
Powell.    David    E..    enlisted    August   30.    1862. 
Robinson,   Marvin    N.,   enlisted  January  4,    1864. 
Russell,     David,    enlisted     March    9,     1864. 
Rockwell,    Calvin,    enlisted    March    31,    1864. 
Sloan,    Charles    P.,    enlisted    March    22,    1864. 
Scott,    Theodore  J.,    enlisted   March   30,    1864. 
Stenee.  John,   enlisted  March  9,    1864. 
Stebbins,   Lendwifk.  enlisted  December  16,   1864. 
Stebbins,  John,  enlisted   December   16,   1864. 
Stratton,   John    R.,    enlisted   August   22,    1862. 
Shriver.    David   J.,    enlisted   October    28,    1861. 
Stockner.    Hugh,    enlisted    March    31,     1864. 
Smith.    Albert    II.,    enlisted    February    10,    1864. 
Spurs,  William   IL,  enlisted  September  22,   186 r. 
Trelbar.  John   IL,   enlisted   March  24.    1864. 
\'ickery,    Roger,    enlisted    December   21,    1863. 


254 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


Venters.   William,    enlisted    September   24,    1864. 
Winn.   Marshall   enlisted   March   25.    1864. 
Wiley,    Lorenzo    K..    enlisted    November    21.    1862. 
Winn.  Warren,  enlisted  March  25,  1864. 
Wilkinson,   John,   enlisted   August   25,    1862. 
Wilder,  Charles  H..  enlisted  September  24,  1864. 

Battery  C. 
Private. 
Turner.    Charles   H..   enlisted  August  29,    1862. 
Battery  D. 
Recruit. 
Higlifield,   Wilfred   H..   enlisted  January  4.    1864. 
Battery  I. 
LieHtena>its. 
First,  Henry  B.  Plant,  commissioned  December  31, 
1862. 

Second,    Charles    McDonald,    commissioned    March 
I,    1863. 

Privates. 
Cunningham,  Rogers,  enlisted  November  25,  1861. 
Jones,    Isaac   W'.,   enlisted   November  25,    1861. 

Recruits. 
Lester.   Robert  N.,   enlisted  October  23,    1862. 
Moon,   Simon  D.,  enlisted  December  25.   1863. 
Petty,  George  A.,  enlisted  January  5,    1864. 
Shippe,  Orrin  S.,  enlisted  January  5.   1864. 
Weld,    Samuel   C,   enlisted  December  21,  1863. 

Unassigned   Recruits. 
Atkinson,  William  H.,  enlisted  January   iS,   1864. 
Pitcher,    Robert,    enlisted    September    26,    1864. 
Summers,   James,   enlisted  March  24,    1S64. 

THIRTEENTH  UNITED  STATES   COLORED 
INFANTRY. 

Johnson,    Charles,   enlisted  April    i,    1865. 
Lee.    John,    enlisted   April    10,    1865. 
Wade,    Hampton,    enlisted    April    i,    1865. 

ONE  HUNDRED  NINTH  UNITED   STATES 

COLORED    INFANTRY. 
Bridges.    Jesse,    enlisted    February    14.    1865. 
Barr.    John,    enlisted    February    28,    1865. 
Cole,    Enochj    enlisted    February    28,     1865. 
Carter,   Silas,   enlisted  March  30,   1S65. 
Drake,    Monroe,    enlisted   February   28,    1865. 
Gray.    Samuel    B.,    enlisted   February   28.    1865. 
Hicks,    John,    enlisted    February   28,    1865. 
Hillman,    William,  enlisted   February    13,    1865. 
Jefferson,   James,    enlisted   February   20,    1865. 
Jones,    Wade,    enlisted    February   28,    1865, 
Mitchell,    William,    enlisted    February    28,    1865. 
Porter.    John,    enlisted    March    30.    1865. 
Red,    William,    enlisted    March    30,    1865. 
Smith,    Isaac,    enlisted    February    28,    1865, 
Smith,   Washington,   enlisted   February  28,    1865. 


Smith,    Lewis,    enlisted    February   28,    1865. 
Smith.    John,    enlisted    February   28,    1865. 
Stewart,     lohn,    enlisted     February     28,     1865. 
Smith,  Alfred,   enlisted   February  28,    1865. 
Warren,    William,    enlisted    February    28,    1865. 
Washington,   George,   enlisted  February   13,    1865. 

Miscellaneous  Organisations. 

SEVENTH  TENNESSEE  CAVALRY. 

Arms,  John  M..  enlisted  October  30,   1864. 
Butter.  John  T.,  enlisted  October  20,   1864. 
Cunningham,    Elijah,    enlisted   April    10,    1865. 
Divey,   Robert   H.,   enlisted  December,    1864. 
Edwards,   William,   enlisted   November  8,    1864. 
Hamilton.  W.  M.  J.,  enlisted  April   11,    1865. 
Hamilton,    Samuel,   enlisted    April    1 1,    1865. 
Hays.    James    E.,    enlisted    March    i,    1864. 
Jenkins,    Kelly    H.,    enlisted    January    26,    1864. 
King,    Alfred,    enlisted    October    26,    1864. 
King,    William   P.,   enlisted   March    13,    1865. 
Miller.    Joseph    C,    enlisted    March    13,    1865. 
McAllister,   William  T..  enlisted  March   13,    1865. 
McFarlane,  John,   enlisted  January  24,    1864. 
Purdon,    Benjamin,    enlisted    April    11,    1865. 
Perden.    John,    enlisted    October   20,    1864. 
Perden.    Erwin   T..    enlisted    October   20,    1864. 
Rav,    William,    enlisted    November   24,    1864. 
Robinson.  James,    enlisted   March    i,    1865, 
Scarlett.    S.    M..    enlisted    March    3.    1865. 
Thomas,   John   W..   enlisted    December    14,    1864. 
Tucker.   George  W.,  enlisted  October  20.    1864. 
Vickers.    Francis  M..   enlisted  October   20,    1864. 
Waugh.  James  W.,  enlisted  October  20,   1864. 

FIRST  ARMY    CORPS. 

Enlisted  Men  of  Company  No,   i. 

Assigned   to   Company  A.  Second  Regiment   Veteran 

I'olunteers. 

Privates. 

Auten,  John   W.,   enlisted   February   10,    1865. 

Greenleaf,   George  D.,  enlisted  February  6.    1865. 

Schaller.    Charles,    enlisted    February    4.     1865. 

Shoemaker,^  Edward,   enlisted  February  4,    1865. 

Enlisted  Men  of   Company   No.    5. 
Privates. 
Lair.    Noah,    enlisted    March    13,    1865. 
^McMuUen,   James   E.,   enlisted   March    13,    1865. 
Upshaw,    George,   enlisted    March    13.    1865. 

THIRTEENTH    UNITED    STATES    INFANTRY. 
Recruits. 
Barber.    James    C,    enlisted   June.    1865. 
Beasmore.    Robert    G.,    enlisted    June,    1865. 
Bink,    John    H.,    enlisted   June.    1865. 
Dunbar.    Robert    F.,    enlisted   June.    1865. 
Gunsolus,   James    H.,   enlisted   June.    1865. 
Satter,    Joseph,    enlisted    June,    1865. 


MONUMENTS  TO  HEROIC  DEAD 

Very  shortly  after  the  cessation  of  hostilities  between  the  two  sections  of  the 
country  and  the  victorious  veterans  of  the  northern  armies  had  returned  to  their 
homes,  a  movement  gained  impetus,  toward  the  creation  of  a  fitting  and  lasting 
concrete  expression  of  the  community's  gratitude  for  the  inestimable  blessings 
made  possible  and  enduring  by  the  recent  struggle  for  free  institutions,  and  also 
to  attest  Peoria's  pride  and  glory  in  the  valor  and  patriotism  of  the  heroic  living 
and  dead.  Definite  results  were  manifest  when,  at  the  September  (1865)  meeting 
of  the  board  of  supervisors,  Dr.  John  Emery,  representative  in  that  body  from 
Radnor  township,  ofifered  a  resolution  that  the  board  appropriate  a  sum  of  money, 
for  the  erection  of  a  suitable  monument  in  the  court  house  yard.  The  resolution 
was  referred  to  a  committee  consisting  of  Emery,  Matson  and  Day,  with  instruc- 
tions to  secure  plans  and  estimates  and  report  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  board. 
The  committee  made  its  reports  at  the  next  meeting,  held  in  April,  and  the  con- 
tract for  a  soldiers'  monument,  to  cost  $5,000,  was  awarded  to  Robert  Campbell, 
of  Peoria.  The  site  selected  was  at  the  center  of  the  Main  street  side  of  the  yard, 
about  midway  between  the  old  court  house  and  the  street,  and  the  corner  stone 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  255 

was  laid  with  Masonic  rites.  Grand  Master  Harmon  G.  Reynolds,  officiating. 
The  dedication  took  place  October  ii,  1866,  and  was  the  occasion  for  the  gather- 
ing of  a  vast  concourse  of  people,  and  a  magnificent  demonstration.  General 
Benjamin  F.  Butler,  who  assisted  in  the  capture  of  New  Orleans,  was  military 
commander  of  that  turbulent  city  and  the  best-hated  "invader  of  the  sacred  soil" 
of  the  south,  was  the  orator  of  the  day,  and  his  presence  alone  created  unbounded 
enthusiasm.  One  of  the  notable  features  of  the  dedication  was  the  presence  of 
"Old  Abe,"  the  war  eagle  of  the  Eighth  Wisconsin.  "Black  Jack"  (John  A.) 
Logan  was  also  here,  and  stirred  the  hearts  of  the  veterans  to  a  white  heat  of 
excitement  and  delight;  for  he,  also,  was  a  war  hero  and  won  his  spurs  bravely 
and  honorably.  Colonel  "Bob"  Ingersoll  was  the  master  of  ceremonies  and  with 
the  tongue  of  a  Demosthenes  thrilled  his  auditors  by  his  rendition  of  a  dedicatory- 
poem,  written  for  the  event  by  Mrs.  P.  R.  K.  Brotherton. 

Spencer's  band  headed  a  parade,  composed  of  eleven  companies  of  infantry 
and  one  of  cavalry ;  the  tire  department,  civic  societies  and  citizens  in  carriages, 
that  had  marched  to  the  court  house  square,  and  in  all  one  of  the  greatest  gala 
days  ever  known  in  Peoria  was  passed  without  a  mishap  to  mar  the  reverential 
joy  of  the  populace.  And  thus  one  of  the  first  soldiers'  monuments  in  the  coun- 
try was  erected  to  the  fallen  heroes  of  1861-5.  When  the  old  court  house  was 
torn  down,  to  make  place  for  the  new,  it  became  necessary  to  alter  the  grade  of 
the  square.  This  called  for  the  removal  of  the  monument  and  its  new  site  was 
chosen  at  the  Jefferson  street  front,  where  it  now  stands,  still  intact,  although 
the  names  inscribed  on  its  four  sides  have  become  almost  illegible  from  action 
of  the  elements. 

MONUMENT  .AT  SPRINGD.\LE  CEMETERY 

In  the  Transcript  of  March  15,  1862,  after  the  bodies  of  slain  soldiers  began 
to  be  sent  here  for  burial,  a  paragraph  appeared,  suggesting  the  virtue  and 
advisability  of  securing  a  suitable  tract  of  land  in  one  of  the  cemeteries,  to  be 
set  apart  for  the  last  resting  place  for  soldiers  losing  their  lives  in  the  war,  who 
might  not  have  provided  for  a  burial  place.  This  touched  a  tender  spot  in  the 
hearts  of  the  directors  of  Springdale  cemetery  and  they  immediately  offered,  as  a 
gift,  one  of  the  best  lots  at  Springdale  for  the  purpose,  which  was  accepted. 
On  this  lot,  which  is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  square,  was  erected  in  1870, 
a  monument  designed  and  e.xecuted  by  Robert  Campbell,  at  a  cost  of  $2,500, 
and  four  cannon  donated  to  the  Soldiers'  Monument  Association  by  congress. 
The  monument  was  primarily  secured  through  the  valiant  and  persevering  efforts 
of  the  Women's  National  League  of  Peoria,  which  had,  in  the  year  1866,  merged 
its  identity  into  that  of  the  Soldiers'  Monument  Society,  at  the  same  time  turning 
over  to  the  latter  a  balance  in  its  treasury  of  $82.19,  as  the  nucleus  of  a  fund 
toward  the  erection  of  a  monument. 

The  monument  is  very  attractive  and  faces  the  soldiers'  graves.  Its  position 
is  a  commanding  one  and  the  beautiful  shaft  can  be  seen  from  any  part  of  the 
cemetery.  The  dedication  took  place  on  Decoration  day.  May  30,  1870,  and 
the  principal  address  was  delivered  by  Rev.  S.  A.  Kingsbury.  That  same  day 
was  the  occasion  for  another  outpouring  of  the  people,  who  were  edified  and  taken 
to  the  heights  of  enthusiasm,  by  the  eloquence  of  Colonel  Robert  G.  Ingersoll, 
who  delivered  an  address  at  the  Soldiers'  Monument  in  court  house  square. 

soldiers'  .\nd  s.mlors'  monument 

The  women  of  the  Monument  Association  conceived  the  idea  and  were 
instrumental  in  having  it  take  concrete  form,  of  erecting  a  monument  commemora- 
tive of  both  the  army  and  navy  and  the  brave  men  of  the  county  who  served 
therein. 

As  a  result  of  this  movement  the  chaste  and  beautiful  monument  with   its 


256  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

symbolic  figures  of  bronze,  which  now  stands  on  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
square,  was  chosen.  The  sculptor  was  Fritz  Triebel,  a  Peorian,  who  had  gained 
fame  not  only  at  home,  but  in  Europe.  Toward  the  cost  of  this  work  of  art  the 
county  and  city  of  Peoria  had  each  pledged  $10,000.  The  dedication  took  place 
October  6,  1S99,  and  stands  out  all  the  more  prominently  by  reason  of  the  fact 
that  the  President  of  the  United  States,  William  McKinley,  was  present,  and 
was,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  most  prominent  object  of  interest  to  the  thousands 
of  people  then  gathered  in  the  city.  His  arrival  in  Peoria  is  described  here 
through  the  medium  of  e.xcerpts  from  the  Herald-Transcript's  issue  of  the  fol- 
lowing morning : 

"The  president  of  the  United  States  was  given  a  welcome  such  as  no  other 
city  but  loyal  old  Peoria  could  give.  It  was  a  display  of  pure,  patriotic  interest 
and  an  anxiety  to  do  honor  to  the  nation's  chief  executive.  For  many  weeks 
Peorians  and  the  people  in  surrounding  cities  and  towns  have  been  on  the  anxious 
seat  over  the  coming  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McKinley  and  their  guests,  and  for  two 
hours  prior  to  the  arrival  of  the  train  yesterday,  Adams  and  Chestnut  streets 
from  the  court  house  to  the  union  station  were  thronged  with  humanity.  Every 
upstairs  window  contained  as  many  faces  as  could  be  crowded  into  it,  while 
many  sought  the  roofs  of  buildings  and  other  vantage  points. 

"The  presidential  train  was  the  finest  and  the  most  sumptuously  equipped 
that  ever  came  into  Peoria.  It  consisted  of  the  private  car  Campania,  occupied 
by  the  president  and  his  wife;  the  combination  car  Atlantic;  the  sleeper  Ixion; 
compartment  cars  Chili  and  Omenia,  the  last  two  being  for  the  use  of  the  cabinet. 
In  addition  to  the  regular  train  was  the  Hawkeye,  the  Iowa  Central's  private 
car,  in  which  the  Peoria  delegation  went  to  Bushnell  to  meet  the  presidential  party. 

"The  procession  started  from  Chestnut  street,  proceeded  up  Adams  to  Main, 
up  Main,  passing  in  review  before  President  ^McKinley,  to  Jeft'erson,  thence  to 
Hamilton ;  up  Hamilton  to  Madison ;  down  Madison  to  Fulton ;  on  Fulton  to 
Jefiferson,  then  to  Franklin,  where  the  procession  disbanded. 

'"The  children's  parade  proved  a  most  interesting  feature  of  the  display. 
It  is  estimated  there  were  from  5,000  to  6,000  school  children  in  line.  The  girls 
wore  white  dresses  and  the  boys  blue  caps.  The  girls  carried  arches  of  flowers 
and  bouquets,  and  the  boys  flags.  They  rallied  at  the  top  of  Hamilton  street  hill 
and  marched  down  Hamilton  street  to  the  court  house,  going  around  the  square 
and  past  the  reviewing  stand.'' 

The  president  and  other  distinguished  guests,  ladies  of  the  association,  com- 
mittees, the  mayor  of  Peoria,  the  chairman  of  the  board  of  supervisors  and 
others,  were  seated  on  a  stand  erected  on  the  southwest  side  of  the  square,  facing 
the  monument. 

The  exercises  opened  with  prayer,  by  Rev.  John  Weston,  D.  D.,  pastor  of 
Calvary  Presbyterian  church,  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war,  and  the  monument  was 
unveiled  by  Mrs.  Samuel  A.  Kinsey,  chairman  of  the  committee  in  charge  of -its 
erection.  It  is  said  that  as  the  canvas  dropped  from  the  beautiful  pieces  of 
sculpture,  the  man  who  executed  the  work,  Fritz  Triebel,  was  unable  to  overcome 
his  emotions  and  burst  into  tears.  Thereupon,  in  thorough  sympathy  and 
admiration,  the  President  grasped  him  by  the  hand  and  congratulated  him  most 
heartily. 

An  address  was  delivered  by  Mrs.  Lucie  B.  Tyng,  president  of  the  Memorial 
Day  Association,  in  which  she  related  in  detail  the  work  of  the  various  persons 
who  had  been  instrumental  in  contributing  this  testimonial  to  the  heroes  of  the 
Civil  war.  Colonel  Martin  Kingman,  president  of  the  day,  delivered  an  address 
to  the  women  of  Memorial  Day  Association,  to  his  comrades  of  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic  and  to  the  people  of  the  county.  The  monument  was  formally 
accepted  by  John  C.  Kingsbury,  chairman  of  the  board  of  supervisors  and  by 
Henry  W.  Lynch,  mayor  of  the  city  of  Peoria. 

William  McKinley.  president  of  the  United  States,  who  but  two  years  there- 
after died  at  the  hands  of  an  assassin,  after  being  introduced  by  Mayor  Lynch, 
addressed  the  vast  assemblage  in  the  following  words : 


G.  A.  R.  JJKMulMAL   HALL.  I'EdinA 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  257 

"Fellow  Citizens:  I  am  glad  with  my  fellow  citizens  of  Peoria  county  and 
members  of  the  Crand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  Ladies'  Memorial  Day  Asso- 
ciation, to  stand  about  the  monument  dedicated  to  patriotic  service  and  heroic 
devotion  in  the  holiest  cause  for  which  mankind  ever  engaged. 

"This  monument  awakens  sacred  memories,  fellow  citizens,  and  that  is  its 
purpose.  It  was  erected  by  these  patriotic  women  that  it  might  for  all  time 
perpetuate  a  glorious  page  of  American  history.  It  tells  the  whole  story  of 
war,  the  siege,  the  march,  bivouac,  battle  line,  the  suffering,  sacrifice  of  the 
brave  men  who,  from  1861  to  1865.  upheld  the  flag.  It  tells  of  every  page  of 
history  of  that  civil  struggle,  and  tells  of  its  triumphant  consummation  at  Appo- 
mattox court  house,  when  Grant  accepted  the  surrender  of  Lee,  and  we  w'ere  kept 
a  nation. 

"I  like  this  monument.  1  like  this  symbol  1  face  today,  'the  defense  of  the 
flag.'  That  is  what  we  do  wherever  and  whenever  that  Hag  is  assailed,  and  with 
us  war  always  stops  when  the  assailants  of  our  flag  face  Grant's  term,  'uncondi- 
tional surrender.'  1  do  not  intend  to  make  a  speech  here  today.  I  could  add 
nothing  of  i)atriotic  sentiment  to  that  already  uttered.  I  desire  to  express  in 
this  presence  my  appreciation,  not  of  the  tribute  paid  to  the  president  of  the 
United  States,  but  the  tribute  the  people  of  Peoria  county  have  paid  to  the 
great  defenders  of  the  American  flag  in  time  of  our  great  peril. 

"You  are  proud  of  the  monument.  You  should  be  proud  of  the  demonstration 
which  led  to  its  unveiling.  Six  thousand  school  children  of  the  city  with  flags  in 
their  hands  and  love  of  country  in  their  hearts,  and  1  could  not  but  think,  as  I 
looked  at  the  glorious  procession,  that  my  country  is  safe. 

"God  bless  the  school  children  of  America.  God  bless  the  patriotic  women 
of  the  United  States  and  the  patriotic  band  that  carried  this  monument  to  a  suc- 
cessful consummation. 

"I  congratulate  you;  you  have  everything  in  Peoria.  I  congratulate  you  that 
you  found  an  artist  of  so  high  skill,  born  in  Peoria,  to  execute  this  work.  I 
thank  yon  over  and  over  again  for  this  splendid  demonstration  of  patriotism  and 
<levotion." 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  president's  address,  the  audience  joined  in  singing 
"America,"  "taps"  were  sounded  by  Lem  H.  Wiley,  cornet  soloist  of  the  Seventh 
Regiment  band,  and  the  ceremonies,  in  which  one  of  the  most  beautiful  soldiers' 
monuments  was  dedicated,  came  to  a  close,  having  marked  an  epoch  in  the  history 
of  the  community. 

I!Rvni-:r  post,  no.  67,  c.  .\.  r. 

liryner  Post,  No.  67,  G.  A.  R.,  was  organized  in  October,  187Q,  with  seventy- 
four  charter  members.  Their  first  meeting  place  was  in  the  third  story  of  a 
business  lilock  at  105  and  107  South  Adams  street.  The  post  remained  here  until 
February,  igoB,  when  it  removed  its  C|uarters  to  the  Observatory  building,  206 
South  Adams  street.  Xo  other  removal  took  place  until  the  final  one,  which 
was  to  the  magnificent  new  home  on  Hamilton  boulevard,  which  occurred  January 
I.  1910.  The  first  commander  was  George  Puterbaugh,  who  was  succeeded  in 
1880  bv  Robert  M.  Campbell.  His  successors  are  the  following  named:  1881, 
Robert'M.  Campbell;  1882,  George  A.  Wilson;  188^,  Henry  P.  Ayres ;  1884,  A. 
H.  Rugg;  1885,  Roliert  M.  Campbell;  1886,  John  D.  McClure ;  1887,  Charles 
Oualman  ;  1888,  Isaac  Tavlor;  1889,  David  S.  Brown;  1890,  N.  S.  Haynes ;  1891, 
A.  L.  Schimpff ;  1892,  E.H.  Dibble;  1893,  R.  W.  Burt;  1894,  W.  T.  Boyd;  1895, 
O.  E.  Champney;  1896,  Philip  Smith;  1897,  Eliot  Callender ;  1898,  Frank  Mc- 
Alpine;  1899,  William  P.  Gauss;  1900,  Henry  L.  Arends ;  1901,  J.  W.  Ryan; 
1902,  Charles  P.  Sloan;  1903,  Haller  E.  Charles;  1904,  John  Weston;  1905,  John 
M.  Simpson;  igo6,  T.  S.  Simpson;  1907,  George  W.  Zinser;  1908,  Byron  C.  Bry- 
ner;  1909,  F.  W.  Ash;  1910,  Eliot  Callender;  191 1,  Samuel  L.  Patterson;  1912, 
G.  W.  Seibert,     The  present  membership  is  265. 

Vol.  I— 1 7 


258  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

Not  only  the  veterans  themselves,  hut  the  citizens  of  Peoria  generally  rejoiced 
in  the  erection  of  a  permanent  home  for  the  post,  which  was  made  possible  by 
the  generosity  of  one  of  Peoria's  former  citizens,  a  comrade  of  the  post,  Joseph 
B.  Greenhut,  a  principal  factor  of  the  great  Seigel-Cooper  department  stores, 
with  headquarters  in  New  York  city. 

The  origin  of  the  idea  leading  toward  the  building  of  a  home  for  the  veterans 
of  the  G.  A.  R.  belongs  to  Byron  C.  Bryner  and  Philip  Smith,  many  years  past 
quartermaster.  Their  views  were  presented  to  a  meeting  of  the  post  in  January, 
1909,  which  were  received  with  the  utmost  favor.  Steps  were  at  once  taken  to 
collect  a  sufficient  amount  of  money  from  the  old  soldiers  to  build  a  modest 
home  that  would  cost  not  more  than  $4,000.  As  soon  as  the  project  became  known 
the  auxiliary  societies  of  the  Grand  Army,  churches  and  newspapers  desired  to 
take  a  hand  in  raising  the  required  amount  of  money,  and  finally  it  came  to  the 
ears  of  Mr.  Greenhut,  whereupon  he  requested  members  of  the  post  to  call 
upon  him  at  his  office,  then  in  the  Woolner  building,  and  there  their  old  comrade 
generously  subscribed  $5,000  toward  the  building  fund,  in  consideration  that 
the  plans  be  enlarged  upon  and  a  structure  put  up  that  would  not  only  do  honor 
to  the  memory  of  the  war  veterans,  but  be  a  credit  to  the  city.  Bids  were  then 
asked  for  and  plans  were  requested  to  be  submitted,  to  those  appointed  for  the 
purpose,  by  the  post  and  the  plant  adopted  was  for  a  building  to  cost  something 
over  $15,000.  A  lot  had  previously  been  purchased  of  the  Swedenborgian  church 
society  on  Hamilton  avenue,  between  Jefferson  and  Madison  streets,  costing 
$4,000.  As  the  building  progressed  a  deficit  was  experienced  in  the  collection 
of  the  money  promised  by  subscription,  and  learning  of  the  difficulty  Comrade 
Greenhut  raised  his  subscription  to  $10,000.  This  gave  the  post  courage  to  go  on 
with  the  work  and  on  December  30,  1909,  the  beautiful  Greenhut  Memorial 
G.  A.  R.  hall  was  dedicated  free  of  debt,  Mr.  Greenhut  having  subscribed  an  addi- 
tional $4,000,  making  $14,000  in  all.  The  building,  with  the  grounds,  cost  $22,800, 
and  is  a  magnificent  contribution  to  the  many  beautiful  places  of  Peoria,  made 
possible  by  the  large-heartedness  of  Captain  Greenhut,  the  generosity  of  many 
private  citizens  and  the  determined  efforts  of  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps  and 
similar  societies  associated  with  the  Grand  Army. 

THE   WOM.W's  RELIEF   CORPS 

The  Bryner  Woman's  Relief  Corps  was  organized  August  12.  1884,  within  a 
year  after  the  order  had  been  created  at  the  National  Encampment  of  the  Grand 
Army  in  1883.  There  were  nineteen  charter  members  of  the  local  corps  and 
today  it  is  strong  in  numbers  and  persistent  in  the  work  for  which  it  was  founded. 
Many  have  been  the  gracious  deeds  of  helpfulness  by  this  noble  body  of  women, 
the  beneficiaries  coming  within  its  scope  having  been  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  Sons  of  \'eterans  and  similar  societies.  Much  credit  is  due  the  Bryner 
corps  for  its  efforts  toward  raising  money  to  build  the  Greenhut  Memorial  hall 
and  a  commemorative  stone  stands  in  the  soldiers'  plot  in  Springdale  cemetery, 
which  was  erected  by  the  members  and  dedicated  to  the  "Unknown  Dead." 

LADIES  OF  THE   GR.\ND  ARMY   OF  THE   REPUBLIC 

George  A.  Wilson  Circle,  No.  49,  Ladies  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
is  made  up  of  the  wives,  mothers,  daughters  and  sisters  of  veterans  of  the  Civil 
war  of  all  arms  of  the  service.  The  circle  was  organized  October  13,  1900,  with 
thirty-six  charter  members  and  the  first  official  list  was  as  follows:  Mrs.  Helen 
M.  ^\■ilson,  president;  Mrs.  \'irginia  C.  McClure,  senior  vice  president;  Mrs. 
Lena  Wasson,  junior  vice-president ;  Mrs.  Emma  B.  Bryner,  secretary ;  Mrs. 
Sadie  A.  Boyd,  treasurer;  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Schofield,  chaplain;  Mrs.  !\Iary  C. 
Orr,  conductress ;  Mrs.  Jennie  Dibble,  guard ;  Mrs.  Sue  C.  Rogers,  assistant  con- 
ductress;  Mrs    Mary  C.  Orr,  Mrs.  Sue  C.  Rogers,  Mrs.  Maggie  A.  Reed,  color 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  259 

guards.     This    organization    has    a    large    membership   and   has    accompHshed 
much  good  during  its  short  existence. 

SPANISH- A  MERIC.W    WAR 

About  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  from  this  county  enlisted  in  tlie  United 
States  service  for  the  Spanish-American  and  Philippine  wars.  Some  of  them 
served  in  Cuba,  some  in  Porto  Rico  and  others  in  the  I'hilippines,  but  Company 
L  of  the  Fifth  Infantry,  which  was  mustered  into  the  service  on  May  26,  1898, 
for  the  Spanish-American  war,  was  disappointed  in  its  desire  to  be  sent  to  the 
scenes  of  activities  either  in  Cuba  or  Porto  Rico,  and  only  got  as  far  as  Chicka- 
mauga,  where  it  remained  in  camp  until  recalled  home. 

The  Fifth  Infantry  was  organized  July  2,  1889.  S.  O.  Tripp  was  elected 
captain  and  held  his  office  until  January  7,  1891,  when  he  stepped  aside  for  E. 
H.  D.  Couch,  who  commanded  the  company  during  the  Spanish-American  war. 
At  this  period  James  S.  Culver,  of  Springfield,  was  colonel  of  the  regiment; 
Frank  P.  Wills,  of  Decatur,  lieutenant-colonel ;  John  C.  Cabanis,  Kinmundy, 
Fred  \>.  Nichols,  of  Quincy,  and  Walter  F.  Colloday,  Decatur,  were  majors; 
and  Stuart  Brown,  Springfield,  regimental  adjutant.  In  addition  to  Captain 
Couch,  Frank  R.  Pacey,  first  lieutenant,  and  Robert  L.  Alitchell,  second  lieutenant, 
were  the  commissioned  officers  of  Company  L. 

BLACK    HAWK    WAR    AND    PEORIANS 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Plack  Hawk  war  a  company  was  organized  in  the 
county  of  Peoria  for  a  battalion  that  was  placed  in  command  of  Major  Isaiah 
Stillman,  a  Peorian.  The  comi)any  was  officered  by  Abner  Fads,  captain ;  William 
A.  Stewart,  first  lieutenant ;  John  W.  Caldwell,  second  lieutenant.  The  non- 
commissioned officers  and  privates  were ; 

Sergeants 

First,  Aquilla  Wren;  second,  Hiram  M.  Curry;  third,  Fdwin  S.  Jones;  fourth, 
John  Hinkle. 

Corporals 

First,  William  Wright;  second,  John  Stringer;  third,  John  Hawkins;  fourth. 
Thomas  Webb. 

Privates 

John  E.  Bristol,  Harrison  Brown,  Jeremiah  Cooper,  John  Clifton.  Stephen 
Carle,  Joseph  H.  Conner,  Jefl:'erson  Cox,  John  Co.\,  Fbenezer  Clark,  Fliram 
Cleveland,  Alexander  Caldwell,  James  Doty,  John  B.  Dodge,  William  Egman, 
William  Fads,  Elias  Love,  Alvah  Mofl^att,  Jacob  Moats,  Sylvanus  Moore,  Harris 
Miner,  John  C.  Owen,  Joseph  Phillis,  George  Redick,  David  Ridgeway,  Lucas 
•Root,  David  Roos,  John  Ross,  Thomas  B.  Reed,  Simon  Reed,  Francis  Sharp, 
Rice  Smith,  Jefferson  Taliafero,  Thomas  Tamplin,  William  D.  Trial,  Johnson 
T.  Thurman,  Henry  Thomas,  William  L.  Wood. 

A  complete  history  of  this  company  will  not  be  attempted  in  these  pages. 
The  story  of  the  Black  Hawk  war  and  "Stillman's  defeat"  has  been  oft-told 
and  can  be  found  in  many  histories  especially  written.  The  simjjle  fact  that 
Peorians  took  part  in  that  last  stand  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  is  here  noted,  so 
that  their  names  may  be  perpetuated  in  the  local  history  of  the  county.  No  doubt 
some  future  local  historian  will  do  justice  to  the  heroism  of  those  pioneer  Indian 
fighters,  but  it  is  impossible  to  go  into  any  of  the  many  interesting  details  at 
this  time. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE    TOWNSHIPS    OF    PEORIA    COUNTY WHEN    SETTLED    AND    ORGANIZED — PIONEER 

FARMERS  AND  INTERESTING  STORIES  TOLD  OF  THEMi — FIRST  SCHOOLS  AND 
CHURCHES BUILDING  OF  TOWNS  AND  VILLAGES — ALL  PROSPEROUS  COMMUNI- 
TIES 

RICHWOODS  TOWNSHIP 

BY    MARGARETTA    KELLAR 

The  tract  of  land  designated  Richwoods  township  was  known  as  Richwoods 
long  before  any  township  organization  was  effected.  Its  exceeding  fertility  of 
soil  and  abundant  wealth  of  verdure,  its  gigantic  forests  of  valuable  woods — 
oak,  walnut,  elm,  maple,  hickory,  birch,  cottonwood  and  all  the  native  fruits — 
and  grass  so  tall  that  a  man  riding  on  horseback  could  not  see  over  it,  all  con- 
spired to  win  for  it  the  appellation. 

Beautiful  for  situation,  rich  in  varied  picturescjue  scenery,  it  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  townships  in  the  county.  Its  primeval  forests  in  most  localities 
have  been  compelled  to  disappear  before  the  woodman's  ax  ;  yet  in  others,  they 
have  been  permitted  to  remain  in  all  their  pristine  glory.  Stately  forest  moni- 
tors !     What  tales  could  they  tell,  what  mysteries  reveal ! 

Richwoods  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  Peoria  township.  On  the  east  its 
sides  are  laved  by  the  waters  of  the  Illinois,  which  renders  its  acreage  incomplete. 
On  the  north  Medina  is  its  boundary,  and  on  the  west,  Millbrook. 

Richwoods  certainly  possesses  more  attractive  features  than  any  other  town- 
ship in  the  county.  There  are  few  such  parks  as  Glen  Oak,  with  its  beautiful 
sunken  gardens,  rustic  bridges,  lake,  natural  springs,  palm  house,  abounding  in 
beautiful  exotics,  fountains,  beautiful  circuitous  drives  over  hill  and  dale,  and 
most  beautiful  infloresence  everywhere.  Springdale  cemetery,  conceded  to  be 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  existence,  also  lies  within  its  boundaries,  and  pos- 
sesses the  greatest  variety  of  localities  adapted  to  the  taste  of  those  compelled 
to  lay  away  their  loved  ones. 

ROADS  AND  DRIVES  IN  THE  TOWNSHIP 

Some  of  the  roads  here  it  would  seem  have  been  in  existence  since  time  im- 
memorial. The  old  Galena,  which  follows  the  river,  and  has  its  terminal  at  Galena, 
and  over  which  the  oldest  inhabitants  transported  lead  ore  (Galena)  from  the 
Galena  mines  to  shiiiping  ])oints  along  the  river,  is  one  of  the  oldest.  The 
Knoxville,  leading  out  through  Knoxville  and  Galesburg  to  P.urlington  on  the 
Mississippi,  is  another  highway,  for  whose  construction  no  one  now  living  is 
accountable.  The  old  Alt.  Hawley  must  have  been  designed  by  Mr.  Hawley, 
who  lived  about  nine  miles  out  from  Peoria  and  kept  a  country  inn  and  post- 
office  many  years  ago.  The  new  Mt.  Hawley,  which  intersects  the  old  a  short 
distance  from  Kellar  station,  originated  in  the  brain  of  Rev.  Isaac  Kellar,  who 
thought  it  too  far  to  go  around  by  the  edge  of  the  bluff  to  Peoria,  when  he 
could  just  as  well  cut  off  a  mile  or  more.  Mr.  Kellar  accordingly  called  a  meet- 
ing and  presented  his  plans  before  the  assemblage,  and  it  seeming  feasible  to 

261 


262  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

all,  it  was  decided  to  have  the  road — a  beautiful  driveway  extending  from  Avery- 
ville,  past  the  country  club  to  Prospect  avenue,  over  hill  and  dale,  disclosing  views 
of  the  most  varied  and  picturesque  scenery.  In  driving  out  Prospect  avenue, 
after  leaving  Peoria  Heights,  we  are  again  regaled  with  the  most  enchanting 
scenerv.  Some  beautiful  residences  where  some  of  our  city  friends  are  wont  to 
spend  the  summer  months,  with  their  beautifully  improved  yards  and  gardens, 
border  the  roadway.  But  as  we  are  wont  to  extend  our  vision,  the  forests  primeval 
again  present  themselves,  and  these  are  interspersed  with  beautiful  gardens,  ef- 
fectively tilled,  and  orchards  of  luscious  fruits.  While  these  husbandmen  have 
been  providing  for  the  culture  of  their  gardens,  they  have  not  neglected  the  cul- 
ture of  their  children's  minds.  A  neat  structure  revealing  itself  among  the  trees, 
fronting  on  the  Galena  road  and  known  as  the  Gardeners  schoolhouse,  provides 
for  that.  An  extended  vision  gives  us  the  river  and  the  beautiful  farms  on  its 
east,  with  their  fields  of  waving  grain  and  restful  meadows,  mirrored  in  the 
sunlight.  Originally,  the  land  in  the  northern  part  of  the  township,  as  it  ap- 
proached the  Medina  line,  assumed  a  prairie-like  contour — miniature  prairies 
interspersed  with  thickets  of  wild  plum,  dogwood,  crabapple,  hazelnut,  etc.  On 
the  west  it  is  more  undulating.  The  Big  Hollow  and  the  terraced  hills  of  the 
Kickapoo  are  along  its  western  boundary. 

There  are  many  of  the  early  settlers  whose  living  has  made  history  for  the 
township,  and  of  whom  we  cannot  forbear  to  speak,  but  it  is  impossible  to 
mention  all ;  space  forbids. 

The  first  settler  of  whom  we  have  any  record  was  William  German  on  section 
39,  in  1832.  He  must  have  had  a  short  sitting.  We  have  no  recollection  of 
ever  hearing  anything  of  him  or  his  descendants. 

Thomas  Essex  came  later  in  the  same  year  and  also  settled  on  section  39. 
He  cleared  his  farm,  reared  a  family  and  was  a  unique  figure  in  the  early 
history  of  the  township.  Possessed  of  a  true  pioneer  spirit,  fearless,  alert,  always 
carrying  his  gun  and  accompanied  by  his  dogs,  he  was  ready  for  any  emergency. 
We  remember  to  have  seen  him  once  at  a  charivari,  the  most  prominent  feature 
there,  with  his  gun  and  dogs,  around  and  around  the  house  they  marched.  Mr. 
Essex  cleared  his  farm,  reared  his  family,  and  then  laid  down  his  armor  and 
quietly  sank  to  rest.    He  was  laid  away  under  his  own  vine  and  fig  tree. 

Jo'siah  Fulton  came  in  1819,  when  Peoria  was  yet  Fort  Clark.  He  purchased 
quite  a  tract  of  land,  in  what  is  now  a  very  prominent  part  of  Peoria,  which 
he  disposed  of  for  a  mere  song.  He  was  never  ambitious  to  amass  wealth,  and 
the  country  was  more  after  his  heart  than  the  city.  Accordingly  he  purchased 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  the  township  and  moved  his  family  to  it,  living 
there  the  remainder  of  his  days.  Some  of  his  family  still  reside  on  the  place. 
Mr.  Fulton  was  a  prominent  feature  in  the  early  history  of  the  township.  Noted 
for  his  inherent  good  nature  and  ready  wit,  he  was  always  an  attraction  wherever 
he  went.  He  was  seven  years  old  when  the  first  steamboat  navigated  the  Hudson 
river  and  in  his  time  the  first  railroad  was  built  and  the  first  steam  engine  run. 

We  feel  constrained  to  speak  of  one  who  must  have  settled  here  in  the  early 
'30s  and  whose  pioneer  habits  always  impressed  us — John  Clifton — a  perfect 
nimrod  of  the  forest,  before  whose  gun  the  animals  would  quail.  We  remember 
to  have  seen  him  clad  in  a  whole  suit  for  which  he  had  killed  the  deer,  tanned 
the  hide  and  fashioned  it  into  a  perfect  fitting  suit.  At  the  close  of  the  day 
he  would  sit  out  before  his  cabin  door  and  the  country  round  would  be  made 
to  resound  with  the  strains  from  his  violin,  and  many  of  the  young  men  and 
maidens  were  wont  to  "trip  the  light  fantastic  toe"  to  the  melodies  of  John 
Clifton's  music. 

Another  historical  figure  was  Thomas  Giles,  and  although  he  passed  from 
earth  before  the  writer  came  upon  the  stage  of  existence,  the  little  green  mound 
with  its  paling  fence,  on  one  of  the  little  hillocks  near  the  Bourland  house,  where 
reposed  all  of  him  that  was  of  the  "earth,  earthy"  has  never  been  forgotten. 
Mr.  Giles  was  a  British  soldier,  was  sent  to  the  Isle  of   St.  Helena  to  guard 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  263 

Napoleon  iSonaparte,  and  while  there  his  son  Thomas  was  born.  In  memory  of 
this  isle  he  afterwards  named  his  only  daughter  Helena.  In  1827  Mr.  Giles, 
with  his  wife,  came  to  America,  stopping  for  a  time  in  Utica  and  afterwards 
in  Richland,  Oswego  county.  New  York.  In  1836  he  came  to  Illinois.  Mr.  Giles 
was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  although  not  an  ordained  minister,  he 
often  exhorted.  His  sons  were  all  men  of  sterling  (jualities  and  all  more  or  less 
important  factors  in  establishing  a  reputation  for  the  township,  nearly  all,  or 
most  of  them  at  least,  having  held  important  township  offices. 

Another  early  settler  was  Mr.  Slough,  who  came  with  his  wife.  Mrs.  Slough 
drove  out  in  her  carriage  from  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  in  1834.  Coming  by 
way  of  St.  Louis,  she  left  her  horse  and  carriage  there,  and  being  much  ])leased 
with  the  lay  of  the  land,  returned,  and  in  the  year  following  she  and  her  husband 
moved  to  Peoria,  where  they  kept  hotel  on  Washington  street  and  afterwards 
removed  to  a  tract  of  land  which  they  purchased  on  the  Kno.wille  road. 

The  first  ordained  minister  who  held  service  in  the  township  was  Rev.  Isaac 
Kellar,  who  came  from  Washington  county.  Maryland,  in  1835,  overland,  his 
family  traveling  in  a  carriage,  while  his  household  goods  were  transported  by 
wagon.  A  log  schoolhouse  had  been  built  on  section  27,  in  which  Mr.  Kellar 
held  the  first  service  in  the  township.  On  the  east  side  of  the  river  Air.  Kellar 
had  been  greeted  by  a  deputation  from  the  First  Presbyterian  church  in  Peoria 
"Why  my  dear  sir  we  have  been  looking  for  you  for  the  last  four  weeks."  Mr. 
Kellar's  first  sermon  in  Peoria  was  preached  in  Garrett's  ball  room  in  the  Garrett 
hotel.  He  preached  for  some  time  in  a  church  built  by  Samuel  Towsey,  which 
building  still  stands  on  Jackson  street  below  Jefiferson,  but  is  not  used  as  a 
church.  After  some  time  the  congregation  made  arrangements  to  hold  services 
in  the  court  house,  which  was  used  until  they  made  arrangements  to  build  a 
church.  Mr.  Kellar  had  purchased  a  farm  on  section  16  and  moved  his  family 
to  it,  but  when  they  conceived  the  idea  of  building  a  church,  he  moved  his  family 
to  Peoria  and  went  east  to  collect  funds  toward  the  building,  the  congregation 
not  being  able  to  defray  all  expenses.  Mr.  Kellar  lived  in  Peoria  and  super- 
intended the  construction  of  the  building,  but  after  two  years  moved  his  family 
back  to  the  farm.  He  was  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  for  twelve 
years  and  then,  in  consec|uence  of  failing  health,  resigned.  Some  time  afterwards 
he  organized  a  church  on  Orange  Prairie,  preaching  in  schoolhouses  and  private 
homes.  When  he  moved  to  the  township  there  was  no  school.  There  had  been 
a  log  schoolhouse  erected  on  section  27  in  1834,  but  there  was  no  school  in  it. 
Mr.  Kellar  opened  a  school  there,  with  his  daughter  Katherine  as  assistant,  and 
taught  until  J.  G.  Bryson,  a  young  man  from  Pennsylvania,  came  to  Peoria, 
when  they  got  him  to  take  it  off  their  hands.  Mr.  Kellar  performed  the  first 
wedding  ceremony  in  the  township,  the  contracting  parties  being  Charles  Bal- 
lance,  one  of  three  prominent  young  lawyers  in  Peoria  at  that  time,  and  Miss 
Julia  Schnebley.  Her  father,  Henry  Schnebley,  had  come  to  Illinois  in  the  fall 
of  the  year  in  which  Mr.  Kellar  appeared  and  being  unable  to  procure  a  house 
and,  being  a  brother-in-law  of  Mr.  Kellar,  he  offered  Mr.  Schnebley  and  his 
family  a  home  until  they  could  build,  and  it  was  when  making  a  call  at  Mr. 
Kellar's  that  Air.  Ballance  first  met  Miss  Schnebley  and  lost  his  heart. 

The  township  was  not  organized  until  1848.  Air.  Kellar  had  built  a  new 
house  on  the  Alt.  Hawley  road,  just  at  the  junction  of  the  old  and  new  Mt. 
Hawley  roads,  but  it  was  not  ready  for  occupancy,  and  as  it  was  a  central  loca- 
tion, it'  was  decided  to  hold  the  election  there  and  the  name  of  Richwoods  town- 
ship was  established.  The  election  was  held  there  the  succeeding  year  and  after- 
wards in  the  schoolhouse  or  wherever  most  acessil)le  until  after  a  town  house 
was  built  on  section  16  for  the  purpose.  The  building  was,  unfortunately,  de- 
stroyed by  a  storm  some  years  later.  It  had  been  found  a  very  convenient  build- 
ing for  church  service  and  Sabbath  school.  The  house  has  never  been  rebuilt 
Init  the  township  still  owns  the  ground.  The  manufacturing  villages  of  "Peoria 
Heights"  and  Averyville  are  both  included  within  the  limits  of  Richwoods. 


264  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

ELMWOOD  TOWNSHIP 

In  relation  to  the  other  townships  of  the  county,  Ehnwood  is  situated  in  the 
western  tier  of  townships,  being  bounded  on  the  north  by  Brimfield,  on  the 
east  by  Rosetield,  south  by  TrivoH,  and  west  by  Fulton  county.  The  locality  is 
well  w^atered  by  numerous  streams  and  the  soil  is  rich  and  well  adapted  to 
agriculture,  while  an  abundance  of  coal  is  found  in  the  bluffs  along  the  creek. 
Originally  the  township  was  about  half  covered  with  timber.  The  rest  was 
prairie. 

John  1-'.  Ewalt,  a  Pennsylvanian,  who  had  lived  for  some  time  in  Ohio  and 
Indiana,  came  to  Illinois  and  resided  two  years  in  Edgar  county.  He  arrived 
in  Elmwood,  May  I,  1831,  and  settled  on  the  edge  of  the  grove  in  the  south- 
east c|uarter  of  section  29.  Near  him  in  Trivoli  township  Isaac  Harkness  had 
settled  in  1830.  Mr.  Ewalt,  with  his  four  sons,  spent  his  time  the  first  summer 
breaking  prairie,  building  a  log  house  and  fencing  the  land.  In  the  meantime 
he  and  the  boys  made  their  habitation  in  a  wagon  and  tent. 

In  1832  Isaac  Doyle  located  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  20,  and  in 
1834  Henry  Cone  located  on  section  18.  W.  J.  Phelps,  a  native  of  Connecticut, 
who  had  arrived  in  Peoria  in  the  fall  of  1834  with  his  wife,  located  on  the 
southeast  cjuarter  of  section  18,  which  for  many  years  continued  to  be  his  home. 
Fountain  Watkins  came  from  Fulton  county  and  settled  on  section  29  in  the 
winter  of  1835,  and  that  same  year  Joseph  Cone,  Jr.,  located  on  section  7  and 
Andrew  M.  Wiley  near  by.  The  arrivals  of  1836  were  Roldon  Pierce  and 
Justus  Gibbs ;  those  of  1837  were  Ichabod  Smith,  Avery  Dalton,  George  and 
Thomas  Hut?,  Mr.  Hunkerford,  Samuel  McCann  and  Stanley  Butler. 

It  was  in  1837  that  Joseph  Miles  built  the  mill  that  long  bore  his  name. 
Henry  and  Joseph  Cone  put  up  a  sawmill  on  section  18  in  1843.  In  1838,  how- 
ever, foseph  Miles  was  joined  by  his  son,  Freeman,  and  family,  and  a  year  later 
by  his  brother  Eli.  Among  others  of  the  early  settlers  about  this  period  were 
John  Jordan,  James  Jackson,  Isaac  West  and  Ichabod  Rowley. 

Among  the  first  happenings  in  the  township  may  be  mentioned  that  the  first 
house  was  built  on  section  29  by  John  Ewalt,  a  pioneer,  and  there  the  first  white 
child,  Harriet  Rebecca  Ewalt,  was  born  in  1833.  The  first  blacksmith  and 
wagon  shops  were  built  in  1840  by  Jacob  Wills  and  William  George,  respectively. 
The  first  marriage  in  the  township  was  that  of  Abner  H.  Smith  and  Eliza  Ann 
Doyle,  James  P.  Harkness  performing  the  ceremony  March  10,  1835.  Justus 
Gibbs  is  credited  with  having  taught  the  first  school  in  the  winter  of  1836-7, 
in  a  log  building  subsequently  used  for  a  wagon  shop  by  Isaac  Harkness.  The 
first  schoolhouse  was  east  of  the  Henry  Harkness  residence  and  was  presided 
over  by  Daniel  Faush.  It  is  a  tradition  that  a  station  on  the  "underground  rail- 
road" was  maintained  by  Fountain  Watkins  on  section  29;  that  he  received  his 
passengers   from   Deacon   Beige   and  transported   them  to   Rochester. 

Hon.  W.  E.  Phelps  has  furnished  the  following  article  containing  data  per- 
tinent to  the  history  of  this  township,  and  which  also  appeared  in  a  sketch  fur- 
nished Judge  McCulloch  for  his  history  of  Peoria  county:  "The  country  about 
here  was  first  known  as  Harkness  Grove,  from  Isaac  Harkness,  the  first  settler, 
and  the  large  body  of  timber  around  which  the  first  settlements  were  made. 
It   was  afterwards  called  Harkness   Precinct. 

"Elmwood  was  first  the  name  of  the  home  of  William  J.  Phelps,  then  the 
name  of  the  postoffice.  When,  in  1850,  the  county  adopted  township  organization, 
it  became  the  name  of  the  township.  Justus  Gibbs  was  the  first  supervisor,  and 
the  first  meeting  of  the  board  was  in  April,  1850.  As  a  natural  consequence  the 
railroad  station  and  the  village  were  also  called  Elmwood.  For  many  years  it 
was  the  only  place  of  the  name  in  the  United  States,  and  for  that  matter,  in 
the  world.     Now,  however,  there  are  two  or  three  Elmwoods  in  other  states. 

"Isaac  Doyle  was  elected  first  justice  of  the  peace  in  1833.  William  J.  Phelps 
was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  in  1835,  an  office  which  he  held  for  a  number 


AVERV   DALTUN.    KI.MWddl).    IX    HIS    lii:;,|    VKAK 
Oldest    Man    in    I'l'ini:!    (minlv 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  265 

of  years  and  which  gave  him  the  title  of  'S(|uire'  Phelps,  by  which  he  was  known 
during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  officiated  at  a  large  numhcr  of  weddings. 
He  married  .-\.  AI.  Wiley  and  Miss  Alary  Ewalt  in  1838. 

"The  early  justice's  court  was  a  very  unique,  and  often  amusing  institution. 
Usually  the  litigants  managed  their  own  cases,  often  very  ably.  Judge  Wells, 
of  Connecticut,  the  grandfather  of  our  townsman,  W.  T.  Wells,  was  a  guest  at 
Mr.  Phelps'  log  cabin  during  the  trial  of  a  cow  case.  The  cabin  was  crowded 
and  a  number  of  witnesses  were  examined  by  the  plaintiff  and  defendant,  after 
which  they  argued  the  case.  The  Judge  said  he  had  been  very  much  interested, 
and  was  surprised  to  see  how  clear  an  idea  each  one  of  them  had  of  what  he 
wished  to  prove,  and  just  what  bearing  the  evidence  had  on  the  case.  He  was 
more  than  ever  surprised  when  Mr.  Phelps  told  him  that  neither  man  could  read 
nor  write.  He  could  scarcely  believe  it,  and  said  that  frontier  life  had  developed 
and  broadened  these  men  to  an  extent  that  would  have  been  impossible  any- 
where else. 

"In  1836  William  J.  Phelps  was  elected  county  commissioner,  and  in  1840, 
after  a  hotly  contested  campaign,  he  was  returned  to  the  legislature  over  Judge 
Xorman  II.  Purple  by  a  majority  of  eight  votes,  while  the  Harrison  electors 
were  defeated  by  thirty-two  votes.  Judge  Purple  contested  the  election,  and 
after  a  long  tight  Mr.  Phelps  was  sustained  in  a  democratic  legislature.  John 
Dougherty,  afterwards  lieutenant  governor,  one  of  the  democratic  members  of 
the  election  committee,  said  boldly:  'Politics  is  one  thing,  but  right  is  another. 
I  believe  that  Phelps  has  been  elected  and  I  shall  support  him.' 

"These  early  settlers  were  not  without  their  amusements.  There  was  a  log- 
rolling now  and  then,  and  once  or  twice  a  year  a  general  round-up  hunt.  Then, 
too.  there  was  the  neighborhood  dance  and  the  spelling  school,  and,  greatest 
of  all  'sugaring  oft'  time  in  the  maple  woods  in  the  spring.  The  women  did  a 
good  deal  of  visiting.  They  went  early,  spent  the  afternoon  and  stayed  to 
sup])er. 

"Every  now  and  then  there  was  a  quilting,  on  which  occasions  there  was 
the  usual  amount  of  gossip.  At  one  of  these  the  ladies  present  got  into  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  comparative  merits  of  their  husbands.  One  was  good  natured, 
but  slack  and  a  bad  provider ;  another  always  kept  the  house  well  supplied,  but 

was  a  constant  fretter.  and  so  on  around  until  Mrs.  was  reached. 

She  raised  her  spectacles  on  her  forehead,  crossed  her  hands  on  the  C|uilt  and 
said:  'Well,  women.  I'll  tell  you  what  it  is;  if  I  never  had  married.  I  know  I 
never  would.' 

"In  1847  Mr.  Phelps  secured  the  establishment  of  the  Elmwood  postoffice. 
He  was  postmaster  and  mail  contractor,  the  mail  being  brought  twice  a  week 
from  Farmington.  although,  if  I  remember  right,  the  pay  was  only  for  one  mail 
each  week.  At  twelve  years  old  I  qualified  as  deputy  postmaster  and  also  as 
mail  carrier.  The  office  was  kept  first  in  the  house  of  William  J.  Phelps,  in  a 
cherry  desk  which  w'as  made  for  the  purpose  by  the  neighborhood  cabinet  maker, 
Isaac  West.  It  is  still  preserved  in  the  family  as  a  historic  relic.  Mr.  Phelixs 
afterwards  built  an  office  twelve  or  fourteen  feet  square  by  the  roadside  near 
the  house.  When  the  postoffice  was  moved  to  town,  this  building  was  sold  to 
Mr.  Neagley  for  a  shoe  shop." 

Coal  was  discovered  on  the  land  of  William  J.  i 'helps  near  the  village  of 
Elmwood  in  1835.  It  was  first  obtained  in  small  quantities  by  stripping  off  the 
ground  and  was  used  principally  by  the  blacksmiths.  When  coal  stoves  were 
introduced  for  heating  purposes  the  mining  of  coal  became  an  industry  but  was 
confined  to  drifting  into  the  hillside.  It  was  not  until  1866  that  coal  was  mined 
for  commercial  use.  In  that  year  William  E.  Phelps  formed  a  partnership  with 
James  Lee  and  put  down  the  first  shaft  in  the  timber  west  of  William  J.  Phelps' 
residence  on  the  southeast  ([uarter  of  section  18.  The  hoisting  was  done  by 
horse  power.  About  this  time  William  J.  Phelps  became  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  Phelps  &  Lee,  and  in  the  fall  of   1867  a  shaft  was  sunk  on  the  southwest 


266  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

quarter  of  section  i"  near  Elmwood,  and  a  steam  hoisting  plant  installed.  A 
couple  of  years  later  another  shaft  was  sunk  near  by,  and  the  two  being  con- 
nected, the  first  one  was  conducted  as  an  escapement  shaft,  which  is  supposed 
to  have  been  the  first  in  the  state,  affording  absolute  security  to  the  men  below. 
The  Ehnwood  Coal  Company  in  1869  built  a  narrow  gauge  railroad  to  the 
mines  and  arranged  shipping  and  retail  yards  in  the  village.  The  same  company 
sunk  another  shaft  in  1873.  At  present  the  mines  are  running  full  capacity  and 
employing  a  number  of  men. 

THE    CITY    OF    ELMWOOD 

Elmwood  was  incorporated  as  a  village  February  27,  1867,  and  as  a  city, 
May  24,  1892.  It  now  has  a  population,  according  to  the  census  of  1910,  of 
i>390,  which  is  a  decrease  of  170  since  the  census  of  igoo. 

To  the  building  of  the  Peoria  &  Oquawka  railroad  may  be  ascribed  the  in- 
centive for  the  founding  of  Elmwood.  William  J.  Phelps,  one  of  the  early  set- 
tlers of  the  township,  was  a  director  in  this  road  and  owned  a  large  tract  of 
land  in  its  immediate  vicinity,  which  he  readily  recognized  would  be  greatly 
enhanced  in  value  by  having  the  railroad  contiguous  thereto.  It  is  presumed 
that  it  was  largely  through  his  influence  that  the  road  was  swerved  from  its 
original  intent  to  go  by  way  of  Farmington  and  run  through  this  tract,  after 
which  Mr.  Phelps,  in  1852,  made  a  plat  of  the  future  city  and  at  once  began  to 
sell  lots.  The  first  house  to  be  built  was  by  George  Rodenbaugh  on  block  V 
in  the  summer  of  1852.  About  the  same  time  Dr.  Swisher  built  on  lot  2  in  tlie 
same  block,  and  Levi  Richardson  put  up  a  house  in  block  R.  In  the  summer  of 
1853  Porteus  B.  Roberts  built  a  residence  on  block  O.  In  the  winter  of  1852-3 
A.  S.  Andrews  was  induced  to  move  his  store  building  from  Xewburg  to  Elm- 
wood, and  in  the  following  spring  the  store  commenced  business.  This  was  the 
pioneer  mercantile  establishment  of  Elmwood.  It  was  located  on  the  north- 
east corner  of  lot  i,  block  W.  In  the  summer  of  1853  Walter  T.  Brewster  and 
Addison  L.  Tracy  erected  a  brick  store  building  on  lot  i,  block  Q.  This  building 
a  few  years  ago  was  remodeled  and  is  now  a  structure  of  modern  appearance. 

\\'illiam  J.  Phelps  established  the  first  bank  in  Elmwood  about  the  year  1865. 
His  cashier  was  Harlan  P.  Tracy.  The  headquarters  of  the  financial  institution 
were  in  the  rear  room  of  Tracy's  dry-goods  store.  Soon,  however,  after  the  con- 
cern had  gotten  in  good  running  order,  a  bank  building  was  erected,  which  has 
been  in  use  for  that  purpose  to  the  present  time,  being  now  occupied  by  the 
banking  firm  of  Clinch,  Schenck  &  Lott.  The  name  of  this  first  financial  con- 
cern was  Phelps  &  Tracy.  It  was  so  known  until  1875,  when  Air.  Phelps  retired 
and  Fred  B.  Tracy  became  cashier  and  partner  with  his  uncle,  the  firm  name 
being  changed  to  H.  P.  Tracy  &  Company.  In  1883  the  bank  failed  and  the 
Farmers  &  Merchants  Bank  was  organized  by  Edwin  R.  Brown,  of  Elmwood, 
and  Delos  S.  Brown,  of  Peoria,  brothers,  which  was  sold  in  1887  to  Thomas 
Clinch  and  W.  H.  Lott, -who  had  in  the  meantime  opened  a  private  bank.  Henry 
Schenck  was  taken  in  as  partner  and  the  style  name  of  Clinch,  Schenck  &  Lott 
adopted,  under  which  the  bank  now  maintains  a  prominent  position. 

The  Elmwood  State  Bank  was  organized  in  1891,  with  a  capital  of  $25,000, 
later  increased  to  $50,000.  In  1898  it  went  into  the  hands  of  J.  D.  Putnam  as 
receiver. 

The  Congregational  church  was  organized  June  5,  1854,  with  the  following 
members:  William  J.  Phelps,  Mrs.  Olive  B.  J.  Phelps,  Walter  T.  Brewster,  Z. 
E.  Spring,  Mrs.  Avella  G.  Spring,  Warren  H.  Chapman,  Mrs.  Susan  S.  Chap- 
man, Mrs.  Ann  L.  Tracy,  Rev.  F.  Auten,  then  a  recent  graduate  of  Union 
Theological  Seminary,  of  New  York,  became  the  pastor  but  died  about  a  year 
thereafter.  About  1855  a  buiUling  for  religious  services  was  erected.  Previous 
thereto  services  were  held  in  an  unfinished  room  over  the  store  of  A.  L.  Tracy. 
After  the  death  of  Rev.  Auten,  Rev.  R.  Rudd  supplied  the  pulpit  for  a   few 


STREET  SCENE  IX    KI.MWi  h  H  ) 


ELM^^"OOD  SCHOiiL 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  267 

months.  Rev.  J.  Steiner  became  the  regular  pastor  in  August,  1856,  and  re- 
mained until  1858.  He  was  followed  b}'  Sherlock  Bristol,  who  came  in  1858. 
He  remained  two  years  and  was  followed  by  W.  G.  Pierce,  who  commenced  his 
labors  April  21,  1861.  During  the  war  of  the  rebellion  Rev.  Pierce  acted  as 
chaplain  of  the  Seventy-seventh  Regiment  of  Illinois  \  olunteers  for  about  one 
year.  His  ministry  closed  with  this  church  in  187 1  and  for  some  months  there 
was  no  pastor,  the  pulpit  being  supplied  by  different  clergymen.  Rev.  Albert 
Fitch  was  a  supply.  In  1872  Rev.  Allen  |.  \'an  Wagner,  who  had  just  graduated 
from  the  Chicago  Theological  Seminary,  was  called  and  entered  upon  his  labors. 
In  the  fall  of  1872  he  was  ordained  and  installed  as  pastor.  His  successors 
were  Rev.  L.  R.  Royce,  W.  R.  Butcher,  \V.  S.  Pressy  and  .Arthur  Miles.  In 
1893  the  church  building  was  remodeled  at  a  cost  of  $10,000.  It  has  a  seating 
capacity  of  about  400  and  many  of  the  modern  conveniences. 

June  5,  1856,  Revs.  Daniel  V.  AlcFarland.  William  A.  Meniing,  John  C  llanna 
and  Ruling  Elder  Andrew  Rogers  met  at  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  for 
the  purpose  of  organizing  a  Presbyterian  church,  which  was  accomplished.  .An- 
drew D.  Rogers  was  selected  as  ruling  elder  and  M.  Bush,  John  Bodine,  George 
Griggs  and  Levi  Richardson,  trustees.  Rev.  D.  F.  McFarland  was  the  first  pastor. 
By  reason  of  many  removals  and  other  causes  the  church  membership  had 
dwindled  and  interest  had  waned  to  such  an  extent  that  on  December  20,  1859, 
an  organization  was  cltected  with  twenty-three  members  as  the  I'irst  Presbyterian 
church  of  Elmwood.  The  elders  elected  were  \\'illiam  Simpson,  Cieorge  L.  Lucas 
and  Joseph  Warne.  A  house  of  worship  was  purchased  from  the  Congregational 
society,  which  had  been  located  at  Newburg  about  two  miles  away  and  moved 
into  the  village.  It  first  stood  on  the  tract  of  land  now  known  as  West  Park 
but  in  1877  was  moved  to  its  present  site.  Rev.  James  E.  Marquis  was  the  first 
pastor  of  the  reorganized  church  and  remained  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
F'ebruary  22,  1863.  The  pulpit  was  then  supplied  by  George  N.  Johnson  for 
about  one  year.  In  June,  1864,  Rev.  James  H.  Smith  was  called  to  this  charge 
and  ministered  to  the  people  until  1867.  He  was  followed  by  Rev.  John  R. 
Reason,  a  supply,  whose  pastoral  relations  continued  until  1880,  after  which, 
imtil  1885,  the  pidpit  was  supplied  by  Revs.  A.  C.  Wilson  and  C.  C.  Kerlinger. 
In  1885  Rev.  C.  C.  B.  Duncan  became  the  pastor  and  remained  until  1890.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  W.  H.  Mason.  In  June,  1895,  Rev.  B.  Y.  George  was 
called.  The  old  church  which  had  been  removed  and  remodeled  at  a  cost  of  about 
$1,200.  was  discarded  in  1891  for  a  more  modern  structure,  erected  at  a  cost 
of  $7,000.    The  membership  now  numbers  about  160. 

l-'.lmwood  has  always  been  forward  in  its  educational  institutions.  The  town- 
ship and  village  had  their  private  and  public  schools  as  soon  as  enough  children 
could  be  gathered  together  for  the  purpose.  In  1885  a  movement  was  made  in 
Elmwood  for  means  of  higher  education  and  to  that  end  the  Elmwood  Academy 
was  established.  Professor  Don  Carlos  Taft  and  Miss  Anna  Somers  were  the 
pioneer  teachers  in  this  institution  and  the  academy  gained  a  wide  and  most  en- 
viable reputation.  Classes  were  held  in  the  Congregational  church  for  ten  years, 
when  the  district  and  graded  schools  came  into  existence  and  later  the  high 
school.  ¥ov  the  latter  a  building  had  been  erected  which  was  destroyed  by  fire. 
It  was  replaced  by  the  present  handsome  structure,  which  is  substantially  built  of 
brick  and  stone.  A  board  of  seven  members  and  a  faculty  of  twelve  teachers 
are  in  charge. 

Elmwood  is  essentially  a  residence  town,  although  it  has  good  markets  for 
grain  and  stock  and  well  appointed  mercantile  establishments.  When  the  town 
was  about  three  or  four  years  old  John  Regan,  of  Knoxville,  established  the 
Elmwood  Observer.  The  first  number  appeared  January  6,  1858,  and  continued 
to  be  issued  weekly  until  May,  1859,  when  it  ceased  publication.  On  May  19, 
i860,  the  Chronicle  was  founded  by  Woodcock  &  Son.  of  Peoria.  It  only  existed 
about  two  years,  owing  to  the  enlistment  of  O.  F.  Woodcock  in  the  Civil  war, 
his  son  having  preceded  him  in  that  patriotic  duty  and  become  a  member  of  the 


268  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

Seventy-seventh  Regiment  of  Illinois  \'olnnteers.  In  the  interim  between  June, 
1862,  and  1866,  Elmwood  was  without  a  newspaper.  July  19,  1866.  John  Regan 
resuscitated  the  Observer  and  about  the  same  time  O.  F.  Woodcock  brought  the 
Chronicle  again  to  life  as  a  republican  paper.  On  the  7th  of  November,  J.  A. 
Somersby  took  charge  of  the  Chronicle  and  continued  its  publication  until  May 
9,  1872,  when  R.  P.  Childs  succeeded  him  in  the  editorial  chair.  On  the  4th 
of  July,  1872,  Joseph  P.  Barrett,  of  Peoria,  and  E.  R.  lirown,  of  Elmwood, 
took  charge  of  the  paper  and  on  the  15th  of  August  following,  sold  it  to  Alpheus 
Davidson  &  Son,  who  published  the  sheet  until  after  the  campaign  of  that  year, 
when  the  plant  was  removed  to  Canton. 

John  Regan  began  the  pul)lication  of  the  Messenger,  ]\larch  6,  1874.  This 
paper  met  with  considerable  good  fortune  and  was  successfully  conducted  until 
the  death  of  its  editor,  John  Regan,  in  1891,  when  it  began  to  lose  control  of 
affairs  and  in  1895  suspended  publication  by  passing  into  the  hands  of  the  Courier. 
J.  A.  Somersby  published  the  Industrial  Journal  from  May  30,  1874,  to  January 
6,  1876,  and  W.  P.  Gifford  and  A.  M.  Swan  published  the  Central  Illinois  News 
about  six  months  during  the  year  1876.  John  C.  Snyder  published  the  Express, 
a  semi-weekly  paper,  devoted  to  the  greenback  cause,  for  a  few  months  and 
then  suspended. 

The  Gazette  was  born  in  Brimfield,  November  4,  1875,  ^'^d  was  published 
there  until  July  2,  1879,  when  it  was  removed  to  Elmwood.  Here  it  was  issued 
as  an  eight  column  folio  but  it  was  soon  thereafter  changed  to  a  six  column 
folio,  semi-weekly.  In  1881  the  paper  passed  into  the  hands  of  W.  E.  Phelps, 
who  continued  its  publication  until  1883,  when  ]\I.  H.  Spence  took  charge  of 
it  and  it  is  today  the  leading  paper  of  the  citv. 

The  Courier  was  started  in  December,  1894,  liy  Albert  McKeighan  and  in 
1895  purchased  the  plant  of  The  ^Messenger,  which  was  discontinued.  From 
1895  to  1905  the  Courier  had  several  proprietors.  In  June  of  the  lattt:r  year  the 
Beardsley  Brothers,  of  Princeville,  bought  the  Courier  ofifice  and  resurrected  the 
Messenger,  at  the  same  time  suspending  the  publication  of  the  Courier. 

.\KRON    TOWNSHIP 

Akron  had  settlers  within  its  borders  as  early  as  1831.  It  was  organized 
in  1850,  and  the  first  election  was  held  at  the  house  of  Ebenezer  Russell,  April 
2,  1850,  at  which  time  Simon  P.  Chase  was  moderator  and  Richard  Kidd  clerk. 
There  were  sixteen  votes  cast.  Benjamin  Slane  was  elected  supervisor  and  all 
but  three  of  the  sixteen  electors  were  selected  at  this  election  for  some  office. 
Akron  is  in  the  northern  tier  of  townships  and  has  for  its  neighbor  on  the  west, 
I^rinceville,  on  the  south.  Radnor,  on  the  east,  Hallock,  and  on  the  north,  Stark 
county.  The  land  is  quite  fertile.  Part  of  it  is  rolling  and  the  rest  level,  flat, 
corn-producing  soil,  which  was  originally  covered  with  prairie  grass,  excepting 
a  narrow  strip  of  timber  along  the  western  border.  There  are  two  small  streams 
of  water  which  drain  this  territory — one  in  the  eastern  and  one  in  the  western 
part  of  the  township. 

To  Hugh  Montgomery  is  given  the  credit  of  being  the  first  permanent  settler, 
coming  here  in  1831  and  locating  on  section  7.  That  same  year  James  Morrow 
and  Daniel  Prince  settled  on  section  31,  and  Thomas  Morrow  on  section  18, 
where  he  built  a  log  cabin.  As  is  usually  the  case,  settlements  were  first  made 
near  the  timber,  as  prairie  land  in  early  days  was  not  considered  of  very  much 
value  for  cultivation.  This  took  the  first  settlers  to  the  western  part  of  the 
township  but  gradually  the  pioneers  ventured  on  to  the  prairie  and  opened  up 
farms  which  vied  in  fertility  with  those  near  the  woodland.  The  growth  in 
settlement  in  this  township  was  not  very  rapid  but  by  i860  it  had  reached  its 
ultimate  point. 

This  township  has  no  town  or  village  that  can  be  called  entirely  its  own. 
On  the  western  border  is  the  village  of   Princeville,  a   small  portion  of  which 


PTISTORY  OF  lM>:ORIA  COUNTY  269 

lies  within  the  confines  of  Akron  and  within  this  strip  is  the  Seventh  Day  Bap- 
tist church  and  parsonage,  a  store,  cheese  factory  and  a  number  of  residences. 
There  is  a  small  station  named  Akron  on  the  line  of  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern 
railroad,  which  was  laid  out  a  short  time  after  the  completion  of  the  road.  l)ut 
has  not  grown  in  dimensions  worth  mentioning. 

At  a  town  meeting  held  in  1854  it  was  decided  to  build  a  town  hall.  The 
building,  26x18  and  11  feet  high,  was  erected  that  same  year  and  served  the 
purposes  of  a  schoolhouse  and  town  hall  until  i860.  In  1865  the  voters  of  the 
town  joined  with  those  of  district  5  in  the  erection  of  a  two-story  building,  the 
lower  part  of  which  was  used  for  school  purposes  and  the  hall  above  for  public 
gatherings  and  business  meetings.  In  June,  19CX),  the  authorities  of  Akron  town- 
ship bought  the  interests  of  school  district  No.  5  in  this  building  and  moved  it 
on  to  another  part  of  the  lot. 

One  of  the  most  notable  instances  in  the  history  of  this  township  was  the 
contested  election  case  of  1868.  In  this  election  $30,000  in  bonds  were  voted, 
for  the  construction  of  a  railroad.  The  vote  stood  124  for  the  issuing  of  the 
bonds  and  122  votes  against.  The  matter  was  taken  into  court  and  after  four 
years'  litigation  the  supreme  court  determined  that  the  election  was  illegal  and 
that  the  supervisors  could  not  be  compelled  to  issue  the  $30,000  bonds  voted 
for  the  purpose.  In  this  trial  much  bitterness  of  spirit  was  engendered  and  a 
number  of  prominent  lawyers  were  engaged.  Among  them  were  the  late  Robert 
E.  Ingersoll.  of  Peoria,  .^dlai  E.  Stevenson,  of  Bloomington,  Judge  John  Burns 
and  George  C.  Barnes,  of  Lacon,  Judge  Hezekiah  AI.  Wead  and  Henry  B.  Hop- 
kins, also  of  Peoria.  The  present  officers  of  the  township  are:  M.  J.  McUonna, 
supervisor;  B.  W.  Heath,  township  clerk;  George  Ortley.  assessor;  George  Del- 
heimer,  collector;  Charles  .A.  Timmons,  justice  of  the  peace. 

Shortly  after  the  settlement  of  the  township  a  schoolhouse  was  built  on  the 
northwest  corner  of  section  19  and  became  famous  in  its  day.  It  accommodated 
as  many  as  si.xty  scholars,  children  coming  from  all  directions  as  far  as  Spoon 
river  to  the  northwest,  and  the  center  of  Jubilee  township  on  the  southwest. 
It  was  used  on  Sunday  as  a  place  of  worslii])  and  the  remainder  of  the  week 
as  a  school  room.  This  was  also  the  polling  place  for  c|uite  a  while.  It  was 
destroyed  by  tire  about  1849  ^nd  the  ne.xt  schoolhouse  to  be  built  was  near  where 
the  .-\tchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  h'e  railroad  crosses  the  public  road,  one  mile  east 
of  the  west  line  of  the  township.  It  was  not  long  after  this  that  the  township 
was  divided  into  three  school  districts.  The  schoolhouse  just  referred  to  was 
in  district  No.  i.  In  some  of  these  districts  school  was  kept  for  a  few  months 
in  the  year  but  as  soon  as  the  township  was  fairly  settled,  it  was  redistricted  into 
nine  districts,  remaining  so  to  the  present  time.  There  are  now  nine  substantial 
frame  schoolhouses,  each  accommodating  about  thirty  pupils.  The  largest  en- 
rollment of  pupils  was  in  the  period  between  1870  and  1880,  when  there  were 
349  pupils  out  of  409  persons  of  school  age,  and  from  $10,  the  first  wage  ])aid. 
the  stijjend  for  teachers  has  increased  to  an  average  of  about  $45  per  month. 

The  church  building  of  the  Seventh  Day  Baptists  stands  on  the  east  line  of 
section  24.  This  religious  society  was  organized  September  3,  1852,  through  the 
efforts  of  Anthony  Hakes  and  a  few  others.  In  1870  the  present  church  building 
was  erected,  at  a  cost  of  about  $6,000. 

The  .-\mish  church  was  organized  about  1870  and  for  a  number  of  years 
services  were  held  at  the  homes  of  members.  In  1880  a  church  building  was 
erected,  with  modern  conveniences,  for  meetings  and  also  for  various  socials 
and  the  like.  Christian  Straitmatter  served  as  pastor  for  the  organization  until 
1895.  Since  then  the  pulpit  has  been  filled  by  Ludwig  Herbold  and  h'rank  Wortz. 
The  fact  that  there  are  but  two  churches  in  the  township  is  no  indication  that 
its  citizens  are  not  disposed  toward  religious  matters,  Within  easy  driving  dis- 
tance are  two  churches  at  Lawn  Ridge,  two  at  Edelstein,  three  at  Dunlap,  three 
at  Princeville  and  one  at  Stark,  which  give  the  people  ample  facilities  for  gratify- 
ing any  desire  they  may  have  for  church  going. 


270  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

Up  to  i860  the  settlers  of  this  township  received  their  mail  at  Princeville  and 
Soutliampton  but  about  the  year  i860  a  postoffice,  named  Akron,  was  estab- 
lished four  miles  east  of  Princeville  and  T.  P.  Burdick  was  appointed  post- 
master. His  successor,  William  Sanders,  was  appointed  three  years  later  and 
he  distributed  the  mails  until  1866,  when  the  office  was  discontinued,  but  it  was 
reestablished  in  1870  near  the  center  of  the  township,  Mrs.  Deming  serving  as 
postmistress.  She  resigned  about  a  year  later  and  William  Houston  succeeded 
her  and  retained  the  position  until  the  office  was  discontinued,  owing  to  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  rural  delivery  route  from  Princeville,  which  supplied  the  needs 
of  the  people  in  a  much  better  and  more  expeditious  manner  than  the  stationary 
office,  as  the  mail  is  brought  daily  to  the  door  of  each  house  in  the  township. 

This  is  essentially  an  agricultural  community  and  practically  all  of  the  inhabi- 
tants are  engaged  in  tilling  the  soil,  which  is  rich  and  yields  abundant  harvests 
to  an  intelligent  and  prosperous  people.  The  township  has  good  roads,  bridges, 
churches,  schools  and  all  that  goes  to  make  for  a  life  of  happiness  and  content- 
ment. Its  railroad  facilities  are  very  good.  In  1871  the  Peoria  &  Rock  Island 
entered  the  township,  and  since  the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  has  been  built 
across  the  township  from  east  to  west  near  the  center.  In  1901  the  Chicago  & 
Northwestern  ran  a  line  across  the  township  a  half  mile  west  of  the  eastern 
border.  Akron  is  a  station  on  this  road  near  the  southeast  corner  of  the  town- 
ship. 

HALLOCK  TOWNSHIP 

Hallock  township  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Marshall  county,  on  the  east 
by  Chillicothe,  south  by  Medina  and  west  by  Akron  townships.  It  is  quite  bluffy 
in  places  and  has  considerable  timber  land,  the  bulk  of  which  runs  through  its 
center  from  north  to  south,  varying  in  width  from  nearly  four  miles  on  the 
north  to  a  little  over  one  mile  on  its  southern  boundary'.  Most  of  the  land,  how- 
ever, is  very  fertile  and  comprises  some  of  the  finest  farms  in  Peoria  county. 
It  is  well  watered,  the  streams  being  pretty  equally  scattered  over  the  township. 
The  township  was  organized  in  1850  and  namecl  after  its  first  settler,  Lewis 
Hallock.  The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Reuben  Hamlin  in 
Northampton  on  Tuesday,  April  2,  1850.  William  Easton  was  chairman  and 
Charles  Barker  clerk.  The  latter  was  finally  elected  moderator  of  the  meeting 
and  Robert  Will,  Jr.,  clerk.  At  this  election  the  following  officers  were  chosen : 
Walter  S.  Evans,  supervisor ;  Erastus  C.  Root,  assessor ;  Lyman  Robinson,  clerk ; 
Isaiah  Nurse,  Joel  Hicks  and  Simon  Reed,  commissioners;  Jesse  Jenkins,  over- 
seer of  the  poor;  Munson  Hinman,  town  clerk;  \Villiam  Easton  and  Nathaniel 
Chapin,  justices;  Augustus  Barton  and  Eliphalet  Russell,  constables. 

Hallock  township  is  one  of  the  first  to  have  been  settled,  Lewis  Hallock  having 
come  here  about  the  year  1820.  He  took  up  some  land  in  what  is  now  called 
Hallock  Hollow,  where  he  built  a  log  cabin.  He  was  a  single  man  but  in  the 
winter  of  1829  he  married  a  Mrs.  Wright,  daughter  of  Hiram  Cleveland,  and 
brought  her  to  his  cabin.  To  them  was  born  a  child,  Clarissa,  who  afterward 
married  Henry  Robertson.  He  was  a  man  of  upright  character  and  honest  in 
all  his  dealings  and  lived  on  his  farm  in  the  hollow  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred April  I,  1857,  at  the  age  of  sixty-one  years.  When  a  young  man  he  had 
immigrated  to  the  great  west  from  Long  Island  and  lived  among  the  Indians  in 
Wisconsin  and  elsewhere,  gaining  his  livelihood  by  hunting  and  trapping. 

From  all  accounts  Hallock  must  have  lived  in  his  cabin  alone  for  some  time 
before  other  settlers  came  into  the  neighborhood,  for  it  was  known  that  there 
was  no  person  here  beside  him  until  1825.  In  that  year  Aaron  and  Simon  Reed 
immigrated  from  Jackson  county,  Ohio,  also  Moses  and  Samuel  Clifton,  Joseph 
Meredith,  Francis  Thomas,  Resolved  and  Hiram  Cleveland,  Cornelius  Doty, 
William  \\'right  and  Gershom  Silliman  and  family.  In  1830  came  Joel  Hicks  and 
family  and  Jeriel  Root  and  sons,  Erastus  C.  and  Lucas.     Most  of  these  located 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  271 

near  the  north  end  of  La  Salle  prairie.  Joseph  Meredith  settled  on  section  12 
in  1830  and  kept  a  small  tavern  for  the  accommodation  of  stage  drivers  and 
travelers.     It  was  on  the  main  road  between  Galena  and  Springfield. 

Roswell  Xurse  and  son  Isaiah,  and'Ehenezer  Stowell  arrived  in  the  township 
from  Chenango  county.  New  York,  walking  to  r.uti'alo  and  thence  by  water  to 
Toledo.  From  Toledo  they  walked  tlie  entire  distance  to  this  township,  carrying 
their  rifles  and  other  necessaries  on  their  backs.  At  that  time  they  found  no 
settlement  north  of  Northampton.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  however,  Erastus 
Root  located  on  section  3,  northwest  of  Northampton. 

The  winter  of  1831  will  ever  be  remembered  by  the  pioneers  for  its  deep 
snow  and  drifts.  In  many  places  the  snow  was  three  feet  deep  on  the  level  and 
the  drifts  were  in  some  places  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  deep.  The  cold  was  steady 
and  intense.  Game  was  almost  exterminated.  "The  winter  of  183 1  was  an  ex- 
ceptionally severe  one  all  over  the  west.  During  the  winter  two  men,  strangers 
to  the  settlers,  named  Dr.  Franklin  and  McMillan,  with  six  yoke  of  oxen  and 
two  sleds,  loaded  with  goods  and  bound  for  Prairie  du  Chien,  stopped  at  Simon 
Reed's  and  after  a  stay  of  about  a  week,  they  built  another  sled  and  hired  a  man  by 
the  name  of  Cooper,  who  with  them  started  sometime  in  the  month  of  January 
and  were  soon  caught  in  a  terrible  northeastern  snowstorm  which  filled  up  their 
track  and  caused  them  to  lose  their  way.  Night  overtook  them  when  out  on  the 
prairie  near  Boyd's  Grove  and  they  turned  the  oxen  loose  and  tried  to  reach 
Poyd's  on  foot.  Two  of  them  perished  and  the  third — McMillan-^-got  there 
the  next  morning,  badly  frozen.  Eleven  of  the  oxen  were  frozen  to  death.  The 
other  came  to  Meredith's." 

A  number  of  the  settlers  of  this  township  took  up  arms  against  the  Indians 
in  the  Black  Hawk  war,  enlisting  in  Abner  Reed's  company.  Among  them 
were  Thomas  Reed,  Lucas  Root,  Edwin  S.  Jones,  Elias  Love,  James  Doty  and 
Simon  Reed.  The  latter  was  commissioned  as  teamster  and  served  until  the 
close  of  the  war.  Doty  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Sycamore  Creek,  May  14, 
1832.  The  Pottawottomies  had  towns  in  this  vicinity,  one  on  the  land  of  Emery 
Stillman  in  Medina  township,  one  at  Smith's  Springs,  between  Rome  and  Chilli- 
cothe,  and  the  other  on  Senachewine  creek,  not  far  from  its  banks. 

The  first  available  mill  for  the  settlers  of  this  township  was  built  on  Sena- 
chewine creek  by  William  Mofifatt,  in  Chillicothe  township,  in  1834.  The  first 
and  only  mill  of  any  consequence  built  in  the  township  was  put  up  by  Thomas 
Ford  in  1836  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  13. 

NORTHAMPTON 

The  village  of  Northampton  was  laid  off  by  Reuben  Hamlin  on  section  13  in 
July,  1836,  and  the  first  house  to  be  built  in  the  place  was  used  as  a  tavern.  It 
was  erected  in  the  winter  of  1835-6  by  Reuben  Hamlin,  who  presided  over  the 
welfare  of  travelers  therein  for  many  years.  He  was  a  native  of  Northampton, 
Massachusetts,  and  being  the  founder  of  the  village,  named  it  after  his  native 
place.  Aaron  Reed,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  township,  located  near  this 
village  and  Nathaniel  Chapin,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  was  early  a  prominent 
resident  of  Northampton.  He  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  for  some 
time.    The  village  now  has  a  population  of  58.  just  two  less  than  it  had  in  1900. 

L.\WN    RIDCE 

Lawn  Ridge  is  upon  the  land  dividing  Peoria  and  Marshall  counties,  and 
one  of  its  first  settlers  was  Nathaniel  Smith.  It  is  a  flourishing  little  village  and 
trading  point  and  has  a  population  of  320 — an  increase  of  120  since  the  census 
of  1900.  There  are  two  churches,  those  of  the  Methodist  and  Congregational 
faith.  On  the  Peoria  side  of  the  dividing  line  is  an  agricultural  implement  con- 
cern, a  meat  market,  blacksmith  and  repair  shop  and  hotel.  Here  was  also  estab- 
lished a  postofifice. 


272  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

EDELSTEIN 

Edelstein  owes  its  birth  to  the  building  of  the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe 
railroad  through  the  township.  It  is  a  flourishing  village  located  on  section  i8 
and  was  founded  in  1887  on  land  owned  by  Sanuiel  Burns.  A.  J.  Ramsey  built 
the  lirst  store  building  south  of  the  railroad  but  afterward  removed  it  to  the 
north  side  in  1887.  That  same  year  Robert  A.  Green  erected  a  grain  elevator 
and  not  only  handled  grain  but  coal,  tile,  seeds  and  live  stock.  Since  then  the 
elevator  has  changed  hands  several  times.  In  1894  the  firm  of  Kendall  &  Cline 
built  an  elevator  northwest  of  the  depot  near  the  site  of  the  old  one,  which  had 
been  destroyed  by  fire.  The  structure  was  later  removed  to  Akron,  a  station 
on  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  railroad.  In  1889  J.  A.  Potter  erected  a  store 
building,  which  was  managed  by  his  son  Anthony  Potter  about  one  year,  after 
which  it  passed  through  the  hands  of  several  owners.  In  the  fall  of  1888  C.  Y. 
Brayton  erected  a  building  and  opened  a  general  store,  which  he  continued  to 
operate  until  his  death.  He  was  succeeded  in  business  by  his  wife.  That  same 
year  F.  W.  Rotterman  established  a  hardware  business  and  M.  J.  McDonna  a 
blacksmith,  wagon  and  general  repair  shop.  A  drug  store  was  established  in 
1891  by  W.  R.  Peck,  who  was  appointed  postmaster  in  1893.  Edelstein  has 
other  industries,  and  a  very  well  kept  hotel. 

WEST   HALLOCK 

West  Hallock  is  but  a  hamlet,  half  of  which  is  in  Akron  township.  It  con- 
tains a  cheese  factory,  which  has  been  in  operation  for  some  years.  There  is 
also  a  general  store,  feed  mill,  blacksmith  and  machine  shop  and  general  wagon 
and  repair  shop. 

SCHOOLS 

The  first  school  taught  in  Hallock  township  was  erected  on  Lewis  Hallock's 
farm  and  tauglit  by  I^ucia  Root  during  the  winter  of  1829  and  1830.  The  first 
schoolhouse  in  the  district  was  erected  near  Joel  Hicks'  place  on  section  32. 
It  was  built  in  the  fall  of  1836  and  afterwards  removed  to  the  Hallock  farm. 
A  school  was  tauglit  during  the  summers  of  1839  and  1840  in  a  log  cabin  where 
the  residence  of  Isaiah  Nurse  was  afterwards  located,  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  township.  Fiducia  Bliss  was  the  first  teacher.  In  1841  a  building  for  school 
purposes  was  built  in  district  No.  i.  It  was  built  of  brick  and  was  18  feet 
square.  Sarah  Fosdick  was  one  of  the  earlier  teachers.  An  old  log  cabin  in 
district  No.  5  first  answered  the  purposes  of  a  schoolhouse.  It  stood  near  O.  N. 
Miller's  dwelling  and  continued  to  be  used  for  school  purposes  until  185 1.  Joseph 
Gallup  was  its  first  teacher.  In  both  the  districts  just  mentioned  more  modern 
buildings  were  erected  in  1856.  School  district  No.  6  was  originally  composed 
of  parts  of  Peoria,  Stark  and  Marshall  counties  but  was  set  off  into  its  present 
limits  in  i860.     The  present  schoolhouse  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  about  $1,400. 

The  structure  now  occupied  in  West  Hallock  district  as  a  public  school  was 
first  intended  as  an  academy.  It  was  erected  in  the  fall  of  1856  and  after  being 
used  about  five  years  for  academical  purposes,  was  turned  over  to  the  school 
trustees  and  has  since  been  conducted  as  a  public  school.  The  schoolhouse  in 
district  No.  4  stands  on  section  32  and  was  erected  in  1870.  In  1894  the  village 
of  Edelstein  was  made  an  independent  school  district  and  that  same  year  a 
building  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $1,000.  At  this  time  there  were  only  twenty- 
three  school  children  of  school  age.     There  are  now  about  one  hundred. 

CHURCHES 

The  Seventh  Day  Baptist  church  is  located  in  the  village  of  West  Hallock, 
It  was  organized  in  1852  by  Elder  Anthony  Hakes,  of  Berlin,  New  York,  who 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  273 


c 


came  to  the  township  in  1845  'ind  was  followed  about  three  years  later  by  his 
brother  Daniel  Hakes,  and  John  Simpson.  They  with  others  held  meetings 
from  house  to  house  but  when  the  academy  building  was  erected  it  was  offered 
and  accepted  by  the  Baptists,  wherein  to  hold  their  meetings.  On  the  3d  day 
of  September,  1852,  at  the  home  of  Elder  Anthony  Hakes,  the  Seventh  Day 
r.a])tist  church  was  organized  by  Elder  Stillman  Coon,  with  fourteen  charter 
members.  Elder  Coon  served  as  the  first  pastor.  The  growth  of  the  member- 
ship made  it  necessary  to  erect  a  house  of  worshij)  and  that  year  the  present 
church  building  was  built  at  a  cost  of  ?5,50o.  It  comfortably  .seats  250  people. 
Elder  Hakes  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  in  1856,  and  had  charge  of  this  con- 
gregation for  a  number  of  years. 

The  Union  Baptist  church,  located  at  Union,  on  section  26,  was  at  one  time 
connected  with  the  Chillicothe  Baptist  Society.  It  was  organized  June  ly,  1858, 
with  twelve  members  as  follows :  Thomas  B.  Reed,  Sanford  Reed,  Amy  Sullivan, 
Simon  Reed,  Walter  S.  Evans,  Sarah  Kirkpatrick,  Mary  Baggs,  Francis  Reed, 
Nancy  Sprague.  Levi  Sprague,  C.  Reed,  Amy  Reed.  In  July,  1858,  Anthony 
Hakes  was  chosen  pastor  and  preached  once  in  two  weeks.  Soon  after  the  or- 
ganization the  ]\Iethodists  and  Baptists  of  the  neighborhood  joined  and  erected 
what  is  known  as  the  Union  church.  It  was  occupied  by  these  societies  in  com- 
mon until  1873,  when  the  Baptists  bought  the  interests  of  the  other  society. 
In  1894  the  Congregational  church  of  Edelstein  was  organized  with  twenty- 
seven  members,  who  came  from  several  denominations.  Soon  thereafter,  or  on 
the  4th  of  August,  1894,  the  corner  stone  of  the  church  building  was  laid  and 
the  church  was  dedicated  December  30th  following,  by  Rev.  James  Tompkins, 
of  Chicago.  Rev.  Stephen  Burdick,  of  West  Hallock,  and  Rev.  Charles  Marsh, 
of  Lawn  Ridge.  The  building  cost  $2,800,  which  was  practically  all  paid  before 
the  dedication.  Rev.  Charles  Marsh  was  the  first  pastor  and  filled  the  position 
until  July,  1900,  when  he  resigned,  since  which  time  several  ministers  have  sup- 
plied the  pulpit.  For  the  Methodist  and  Catholic  churches,  see  articles  under 
those  titles. 

HOLLIS  TOWNSHIP 

The  above  named  township  is  situated  in  the  extreme  southeast  part  of  the 
county.  It  has  for  its  eastern  and  southern  boundaries  the  Illinois  river,  on  the 
west  is  Timber  township,  and  on  the  north  Limestone  township.  Hollis  is  much 
broken  by  the  river  bluffs,  La  Marsh  creek  and  its  tributaries.  The  land,  which 
was  formerly  mostly  covered  with  timber,  has  been  cleared  and  converted  into 
fine  farms.  The  lower  bottom  land,  however,  is  interspersed  with  small  lakes. 
Part  of  this  low  land  is  protected  from  the  river  by  artificial  means.  The  river 
bluff's  are  filled  with  coal  and  at  several  points  mining  operations  are  carried 
on.  The  township  was  formerly  known  as  Lafayette  Precinct  and  was  named 
for  Denzil  Hollis,  an  early  settler,  who  came  from  England.  His  grave,  by  a 
vote  of  the  township  in  1897,  was  enclosed  by  an  iron  fence.  The  townshiji 
was  organized  April  2,  1850.  and  on  that  day  the  first  election  was  held  at  the 
house  of  William  Martin.  John  McGee  was  moderator  and  John  F.  Buck, 
clerk.  .At  this  election  the  following  were  chosen :  Supervisor,  Stephen  C. 
^^'hceler ;  town  clerk,  George  Jenkins ;  assessor,  Albert  G.  Powell ;  collector, 
David  (ioodwin;  overseer  of  the  ]Joor,  Denzil  Hollis;  commissioners  of  highways, 
John  Houghtaling.  James  Clark,  John  Duffield ;  justices  of  the  peace,  William 
Martin,  Sr.,  Miles  M.  Crandall ;  constables,  S.  D.  Buck  and  David  Goodwin. 

The  first  white  person  to  settle  in  this  township  was  Andrew  Tharp,  who 
came  in  1826  and  died  in  the  winter  of  1844-5  o^  "black  tongue,"  a  contagious 
disease  which  it  is  said  killed  nine  persons  in  the  neighborhood  in  that  year. 
William  Scott,  with  his  family,  arrived  in  this  community  in  1827,  coming  from 
Terre  Haute  in  a  one-horse  wagon.  He  located  a  quarter  of  a  mile  east  of  the 
present  site  of  Maplcton.     Aholiab  Buck,  with  his  wife  Annie,  natives  of  New 


274  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

York,  settled  on  section  6  in  1831,  and  soon  thereafter  their  neighbors  were 
I'eter  Muchler,  Captain  Francis  Johnson  and  Moses  Perdue.  They  were  joined 
a  Httle  later  by  William  Tapping,  James  Clark,  William  and  Abraham  J\Iaple, 
William  and  John  Martin,  Robert  Buchanan  and  wife,  Moses  Dusenbury,  a  Air. 
I'^rauks,  Hugo  Jones  and  Sidney  Ann  his  wife,  John  Jenkins,  John  Kahn,  Jesse 
Jones,  John  Hornbaker,  William  S.  Powell,  Ansel  Haines,  Samuel  Watrous, 
William  Johnston,  Thomas  J.  Mctkew,  Samuel  Hootman  and  Isaac  Maple. 

The  first  steam  grist  and  sawmill  erected  in  the  township  was  by  Captain 
Francis  Johnson  in  1834.  The  building  was  put  up  on  La  Marsh  creek  and  was 
a  two-story  frame,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  the  community.  Near  by  was  a  brick 
yard,  also  conducted  by  Mr.  Johnson.  He  was  one  of  the  victims  of  the  "black 
tongue"  already  described  in  this  article.  The  mill  became  the  property  of 
Thomas  J.  McGrew  in  1847.  who  ran  it  until  1856,  when  it  was  destroyed  by  a 
terrific  wind  storm.  In  1836  Moses  Dusenbury  brought  the  first  hand  grist  mill 
to  the  township,  the  burrs  of  which  were  sixteen  inches  in  diameter.  In  1838 
Mr.  Dusenbury  was  killed  by  falling  with  his  blind  horse  over  the  high  bank 
on  the  west  branch  of  La  Marsh  creek.  Thomas  Stevens  erected  a  two-story 
building  for  a  sawmill  in  1839  on  the  west  fork  of  La  Marsh  creek  but  in  June, 
1872,  the  mill,  with  the  dam,  was  washed  away  by  the  highest  water  ever  known 
here. 

Many  things  happened  in  those  early  days  that  would  be  looked  upon  now  as 
a  matter  of  course  and  not  of  any  especial  interest.  For  instance,  Moses  Perdue 
set  out  the  first  vineyard  in  1832,  Mr.  Franks  in  1837  had  a  brick  yard  in  the 
township,  and  John  Rahn  in  1839  was  running  a  tan  yard,  which  continued  in 
operation  until  1871.  In  1838  John  Martin  brought  from  near  St.  Paul,  Minne- 
sota, the  first  pine  tree,  which  was  set  out  by  William  Tapping,  and  it  is  still 
standing.  In  1838  the  Maple  brothers  set  out  chestnut  trees.  By  1855  apples 
had  become  plentiful  and  the  Maple  brothers  were  running  a  cider  mill  by  hand 
power.  In  1853  William  T.  Stackpole  set  out  fifteen  thousand  apple  trees  on 
section  15,  and  in  1854  he  built  a  two-story  brick  house  and  brick  barn,  which 
are  still  standing.  Orchard  Mines  in  the  neighborhood  gets  its  name  from  having 
had  an  orchard  of  forty  acres  on  the  land.  Few  of  the  trees,  however,  are  left 
standing.  In  1848  Moses  Perdue  brought  the  first  cook  stove  into  the  northeast 
part  of  the  township.  In  1839  John  .McFarland  built  the  first  blacksmith  shop 
near  the  northeast  corner  of  section  5.  It  was  constructed  of  logs.  William 
Van  Norman  was  the  first  blacksmith.  In  1840  James  Clark  erected  a  black- 
smith shop  which  is  still  standing.  In  1858  the  Maple  brothers  erected  a  three- 
story  steam  saw  and  grist  mill  at  a  cost  of  $5,800.  In  1832  the  first  coal  bank 
was  opened  at  Little  La  Marsh  creek.  The  coal  was  hauled  by  oxen  to  Egman 
Lake,  where  it  was  loaded  on  boats  for  St.  Louis. 

MOLLIS    VILL.\GE 

is  situated  in  section  11  and  is  near  the  point  where  the  old  Illinois  River  railroad, 
afterward  the  Peoria,  Pekin  &  Jacksonville,  formed  a  junction  with  the  Peoria 
&  Hannibal  railroad,  the  former  crossing  the  river  on  a  bridge  which  a  few  years 
ago  burned  and  has  never  been  rebuilt.  The  Toledo,  Peoria  &  Western  now 
occupies  and  uses  the  track  of  the  former  roads  from  Peoria  to  this  point.  The 
Peoria  &  Pekin  Terminal  railroad  also  runs  through  the  northern  portion  of 
this  township,  crossing  the  river  to  Pekin  on  its  own  bridge,  lately  constructed. 
Hollis  was  laid  out  September  8,  1868,  by  E.  J.  and  M.  A.  Jones.  Its  inhabitants 
are  principally  miners. 

M.^PLETON 

is  located  on  the  east  half  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  20  and  was  laid 
out  in    1868  by  John  T.  Lindsay,  of   Peoria,  and   Samuel   Gilfoy  and  William 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  275 

T.  IMaple,  of  Hollis  township.  It  is  a  coal  town  and  on  a  spur  of  the  Toledo, 
Peoria  &  Western  railway  which  branches  off  to  Kingston.  The  mines  at  Maple- 
ton  are  practically  worked  out  but  in  the  immediate  vicinity  are  mines  operated 
by  James  \\'alker,  of  Mapleton,  and  W.  F..  Foley.  There  is  a  schoolhouse,  witli 
a  seating  capacity  of  80,  which  was  built  in  the  year  1873. 

REED   CITY 

This  is  a  city  more  in  name  than  in  fact,  nor  is  it  a  village  nor  town.  It  is 
not  really  even  a  hamlet.  A  bright  future  was  anticipated  for  it,  however,  when 
it  was  laid  out  by  the  Buckeye  Coal  &  Coke  Company,  composed  of  speculators 
from  Ohio,  who  had  bought  up  the  coal  rights  in  this  vicinity.  While  the  pro- 
posed village  did  not  materialize  the  mines  are  still  operated  by  the  Newsam 
brothers,  w'ho  also  have  a  general  mercantile  establishment.  Eventually  the  min- 
ing company  changed  its  name  to  that  of  the  Reed  City  Coal  iS:  Mining  Company, 
and  gave  to  the  village  the  name  of  its  principal  stockholder,  Mr.  Reed.  This 
gentleman  in  1889  erected  a  school  building  and  haJl  combined,  at  a  cost  of  about 
$40,000  and  endowed  it  with  sufficient  funds  for  its  maintenance.  It  is  called 
the  Reed  Institute  and  is  for  the  free  use  of  the  residents  of  the  village.  Mr. 
Reed  became  the  sole  owner  of  the  mining  property  consisting  of  over  one 
thousand  acres,  and  at  his  death  left  it  to  his  widow. 

SCHOOLS 

L'nder  an  act  of  the  legislature  of  1836  and  1837  the  electors  of  this  township 
held  an  election  at  Johnson's  mill,  April  14,  1838,  for  the  purpose  of  determining 
whether  or  not  the  township  should  organize  under  the  school  laws  just  re- 
ferred to.  Twelve  votes  were  cast  for  and  only  one  against  the  proposition. 
On  the  same  day  five  trustees  were  elected  as  follows :  Aholiab  Buck,  John  Duf- 
held,  Nathaniel  Clifton,  Andrew  Tharp  and  Richard  Hayes.  On  the  12th  of 
May  the  trustees  met  and  appointed  Nelson  Buck  the  first  township  school  treas- 
urer and  laid  off  the  township  into  three  school  districts.  This  was  the  beginning 
of  the  public  school  system  in  Hollis  township.  This  was  not  by  any  means, 
however,  the  beginning  of  the  schools  in  this  community.  There  were  private 
schools  as  early  as  1836,  when  Israel  I.  Hurd  taught  a  number  of  children  in  a 
log  house  on  the  bluff.  The  following  year  he  taught  a  school  in  a  log  house 
belonging  to  Aloses  Perdue  which  was  erected  on  section  11.  This  building  had 
two  rooms,  each  with  a  fire  place  built  of  brick  from  the  yards  of  Mr.  Frank. 
Mr.  Perdue  gave  the  use  of  the  larger  room  for  the  school  children.  About  1838 
Miss  Mary  McFarland  taught  school  in  a  log  house  which  stood  on  section  4. 
There  are  now  four  district  schools  in  the  township  beside  the  Reed  Institute. 
Also  a  union  school  with  Timber  and  a  union  school  with  Limestone,  Logan  and 
Timber.  All  these  have  good  buildings  and  are  maintained  up  to  the  standard 
of  district  schools  tliroughout  the  county. 

LA    MARSH    BAPTIST    CHURCH 

The  Baptist  church  at  Maple  Ridge  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  community. 
It  was  organized  November  27,  1838,  with  fourteen  members,  all  from  Guernsey 
county,  Ohio.  Among  them  were  Isaac  and  Sarah  Alaple,  Robert  and  Rebecca 
Buchanan,  Abram  Maple,  William  and  Mary  Maple,  Hugh  and  Sidney  Ann 
Jones,  Mrs.  Plarker  and  Eliza  Jones.  Rev.  A.  M.  Gardner,  pastor  of  the  con- 
gregation at  Peoria,  presided  over  the  La  Marsh  congregation  and  continued  in 
that  capacity  until  1848.  In  January,  1849,  Elder  William  E.  Ely  became  pastor, 
giving  the  congregation  half  of  his  time.  In  1849  ^'i^  Baptist  association  met 
here,  holding  its  sessions  in  a  barn  for  want  of  a  house  of  worship.  Among 
the  ministers  were  Rev.  Henry  G.  Weston,  of  Peoria,  and  Rev.  L.  G.  Minor,  who 


276  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

remained  after  the  session  and  held  a  revival  which  continued  through  the  fol- 
lowing vear  and  during  which  time  there  were  fifty-two  baptisms,  which  brought 
the  meml)ership  of  the  church  up  to  102  members.  In  185 1  Elder  Ely  closed  his 
pastorate  and  was  succeeded  by  Elder  Joel  Sweet,  who  preached  at  Trivoli  half 
of  his  time.  He  was  succeeded  in  1855  by  Elder  John  Edminster,  who  continued 
for  some  years.  Soon  after  the  revival  meetings  herein  mentioned,  a  house  of 
worship  30x35  feet  was  erected,  at  a  cost  of  $1,000.  The  first  deacons  were 
William  Maple  and  John  McGee. 

LIMESTONE  TOWNSHIP 

In  his  carefully  compiled  and  excellently  written  history  of  Peoria  county, 
the  late  Judge  'McCulloch,  in  writing  of  Limestone  township,  had  the  following 
in  part  to  say :  "The  settlement  of  Limestone  township  was  almost  contempo- 
raneous with  that  of  Peoria.  But  reaching  back  many  years  prior  to  the  advent 
of  the  American  settlers,  it  has  a  history  of  its  own.  As  early  as  the  year 
1723,  while  yet  a  part  of  the. French  dominion,  one  Philip  Francis  Renault  ob- 
tained a  grant  of  a  tract  of  land  one  league  in  front  on  the  lake  or  river,  and 
extending  back  five  leagues  on  a  stream  claimed  to  have  been  the  Kickapoo.  If 
this  claim  has  any  solid  foundation  to  rest  upon,  it  may  be  inferred  that  Renault, 
whose  principal  business  was  the  development  of  the  mining  interests  of  the 
country,  and  who  had  smelting  furnaces  not  many  miles  from  St.  Louis,  had 
made  an  exploration  of  the  Kickapoo  valley,  and  finding  the  hills  filled  with 
coal,  had  procured  this  grant  to  himself.  It  has  been  claimed  for  him  that  he 
had  also  discovered  lead  in  this  vicinity,  but  this  claim  has  not  been  verified  by 
more  recent  researches. 

"At  a  later  period,  about  the  year  1765,  we  find  Jean  Baptiste  Maillet  ob- 
taining a  grant  from  the  authorities  of  Great  Britain  of  1,400  acres  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Kickapoo,  one  mile  in  front  on  the  river  and  extending  back  two  miles 
in  the  country.  This  grant  took  in  part  of  Limestone  township.  It  was  sold 
in  1801  to  Isaac  Darneille,  the  first  lawyer  wdio  ever  lived  at  Peoria,  and  by  him 
to  Colonel  William  Russell,  of  the  United  States  army,  who  made  an  efl:'ort  to 
have  the  claim  confirmed  by  the  government,  but  failed. 

"At  a  still  later  period,  about  one  hundred  years  ago.  it  is  known  that  several 
of  the  inhabitants  of  La  Ville  de  Maillet  had  lands  in  cultivation  on  the  Kickapoo 
bottom  in  this  township,  or  very  near  it  in  Peoria  township.  Thomas  Forsyth, 
who  was  an  American,  had  a  field  of  twenty  arpens ;  Simon  Roi,  Antoine  Roi 
and  Francis  Racine  jointly  had  a  field  of  thirty  arpens,  adjoining  one  of  Antoine 
Cicare;  Hypolite  Maillet  had  one  of  fifteen  arpens  adjoining  one  of  Francis 
Montplaiser — all  situated  on  or  very  ijear  the  Kickapoo,  which  was  then  called 
the  Gatinan  (or  possibly  the  Coteneau).  These  farms  were  all  vacated  during 
the  war  of  1812,  when  the  village  was  destroyed. 

"It  is  said  that  Abner  Eads,  one  of  the  first  settlers  at  Peoria,  for  a  time 
resided  in  Limestone ;  but  it  seems  that  Joseph  .Moffatt  and  his  three  sons,  Alva, 
Aquilla  and  Benjamin,  were  the  first  settlers.  They  came  in  1822.  Alva  and 
Acjuilla  settled  on  section  13  and  continued  to  reside  thereon,  or  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity,  during  their  lives.  The  Harker  family  came  in  1829  and  settled 
near  the  southwest  corner  of  the  township,  giving  the  name  of  Harker's  Corners 
to  the  vicinity  where  four  townships  met.  Henry  W.  Jones  came  at  an  early 
day  and  settled  in  the  north  part  of  the  township.  From  him,  or  members  of 
his  family,  we  have  the  name  of  Jones'  Prairie  and  Jones'  Spring,  situated  on 
and  along  the  Farmington  road.  James  Crowe  also  came  about  the  same  time 
ds  lones,  but  on  account  of  Indian  troubles  in  1832,  he  went  back  to  his  home 
in  Ohio,  but  returned  in  1834  and  settled  in  the  north  part  of  the  township. 
James  Heaton  came  in  1834  and  Pleasant  Hughes  in  1837. 

"This  township  can  boast  of  having  had  the  first,  if  not  the  first  two,  flouring 
mills   in  the  county.     George   Sharp,   one   of   the   county   commissioners   and  a 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  277 

prominent  business  man  of  Peoria,  died  about  the  close  of  the  year  1830.  He 
was  at  the  time  of  his  death  a  partner  in  l)usiness  with  John  llanihn.  lie  had  an 
interest  in  two  mill  sites  (then  regarded  as  personal  property),  one  across  the 
river  in  Tazewell  county  and  one  on  the  Kickapoo.  That  in  Tazewell  county 
was  sold  to  his  widow  for  $50,  from  which  circumstances  it  would  appear  that 
no  mill  had  yet  been  erected.  He  also  had  a  bolting  cloth  appraised  at  $35, 
which  was  sold  to  his  son  John  for  $20.  No  sale  is  reported  of  the  mill  site 
on  the  Kickapoo,  which  evidently  went  to  his  partner  Air.  Hamlin.  It  is  not 
certain  that  the  mill  had  then  been  erected  on  the  Kickapoo,  but  if  not  then 
erected,  it  is  very  certain  that  preparations  had  been  made  looking  to  that  event. 
In  a  biographical  sketch  of  Air.  Hamlin,  published  some  years  ago,  it  is  said  that 
he,  in  connection  witli  two  young  men  named  Sharp,  had  erected  the  mill  known 
as  Hamlin  &  Sharp's  mill,  and  this  would  seem  probable  from  the  fact  that 
George  Sharp  had  two  sons,  John  and  Francis,  the  former  having  purchased 
the  bolting  cloth  at  the  administrator's  sale.  Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  evident 
that  the  mill  was  erected  and  had  been  put  in  operation  as  early  as  the  year  183 1, 
and  continued  in  the  hands  of  the  same  proprietors,  Hamlin  &  Sharp,  until  the 
year  1833  or  1834.  The  exact  location  of  this  mill  had  apparently  been  forgotten 
for  many  years,  for  Air.  Ballance,  who  in  1832  had  been  one  of  the  viewers  to 
lay  out  a  road  past  the  same,  says  in  his  'History'  that  'a  stranger  might  almost 
as  well  seek  for  the  site  of  Nineveh  or  Babylon,  as  the  site  of  these  mills.'  The 
roatl  mentioned  was  one  laid  out  by  the  county  commissioners  from  the  Knox 
county  line  to  Peoria  and,  having  followed  the  route  by  courses  and  distances 
to  the  Kickapoo  at  the  mill,  it  there  struck  a  straight  course  north  79  degrees, 
east  865  poles  (2.7  miles)  to  the  north  corner  of  block  13  (corner  of  Madison 
and  Main  streets),  Peoria.  The  point  where  it  crossed  the  Kickapoo  was  a 
little  north  of  the  center  of  section  12,  about  one-half  mile  north  of  the  present 
Lincoln  avenue  (formerly  Plank  road)  bridge.  This  is  further  shown  by  the 
following  facts: 

".About  the  year  1833.  Joshua  Aiken  and  Robert  E.  Little,  both  men  of 
wealth,  came  to  Peoria  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  in  partnership. 
Together  or  singly,  they  obtained  title  to  about  1,000  acres  of  land  in  Horseshoe 
Hottom  and  its  immediate  vicinity.  They  also  purchased  the  Hamlin  &  Sharp 
mill  and  at  once  proceeded  to  enlarge  and  put  it  in  perfect  order,  so  that  it  be- 
came a  mill  of  high  standard,  capable  of  producing  fifty  barrels  of  flour  per  day. 
It  had  a  very  large  custom,  its  patrons  coming  from  the  whole  country  within 
a  radius  of  sixty  miles.  Aluch  of  the  flour  here  manufactured  was  shi])ped  to 
St.  Louis  by  flat  boat,  .\iken  &  Little  hail  become  possessed  of  the  mill  as  early 
as  the  spring  of  1834,  possibly  a  year  before  that  time.  In  June  of  that  year 
Rev.  Flavel  Bascom,  a  Presbyterian  missionary  stationed  in  Tazewell  county, 
took  his  grist  there  and  found  Joshua  Aiken,  from  whom  he  obtained  information 
which  afterwards  led  to  the  organization  of  a  church  at  Peoria.  They  paid 
cash  for  wheat  and  it  is  said  that  more  money  was  paid  for  wheat  at  that  point 
than  in  the  whole  town  of  Peoria.  The  money  issued  was  that  of  the  Quinne- 
baug  Bank,  an  eastern  institution,  which  the  Peoria  merchants  denounced  as  un- 
worthy of  credit  because  its  issue  would  not  go  at  tlie  land  office,  but  the  secre- 
tary of  the  treasury  being  ajjpealed  to,  issued  an  order  that  its  money  should 
be  received  in  payment  for  land  and  its  credit  was  at  once  restored.  They  bor- 
rowed the  money  and  secured  its  repayment  by  mortgage  upon  a  large  amount 
of  real  estate,  four  thousand  dollars  of  it  remaining  unpaid  at  the  time  of  Little's 
death  in  1842.  Mr.  Aiken,  seeing  the  importance  of  capital  in  a  new  country, 
went  east  and  formed  a  copartnership  with  George  P.  Shipman,  and,  together 
with  Hervey  Sanford,  Charles  Alonson  and  Eli  Goodwin,  purchased  the  north- 
west c|uarter  of  section  9,  8  north,  range  8  east,  and  proceeded  to  plat  it  as 
Alonson  &  Sanford's  addition  to  Peoria.  Although  this  plat  was  not  recorded 
until  August  15,  1836,  yet  it  had  been  made  and  lots  had  been  deeded  by  it  as 
early  as  June  4th  of  the  same  year.     First  street  on  this  plat  was  afterwards 


278  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

adopted  as  part  of  a  public  road  from  Peoria  to  Aiken  &  Little's  mill.  About 
the  same  lime  Robert  E.  Little,  together  with  Oriii  Hamlin  and  Augustus  Lang- 
worthy,  laid  out  the  town  of  Detroit  above  the  Narrows.  But  that  which  most 
concerns  the  present  narrative  is  that  on  April  9,  1836,  Joshua  Aiken,  George 
P.  Shipman  and  Robert  E.  Little  laid  out  a  town  on  the  southeast  quarter  of 
section  12,  and  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  13,  town  8  north,  range  7  east, 
which  they  named  Peoria  ilills.  It  covered  nearly,  if  not  quite  all,  of  the  south- 
east quarter  of  section  12,  one  tier  of  blocks  extending  southward  on  section 
13  and  overlooking  Horseshoe  Bottom.  The  main  street  ran  nearly  east  and 
west  and  was  located  a  few  rods  north  of  the  present  Lincoln  avenue  road. 
Fifth  street  crossed  Main  street  at  right  angles. 

"In  September,  1836,  a  road  was  ordered  to  be  •  laid  out  from  Peoria  to 
Aiken  &  Little's  mill.  It  was  surveyed  by  George  C.  McFadden,  who  laid  down 
the  lines  so  accurately  they  can  be  easily  followed.  Commencing  at  the  bridge 
at  Aiken  &  Little's  mill,  the  line  ran  by  different  courses  until  it  reached  the 
center  of  Fifth  street,  thence  to  the  center  of  Main  street,  following  it  to  its 
eastern  end;  it  was  there  deflected  southeast  twenty  rods  to  the  section  line 
between  sections  7  and  18  in  township  8  north,  range  8  east,  which  is  now 
known  as  Lincoln  avenue.  Thence  it  ran  east  to  the  corner  of  sections  7  and 
9,  now  the  intersection  of  Lincoln  and  Western  avenues,  thence  northeast  to 
the  west  end  of  First  street  in  Monson  &  Sanford's  addition,  following  which  it 
reached  the  lower  end  of  Adams  street,  which  was  then  at  Franklin  street.  By 
following  these  lines  we  reach,  unquestionably,  the  location  of  the  mill  near  the 
center  of  section  12,  which  was  at  or  near  the  northwest  corner  of  the  town 
of  Peoria  Mills,  not  far  from  Rocky  Glen. 

"Joshua  Aiken  died  in  the  year  1840.  Robert  E.  Little  died  in  Peoria  in  1842. 
What  became  of  the  mill  in  the  meantime  does  not  appear.  Mr.  Ballance  says 
Mr.  Aiken  added  a  sawmill  to  it  and  ran  both  for  some  time  but  finally  per- 
mitted the  stream  to  undermine  them  and  carry  them  away.  In  the  files  of  the 
estate  of  Air.  Little  in  the  probate  court,  there  appears  a  lease  for  eighteen 
months,  from  him  to  Joshua  and  Henry  S.  Aiken,  for  the  mill  then  in  their  pos- 
session, but  from  other  data,  it  would  seem  this  may  have  been  only  a  sawmill. 
One  of  the  provisions  of  the  lease  was  that  they  should  keep  the  dam  and  flume 
in  good  condition  but  if  carried  away  by  the  freshet,  it  should  be  optional  with 
them  to  do  so  or  not.  It  is  probable  the  premises  were  soon  afterwards  aban- 
doned, as  Hale's  mill  had  been  established  above  and  Hamlin  &  Moft'att's  below  it, 
and  these  two  with  others  at  Peoria,  may  have  cut  oil  its  trade  so  as  to  render 
it  unprofitable. 

"At  the  March  term,  1833,  of  the  county  commissioners'  court,  Orin  Hamlin 
and  Alva  and  Aquilla  Moffatt  obtained  leave  to  erect  a  mill  dam  on  the  south- 
west quarter  of  section  13,  past  which  a  road  was  being  laid  out,  which,  on  the 
old  maps,  bears  the  name  of  the  'Middle  Road.'  This  was  probably  at  first  a 
sawmill,  at  which  the  lumber  that  went  into  the  court  house  was  sawed,  as  Hamlin 
&  Moffatt  had  a  contract  to  supply  it.  A  flouring  mill  was,  however,  erected  at 
that  place,  which  afterwards  became  known  and  still  lingers  in  the  recollection 
of  many  citizens  as  Monroe's  mill. 

"In  the  Peoria  Register  and  Northwestern  Gazetteer,  of  April  8,  1837,  it  is 
said:  'Some  years  since  a  flouring  mill  (probably  Hamlin  &  Sharp's. — Ed.)  was 
erected  on  that  stream  (the  Kickapoo),  which  is  in  successful  operation  still, 
within  two  and  a  half  miles  of  Peoria  village.  Two  sawmills  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  flouring  mill  are  in  profitable  business.  There  are  two  sawmills  above  and 
one  grist  mill  below.'  Here  are  two  grist  mills  spoken  of,  neither  one  of  which 
could  have  been  Hale's,  for  that  mill  was  then  in  process  of  erection  and  had 
not  commenced  grinding.  These  mills,  and  at  least  two  of  the  sawmills  spoken 
of.  must  have  been  located  within  the  present  bounds  of  Limestone  township. 
From  these  facts  we  can  judge  of  the  importance  of  the  Kickapoo  creek  as  a 
mill  stream  at  that  time. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  279 

"June  lo,  1837,  Henry  Jones  laid  out  a  town  plat  on  the  southwest  quarter 
of  section  3,  and  the  southeast  tjuarter  of  section  4,  which  he  called  Sumnier- 
ville.  It  was  located  on  what  is  now  the  Farmington  road,  just  north  of  the 
county  farm.  It  has  never  become  a  place  of  importance,  there  being  but  a  few 
scattered  houses  at  the  place,  but  a  postofficc  by  that  name  is  still  maintained. 

"This  township  has  also  the  credit  of  having  had  the  first  public  bridge  in 
the  county — that  erected  by  John  Cameron  on  the  Lewiston  road.  The  bridge 
at  Aiken  &  Little's  mill  was  also  erected  at  an  early  day,  but  it  may  have  been 
erected  by  the  proprietors  and  not  by  the  public.  The  township  was  also  well 
supplied  with  both  county  and  state  roads — the  state  road  running  up  the  Kick- 
apoo;  that  by  way  of  Farmington  to  Knoxville;  that  to  Quincy  by  way  of  Can- 
ton, and  that  by  Pekin — all  passing  through  its  territory. 

"It  also  had  one  of  the  first  railroads — the  Peoria  and  Oqtiawka  having  been 
finished  as  far  as  Edwards  in  1855.  It  now  has  five  railroads  in  operation:  The 
Chicago,  Burlington  &•  Ouincy ;  The  Toledo,  Peoria  &  Western ;  The  Iowa  Cen- 
tral ;  The  Peoria  &  Pekin  Terminal ;  and  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern.  These 
several  roads  converging  near  the  eastern  line  of  the  township,  make  that  a  point 
of  great  importance  as  a  future  suburb  to  the  city. 

"This  township  also  contains  the  county  poor  farm.  It  also  has  an  important 
state  institution,  the  Asylum  for  the  Incurable  Insane,  which  after  sundry  reverses 
and  delays,  was  com]jleted  and  received  its  first  installment  of  patients  February 
10,  1902. 

"The  township  contains  no  regularly  organized  village,  but  through  sundry 
subdivisions  of  lands,  especially  along  the  Kickapoo  creek,  divers  centers  of  popu- 
lation have  become  know-n  as  villages,  such  as  Bartonville,  South  Bartonville  and 
Minersville,  which  may  soon  become  suburbs  of  Peoria.  The  township  also 
contains  several  manufacturing  plants,  the  most  important  of  which  are  the 
Acme  Hay  Harvesting  Company  and  the  Cellulose  factory  of  the  Marsden  Com- 
pany, at  South  Bartonville. 

"Coal  mining  is  one  of  the  most  important  interests,  the  whole  township  being 
apparently  underlaid  with  that  mineral.  The  first  coal  mining  was  done  at  an 
early  day,  the  first  bank  having  been  opened  on  the  southeast  corner  of  section 
24.  The  Mofifatts  also  mined  coal  at  the  same  place  and  shipped  it  by  keel  boats 
to  St.  Louis.  As  at  other  places,  the  first  mining  was  done  either  by  'stripping' 
or  drifting  into  the  hillsides  where  the  outcrop  appeared.  But  for  some  years 
dee])  mining  has  been  carried  on,  not  only  along  the  river  and  creek  bottoms  but 
on  the  u|)lands.     These  mines  give  employment  to  a  large  number  of  laborers. 

"The  population  of  this  township  is  of  a  mixed  character — there  being  many 
Germans,  some  Welsh  among  the  miners,  some  Scotch,  some  Irish,  an  English 
connuunity  on  the  north  side  and  some  Americans.  Among  the  early  German 
settlers  were  Conrad  Bontz,  who  came  in  1844,  Christian  Straesser  and  the 
Hallers  and  Beatty  Johnson  in  1848,  George  Ojeman  in  1849,  and  the  Roelfs  in 
1 85 1.  These  men  were  and  their  descendants  are,  among  the  very  best  and  most 
prosperous  citizens. 

"There  being  an  extensive  ledge  of  limestone  rock  in  the  north  part  of  the 
township,  the  burning  of  lime  for  the  Peoria  market  has  from  an  early  day 
been  an  im])ortant  industry.  There  are  also  extensive  (|uarries  of  sandstone 
along  the  Kickapoo  creek,  which  yield  a  fairly  good  c]uality  of  stone  for  build- 
ing purposes." 

SCHOOLS 

The  first  school  in  the  township  was  probably  that  which  was  taught  in  1836 
by  Simeon  Ward  in  a  log  cabin  situated  near  South  Bartonville.  There  were 
private  schools  taught  by  men  and  women  whose  names  have  unfortimately 
drifted  away.  This  township,  however,  has  kept  pace  with  others  in  the  county 
in  its  educational  purposes  and  results  and  since  the  adoption  of  the  free  school 


280  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

system  it  has  maintained  a  creditable  stand  in  the  matter  of  public  education. 
There  are  now  nine  districts,  in  each  of  which  is  a  good  schoolhouse  well  main- 
tained and  where  from  eight  to  nine  months'  schooling  is  given  the  children 
during  the  year.     There  is  a  union  district  near  Harker's  Corners. 

CHURCHES 

The  first  church,  an  Episcopal,  was  organized  early  in  the  '30s.  In  1836 
Bishop  Chase  came  to  the  county  and  formed  the  people  of  this  faith  into  a  com- 
pact body,  after  which  regular  services  were  held  almost  every  Sabbath  and  a 
house  of  worship  was  erected  which  still  stands,  though  not,  however,  in  its 
original  form.  At  first  it  was  a  buff  stone  Juiilding  but  it  has  been  enlarged  and 
beautified  by  the  addition  of  a  tower  and  the  placing  of  stained  glass  in  the 
windows.  This  church  was  dedicated  in  the  fall  of  1845  ^"f^  stands  on  two  acres 
of  ground  donated  by  John  Pennington  in  1844.  The  original  cost  of  the  building 
was  $1,500.  Of  this  sum  $1,100  was  contributed  by  friends  in  England,  twenty 
pounds  of  which  was  the  gift  of  Dowager  Queen  Adelaide,  twenty  pounds  the 
gift  of  Lord  Kenyon,  a  friend  of  Bishop  Chase,  after  whom  he  named  Kenyon 
College,  established  by  him  in  Ohio.  Some  years  ago  Rev.  John  Benson,  James 
Clark  and  Isabelle  Douglas  conveyed  to  this  church  twenty  acres  of  ground 
just  across  the  public  highway  from  the  church  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the 
rector.  Attached  to  the  church  is  a  small  cemetery  in  which  the  remains  of  Henry 
Wilson,  who  died  September  17,  1838,  were  the  first  to  be  interred. 

The  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  May  6,  1859,  by  a  committee  of 
Preslaytery  consisting  of  Rev.  Robert  P.  Farris,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the  Second 
Presbyterian  church  at  Peoria,  Rev.  M.  L.  Wood,  minister  in  charge,  and  Ruling 
Elder  James  H.  Patterson,  of  the  Salem  church.  There  were  fifteen  members 
admitted  and  John  Cameron  and  William  Jones  were  ordained  and  installed  as 
ruling  elders.  The  church  has  never  supported  a  pastor  as  its  membership 
had  in  its  palmiest  days  reached  but  thirty  members.  The  church  building  is 
a  neat  frame  structure,  whicli  stands  on  section  8.  Rev.  AI.  L.  Wood  was  the 
first  pastor. 

The  German  Evangelical  Lutheran  church  was  organized  in  1855  with  eigh- 
teen members  and  from  the  start  the  church  grew  and  flourished.  In  1856  a  house 
of  worship  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $1,000  but  in  twenty  years  it  became  too 
small  for  the  growing  congregation  and  in  1876  the  old  building  was  superseded 
by  a  new  one  which  cost  .$4,000.  This  building  is  located  on  section  22,  where 
it  has  three  and  a  half  acres  of  ground,  in  which  was  also  located  a  cemetery. 
The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  F.  Wanke. 

MEDINA  TOWNSHIP 

This  township  in  point  of  settlement  is  one  of  the  earliest  in  Peoria  county. 
Geographically  it  is  divided  into  two  sections,  one  lying  on  the  high  prairie 
and  the  other  on  the  river  bottom,  the  dividing  line  being  a  strip  of  bluff  about 
two  miles  wide.  The  land  on  the  river  bottom  was  first  considered  very  desirable, 
not  only  from  its  being  close  to  the  river,  but  also  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  soil 
was  very  fertile,  being  part  prairie  and  part  timber  land.  La  Salle  prairie  con- 
stitutes part  of  this  tract  and  was  in  early  days  a  distinctive  settlement.  Through 
It  ran  two  state  roads,  one  leading  through  Northampton  to  Galena,  the  other 
through  Chillicothe,  Henry  and  other  points  to  Boyd's  Grove,  thence  on  to  Ottawa 
and  Chicago.  On  the  high  prairie  side  were  two  state  roads,  one  from  Peoria 
running  north  by  Mount  Hawley,  the  other  branching  from  that  one  from  Mount 
Hawley  and  running  diagonally  through  to  Princeville  and  thence  northwesterly 
to  Rock  Island. 

Medina  township  is  in  the  second  tier  from  the  north  and  has  the  river  and 
the  southern  point  of  Chillicothe  township  for  its  eastern  border.     On  the  north 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY         '  281 

is  Hallock  townshij.,  the  west,  Radnor  and  on  the  south,  I\ich\voods  township. 
George  Love  settled  near  the  present  vihage  of  Mossville,  with  his  family,  Novem- 
ber 10,  1824,  coming  from  Parke  county,  Indiana.  He  was  the  pioneer  of  the 
township.  At  the  time  of  his  arrival  and  for  several  years  later  there  were  many 
Indians  in  the  community.  Their  village  was  on  section  4.  It  is  said  that  this 
pioneer's  nearest  neighbors  were  at  Fort  Clark,  nine  miles  distant,  and  at  Fox 
river,  now  the  city  of  Ottawa.  It  was  but  a  few  months  after  Love's  settlement, 
one  John  Ridgeway  cast  his  fortunes  in  this  new  country  and  the  Ridgeway  family 
became  a  landmark  and  has  freciuently  been  mentioned  in  connection  with  early 
highways,  elections  and  school  districts.  The  next  to  appear  here  were  Samuel 
Clifton,  Edmund  Weed  Briarly,  Henry,  Thomas  and  Abner  Cooper.  In  the  next 
few  years  the  settlement  was  considerably  augmented  by  other  arrivals,  many  of 
whom  became  dissatified  and  soon  left  for  other  scenes  of  activity. 

In  the  year  1825  a  settlement  sprang  up  in  the  northern  part  of  Medina,  the 
principal  families  of  which  were  the  Averys,  Resolved  Cleveland,  Stephen  Carl 
and  Stephen  French.  For  temporary  habitations  they  occupied  the  abandoned 
bark  cabins  of  the  Indians.  In  the  spring  of  183 1  Linus  Scoville  and  family 
immigrated  from  \'ermilion  county,  Indiana,  and  came  to  this  township,  locating 
on  a  claim  on  section  22,  which  Mr.  Scoville  had  previously  secured  from  George 
Love.  Gershom  Silliman,  a  Baptist  minister,  was  a  settler  in  the  community 
as  early  as  1831,  and  Nicholas  Sturn  and  John  E.  Bristol,  in  1832.  Those  who 
came  in  1835  were  Thomas  Mooney  and  Sons,  James  and  William.  Jerome  and 
Imri  W.  Case  settled  here  in  1836,  William  Robinson  in  1837,  Jonathan  W.  Rice 
and  John  P.  Neal  in  1838.  Many  of  these  early  settlers  became  quite  prominent 
in  the  affairs  of  the  county.  Principally  among  them  may  be  mentioned  Moses 
Clifton,  George  Love,  Stephen  French,  Henry  Thomas,  Resolved  Cleveland, 
Thomas  Mooney,  John  E.  Bristol,  Hiram  Curry  and  Simon  Reed. 

In  1850  the  territory  embraced  in  the  township  was  separated  from  Rome 
and  La  Salle  ])recincts  and  organized  and  named  Medina  township.  The  first 
election  was  held  April  2,  1850,  at  which  time  the  following  officers  were  elected: 
Supervisor,  John  Jacob;  assessor,  Linus  Scoville;  town  clerk,  Thomas  Mooney, 
Jr. :  collector,  C.  B.  Pierce ;  overseer  of  the  poor,  Isaac  Wideman ;  commissioner 
of  highways,  Harvey  Stillman,  Samuel  C.  Neal  and  Alanson  Vantassel ;  justices 
of  the  peace,  Thomas  P.  Reed  and  Phineas  Crouch ;  constables,  William  Porter 
and  G.  W.  Hargadine. 

The  first  marriage  to  take  place  in  Medina  township  was  that  of  .'Mjner 
Cooi)er  and  Sallie  Sheldon.  The  ceremony  was  performed  by  Rivers  Cormack, 
a  Baptist  preacher,  in  February,  1826. 

The  first  school  was  taught  by  Jesse  McGee,  who,  having  secured  the  neces- 
sary number  of  pupils,  turned  them  over  to  Moses  Clifton,  in  January,  1827. 
Clifton's  successor,  Zelotes  Marks,  took  charge  of  the  pupils  three  months  there- 
after. The  school  building  was  erected  especially  for  the  purpose  and  was 
situated  near  the  jiresent  site  of  Mossville.  This  schoolhouse  was  a  log  cabin 
16x18  feet,  with  puncheon  floor,  glazed  paper  windovv's  and  clapboard  door,  and 
the  interstices  between  the  logs  were  closed  with  mud.  This  was  in  the  nature 
of  a  private  school,  the  tuition  being  two  dollars  ])er  scholar  for  a  period  of 
three  months.  Another  school  was  taught  by  Hiram  Curry  in  1836,  which  was 
afterwards  removed  to  section  27,  remaining  there  until  a  public  school  was  estab- 
lished in  Mossville,  where  in  1868  a  schoolhouse  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $4,000. 
The  first  public  school  taught  in  the  northwest  portion  of  the  township  was  on 
section  7  and  was  presided  ov'er  by  Joseph  .M.  Batchelder,  about  1840.  Previous 
to  this,  however,  a  private  school  had  been  taught  by  John  I'enjaniin  in  a  log 
cabin  used  as  a  dwelling.  It  was  not  until  1852  that  a  public  schoolhouse  was 
erected.  This  was  located  on  section  3  and  remained  until  1866,  when  the  location 
of  the  school  was  changed  to  section  2.  In  1853  a  schoolhouse  was  built  on  the 
farm  of  John  E.  Bristol,  which  was  removed  in  the  fall  of  1856  to  its  present 
site,  where  in  1872  a  splendid  school  building,  costing  $2,500,  was  erected. 


282  '  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

At  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  free  school  system  there  were  several 
schoolhouses  in  the  township.  These,  of  course,  have  been  substituted  by  others 
and  at  the  present  time  there  are  six  school  districts  in  the  township,  all  of  which 
have  moderately  good  school  buildings. 

Two  lines  of  railroads  enter  Medina  township.  The  Rock  Island  &  Peoria 
cuts  across  the  extreme  southwest  corner,  where  is  located  the  village  of  Alta, 
on  section  31.  Alta  was  laid  out  in  March,  1853,  by  Imri  Case,  Loren  Wilder 
and  Thomas  Hanson,  three  prominent  citizens  of  the  township.  The  village  is 
quite  a  trading  point  for  the  surrounding  country,  has  good  stores,  shops,  a 
factory,  church  and  school,  in  all  of  which  its  citizens  take  a  great  pride.  The 
other  road,  the  Peoria  &  Bureau  Valley,  which  is  known  as  the  Chicago,  Rock 
Island  &  Pacific,  extends  through  that  part  of  the  eastern  portion  of  the  town- 
ship bordering  on  the  Illinois  river.  This  road  was  opened  in  1854  and  about 
the  same  time  the  village  of  Mossville  was  laid  out  and  established  as  a  station, 
on  section  21,  and  got  its  name  from  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  land,  William 
S.  Aloss,  who  at  the  time  was  a  resident  of  Peoria,  operating  a  distillery  there. 
He  was  one  of  the  builders  of  the  Peoria  &  Oquawka  railroad.  In  1859  Mr.  Moss 
removed  to  California,  where  he  died  in  1882. 

The  Baptist  church  at  Mossville  was  organized  at  a  meeting  held  in  the 
schoolhouse,  April  g,  1868,  by  a  committee  of  the  Peoria  Presbytery,  consisting 
of  Rev.  John  H.  Morron,  and  ruling  elders,  Jonathan  K.  Cooper,  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  church  of  Peoria,  and  H.  Hervey,  of  Prospect  church,  Radnor. 
By  public  subscription  a  church  edifice  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  about  $2,600.  In 
1875,  owing  to  the  fact  that  a  large  percentage  of  the  members  lived  on  High 
prairie,  the  church  was  removed  to  that  locality  and  its  name  changed  to  the 
Church  of  Alta.  The  old  building  was  sold  and  the  proceeds  placed  in  trust 
for  the  erection  of  a  church  at  Alta.  A  history  of  the  Methodist  and  Catholic 
churches  will  be  found  in  articles  under  those  titles. 

RADNOR  TOWNSHIP 

Radnor  township  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Akron,  on  the  east  by  Medina, 
south  by  Kickapoo  and  west  by  Jubilee  townships.  The  land  is  mostly  prairie, 
well  watered  by  the  Kickapoo  and  tributaries.  Here  are  many  fine  farms,  and 
a  contented,  progressive  and  high-thinking  class  of  people.  At  the  time  of  its 
organization  as  a  township,  Radnor  was  known  as  Benton  precinct,  which  was 
composed  of  Radnor  and  Kickapoo  townships.  Previous  to  its  organization 
an  election  had  been  held  in  the  woods  in  Kickapoo,  north  of  the  village,  at 
which  time  Smith  Dunlap  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace,  and  continued  to  serve 
in  that  capacity  until  the  adoption  of  township  organization.  The  first  election 
in  Radnor  township  as  such  was  held  at  the  residence  of  Jonathan  Brassfield. 
Alva  Dunlap  was  the  moderator,  and  Nathaniel  T.  A.  Shaw,  clerk.  Jonathan 
Brassfield  was  elected  supervisor;  Nathaniel  T.  A.  Shaw,  township  clerk;  Lewis 
Harlan,  assessor ;  Jonathan  Brassfield,  Griffith  Dickinson,  William  Wilkinson, 
commissioners  of  highways ;  Phineas  R.  Wilkinson,  clerk ;  Lorennes  Shaw, 
overseer  of  the  poor;  George  B.  Harlan  and  Smith  Dunlap,  justices;  John  M. 
Hendricks  and  Phineas  R.  Wilkinson,  constables. 

It  is  probably  not  too  much  to  say  that  Erastus  Peet  was  the  first  settler  in 
this  community.  He  located  here  in  1834  and  soon  thereafter  his  little  daugh- 
ter, four  years  of  age,  became  lost  on  the  prairie.  That  night  the  tall  grass 
took  fire  and  the  little  one  perished,  her  charred  body  being  discovered  the  next 
day.  The  next  settler  in  the  township  was  Robert  Cline,  who  came  from  Oswego 
county.  New  York,  in  1835,  and  lived  two  years  at  Hale's  mill,  after  which  period 
he  settled  on  section  35  and  two  years  later  on  section  13.  Mr.  Cline  was  killed 
by  lightning,  April  21,  1849.  William  Gififord,  who  came  from  Barnstable, 
Massachusetts,  in  1836,  erected  the  first  frame  house  on  the  south  half  of  section 
28.     Moses  Harlan  settled  on  section  22  in  the  same  year.     He  became  quite 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  283 

prominent  in  public  affairs,  serving  as  county  commissioner  in  1838  and  repre- 
senting the  county  in  the  legislature  in  1838  and  1840.  His  son  George  B.  Har- 
lan settled  on  section  t,2  in  1836.  He  also  was  called  upon  for  public  duty  and 
for  some  years  was  justice  of  the  peace,  a  member  of  the  board  of  supervisors 
two  years,  and  held  other  local  offices.  William  Knott  was  a  settler  in  1836, 
locating  on  section  26.  John  L.  Wakefield,  who  came  from  Butler  county,  Ohio, 
to  Peoria  county  in  1834,  settled  on  section  18.  Among  those  who  came  in  1837 
are  recalled  Abner  Russell,  Calvin  Blake,  Aaron  G.  Wilkinson,  Charles,  George 
and  Richard  W'ilkins,  Anson  Bushnell  and  his  brothers,  Horace  and  Alvin, 
Thomas  Shaw  and  Gritifith  Dickinson.  About  this  same  time  Alva  Dunlap,  of 
Oneida  county,  Xew  York,  appeared  in  the  community,  being  on  a  prospecting 
tour.  The  country  looked  good  to  him  and  returning  to  New  York  for  his  family, 
he  settled  here  early  in  the  year  1838.  Napoleon  Dunlap,  with  his  father  and 
mother,  a  brother  and  sister  and  five  children  "embarked  at  Sackett's  Harbor,  on 
a  little  schooner  of  about  one  hundred  tons,  for  Chicago.  Leaving  his  mother 
and  sister  with  a  daughter  residing  at  Chicago,  for  another  trip,  the  rest  of  the 
party  proceeded  in  wagons  which  previously  had  been  engaged,  arriving  at  their 
destination  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  14,  on  the  nth  day  of  October, 
1837,  and  took  up  quarters  in  a  frame  house  16x24  feet,  which  Alva  Dunlap  had 
built  the  preceding  summer  with  lumber  hauled  from  Hale's  mill,  then  partly 
erected.  Their  nearest  neighbor  was  an  Englishman  named  John  Jackson,  a 
bachelor,  thirty  years  old,  with  a  lad  of  fourteen  years,  named  George  Scholes, 
on  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  15.  Jackson  had  arrived  in  1837  and  had 
broken  up  his  land,  on  which  he  raised  a  crop  in  1838.  Ira  Smith,  a  native  of 
Hampden,  Maine,  who  had  been  a  sea  captain,  had  also  come  in  1837,  and  had  paid 
Chloe  Case  $50  for  a  claim  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  3,  which  he  entered, 
and  afterward,  in  1840,  sold  to  Adam  Yates  for  $3,000.  He  was  a  very  worthy 
man,  an  old  line  ai)olitionist,  and  believed  in  the  golden  rule.  He  removed  to 
Peoria  and  went  into  the  lumber  trade."  J.  J.  Hitchcock  settled  on  section  3  in 
1837  and  in  the  winter  of  1838  assisted  Alva  Dunlap  in  bringing  his  goods  and 
famil\-  from  Chicago  to  their  new  home.  At  that  time  "the  country  w-as  an 
unl)roken  prairie  and  what  houses  there  were  were  scattered  along  the  streams 
and  in  the  edges  of  the  timber.  On  the  larger  prairies  one  could  travel  a  whole 
day  without  seeing  a  house.  The  scarcity  of  timber  for  fuel,  fences  and  building 
purposes  was  a  serious  matter  with  the  early  settlers  and  if  one  could  get  hold 
of  a  piece  of  timber  land  he  was  considered  fortunate ;  and  woe  to  him  who, 
having  secured  one,  would  go  off  without  leaving  some  one  to  guard  it,  for  on  his 
return  he  would  likely  find  it  all  stumps.  No  one  thought  lumber  could  be  shipped 
here  in  sufficient  (|uantities  to  svipply  the  needs  of  these  vast  prairies.  Coal  had 
not  yet  been  developed  to  any  considerable  extent.  Sawmills  were  located  along 
the  streams  where  there  was  timber,  and  water  with  sufficient  fall  to  obtain  power. 
But  the  lumber  secured  in  that  way  was  very  unsatisfactory  for  building  pur- 
poses. When  the  osage  orange  was  introduced  for  hedges,  it  was  thought  to  be  a 
great  advance  in  the  matter  of  fencing,  but  now  since  the  introduction  of  barbed 
wire,  the  osage  is  no  longer  planted  and  farmers  would  be  glad  to  be  rid  of  what 
they  have.  Jonathan  Brassfield  took  two  loads  of  wheat  to  Chicago  and  brought 
back  finishing  lumber.  Several  others  tried  the  same  experiment  but  no  one 
went  the  second  time.  When  the  canal  w-as  opened  in  1848  it  brought  great  relief 
to  those  living  within  reach  of  the  river.  Timber  is  now  much  more  plentiful 
than  it  was  sixty  years  ago.  Then  it  was  short  and  scrubby  on  account  of  the 
fires,  .\fter  that  was  cut  oft'  and  the  fires  kept  away  from  the  new  growth,  it 
became  thrifty.  Coal  became  the  principal  fuel  and  the  inhabitants  ceased  in  a 
great  measure  the  use  of  wood,  either  for  fuel  or  fencing,  but  for  the  last  few 
years  many  prefer  to  have  the  land  for  farming  purposes  and  have  been  cutting 
off  the  timber  and  making  clearings. 

"As  the  population  increased  the  deer  disajipeared,  but  the  wolves  remained 
and   are    not    yet    entirely    extinct,    occasionally    one    venturing    out    from    his 


284  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

biding  place.  As  cornfields  increased  the  ]jrairie  chickens  also  increased  for  a 
time  into  large  flocks  and  became  very  destructive  to  the  corn,  which,  according 
to  the  custom  of  the  country,  was  left  in  the  field  over  winter,  but  when  the  prai- 
ries had  become  settled  up  and  their  nesting  places  invaded,  they  began  to  decrease 
in  numbers  until  they  were  all  extinguished.  The  rattlesnake  was  a  common  pest 
in  breaking  up  the  native  sod  and  was  often  encountered  by  the  plowman.  They 
were  not  considered  dangerous,  as  they  made  their  presence  known  by  their 
rattle  and  were  easily  disposed  of.  Cattle  instinctively  avoided  them  but  were 
sometimes  bitten,  which  caused  severe  swellings  but  seldom  death.  They  disap- 
peared when  the  land  became  cultivated. 

"After  the  opening  of  the  canal  pine  lumber  in  quantities  began  to  make  its 
appearance.  The  coal  banks  began  to  supply  fuel  and  the  people  began  to  lose 
their  fear  of  settling  upon  the  broad  prairies. 

"The  big  prairie  team  with  four  or  five  yoke  of  oxen,  and  the  huge  breaking 
plow  rapidly  turned  over  the  native  sod.  Houses  sprang  up  in  all  directions 
and  a  wave  of  prosperity  seemed  to  have  struck  the  country.  The  light  steel 
plow,  introduced  by  Tobey  &  Anderson,  of  Peoria,  took  the  place  of  the  wooden 
moldboard  and  heavy  cast  iron  yAow  brought  from  the  east,  the  reaper  took  the 
place  of  the  back-breaking  cradle ;  the  Brown  corn  planter  did  away  with  planting 
by  hand  ;  the  thresher  with  its  simple  cylinder  throwing  straw,  chatT  and  grain  out 
together,  displaced  the  flail  and  the  tramping  floor  only  to  be  displaced  in  its  turn 
by  the  separator,  which  also  took  the  place  of  the  Nurse  or  Proctor  fanning  mill, 
formerly  in  use.  The  single  shovel  plow  doing  duty  with  one  horse,  traveling 
first  upon  one  side  of  the  road  and  back  on  the  other,  was  superseded  by  the 
two-horse  riding  or  walking  cultivators.  The  complete  outfit  for  husking  corn 
was  one  team,  two  men  and  a  boy  taking  five  rows,  tiie  team  and  wagon  turning 
down  the  middle  one  which  was  the  boy's  share  to  pick  up. 

"The  first  reaping  machine  known  in  Radnor  and  perhaps  in  the  county  was 
owned  by  Alva  Dunlap  and  was  built  by  George  Green  Wood,  of  Peoria.  It  was 
so  constructed  as  to  throw  the  cut  grain  directly  back  the  width  of  the  swath, 
which  had  to  be  bound  up  before  the  next  swath  could  be  cut.  It  did  clean  work 
and  he  used  it  for  several  years  in  cutting  his  own  and  his  neighbors'  grain.  It 
was  built  about  the  year  1846,  only  seven  years  after  Cyrus  McCormick  gave 
the  first  exhibition  of  his  reaper  on  the  farm  of  Joseph  Smith  in  Augusta  county, 
X'irginia.  The  next  was  a  ]\IcCormick,  the  grain  being  raked  oft'  on  one  side.  This 
was  followed  in  a  few  years  with  a  self-raker  and  in  a  few  years  by  the  self- 
binder.  Through  these  improvements  the  hard  labor  of  eight  men  was  done 
away  with  and  the  women  of  the  household  were  relieved  of  the  labor  of  boarding 
a  large  number  of  men  during  the  heat  of  the  harvest  time.  Before  that  time 
harvest  hands  would  begin  in  the  south  where  the  season  was  earlier  and  work 
their  way  northward  as  the  grain  ripened.  These  traveling  men  were  thrown 
out  of  employment  by  the  self-binding  reaper. 

"One  of  the  serious  problems  with  the  farmers  was  to  get  their  products  to 
market.  In  the  spring  of  1841  John  Jackson  built  two  flat  boats  and  loaded 
them  with  ear  corn  and  bacon  for  the  purpose  of  coasting  along  the  Mississippi 
and  selling  to  the  planters  and  negroes.  As  was  customary,  the  boat  was  floated 
with  the  current.  They  had  long  sweeps  or  oars  to  guide  them  and  keep  them 
oft'  the  snags.  To  build  them  two  large  trees  would  be  found  (generally  hack- 
berry),  which  were  hewn  flat  for  the  sides,  and  planks  spiked  on  the  bottom, 
the  ends  sloped  like  a  scow.  The  roof  or  deck  was  made  of  boards  sawed  thin 
enough  to  bend  across  the  boat  and  thus  make  an  arched  roof.  The  crews  of 
these  famous  boats  were  John  Jackson,  Elisha  Barker,  John  Peet,  Warren  Hale, 
William  Harlan  and  Napoleon  Dunlap.  The  two  latter  went  as  far  as  Natchez 
but  concluding  they  had  had  enough  of  the  life  of  boatmen  they  begged  off  and 
returned  by  steamer,  working  their  way  by  helping  to  take  on  wood  at  the  wood- 
3'ards  along  the  way." 

Before  the  building  of  the  Rock  Island  &  Peoria  railroad,  a  postoftice  was 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  285 

kept  by  Enoch  Muggins  on  section  35,  where  he  received  mail  from  Peoria  three 
times  a  week.  There  was  also  a  mail  route  from  Peoria  by  way  of  Lafayette 
through  Aledina  and  Akron  but  most  of  the  people  received  their  mail  at  Peoria. 
-Mary  J.  Peet,  daughter  of  Erastus  Peet,  the  hrst  settler,  who  lost  her  life  by  being 
burned  by  a  prairie  tire,  was  the  first  person  to  die  in  Radnor  townshiix  The 
death  of  Henry  Alartin  on  November  10,  1836,  was  the  second.  John  Harlan, 
born  in  October,  1836,  was  the  first  white  child  whose  birth  occurred  in  this 
township.     He  died  in  1847. 

Miss  E.  R.  Dunlap  taught  the  first  school  of  the  township  in  the  summer 
of  1840  in  a  diminutive  frame  house  which  stood  on  section  ^^j.  It  was  built 
by  a  man  who  subsequently  committed  suicide.  Horace  I'.ushnell  taught  a  sing- 
ing school  here  the  same  summer.  In  the  summer  of  1841  Miss  Dunlap  taught 
school  in  a  log  house  on  section  13,  which  she  found  to  have  l)een  vacated  by  "its 
teiiant.  In  1841  Charles  Kettelle,  school  commissioner,  had  surveyed  and 'laid 
oft'  the  school  section  No.  16  into  forty-acre  lots,  had  these  lands  appraised  and 
offered  for  sale.  Cyrus  W.  Pratt  bid  oft"  three  of  them  for  $170.  He  made  no 
payment  but  gave  a  mortgage  for  the  purchase  price,  with  interest  at  twelve  per 
cent.  After  making  two  or  three  payments  of  interest,  nothing  further  was 
received  and  the  land  reverted  to  the  township.  About  the  same  time  school 
trustees  were  appointed  and  Peter  Auten  was  made  the  first  school  treasurer. 
At  the  first  meeting  of  the  trustees,  April  4,  1842,  they  laid  oft'  the  town  into  six 
school  districts.  That  winter  a  log  schoolhouse  was  built  on  section  15,  in  which 
Sarah  D.  Sanford  and  Anna  McKnight  taught.  The  next  winter  William  Gift'ord 
was  the  teacher,  after  which  the  schoolhouse  was  moved  to  section  22  on  land 
subsequently  owned  by  George  B.  Taylor.  There  were  three  schoolhouses  built 
in  1842 — the  one  just  mentioned,  a  small  frame  on  section  2,  and  a  log  cabin  on 
section  i.  In  the  latter  Catherine  J.  Jamison  taught  in  the  summer  of  1842, 
her  pupils  being  seven  children  of  the  Blakesleys,  five  Wakefields,  four  Chapins, 
three  Van  Camps,  two  Gordons,  two  Rogers,  a  Hall,  Gilkinson,  Hattield  and 
Slaughter.  The  directors  were  Parley  E.  Blakesley  and  Joseph  Chapin.  Deborah 
L.  Woodbury  taught  his  school  the  next  term.  Elisha  Barker  taught  in  a  log 
schoolhouse  on  section  22,  built  in  1842.  His  successor  the  next  winter  was 
William  Gifford.  In  the  spring  of  1842  a  small  frame  schoolhouse  was  built  on 
section  2  by  voluntary  labor.  The  lumber  was  sawed  at  the  mill  of  Ralph  Bette 
and  William  Bruzee  on  the  creek  on  section  23.  Miss  Margaret  Artman  taught 
there  in  1842,  having  for  her  patrons  Ira  Smith,  J.  J.  Hitchcock,  .Anson  Bushnell 
and  his  sons  Alvin  and  Horace,  Samuel  and  William  Seeley,  William  Moore, 
O.  L.  Nelson,  Ira  Hitchcock  and  a  Mr.  Goodell ;  which  indicates  the  school  was 
conducted  on  a  subscrijition  basis. 

NII-L.^GE  01-'  DVNr..\l' 

The  village  of  Dunlap  was  laid  out  by  Alva  Dunlap  on  section  11,  June  12, 
1871.  That  same  year  Dr.  John  Gillett  erected  the  first  building  in  the  place. 
It  stands  opposite  the  railroad  depot  and  is  now  the  property  of  B.  C.  Dunlap.  The 
village  is  a  thriving  one  and  an  excellent  trading  point.  It  is  situated  on  the 
Rock  Island  iS:  Peoria  road.  There  are  stores,  two  grain  elevators,  three  churches, 
a  graded  school  building  erected  in  1899  ^t  a  cost  of  $4,000,  Odd  Fellows'  hall 
and  shops.  The  population  is  now  172 — a  considerable  decrease  from  that  of  the 
census  of  1900.  In  the  year  1848-9  a  numiser  of  families  from  the  Panhandle  of 
West  \'irginia  settled  in  .-Vkron  and  Radnor  townships  and  at  first  connected 
themselves  with  the  church  at  Princeville,  but  the  distance  was  too  great  for  them 
to  travel,  so  that  they  asked  the  Presbytery  for  a  separate  organization,  which 
request  was  granted.  Rev.  .Addison  Coffee,  of  Peoria,  Rev.  Robert  Breese,  of 
Princeville,  and  Elder  Henry  .'-Ichnebly,  of  Peoria,  as  a  committee  of  Presbytery, 
met  the  congregation  June  8,  1850,  in  the  schoolhouse  where  they  had  been 
accustomed  to  worship  and  the  Prospect  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  with 


286  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

fifteen  members  as  follows:  From  the  Princeville  church,  Joseph  Yates,  Sr.,  and 
Mary,  his  wife;  John  Yates,  Sr.,  and  Eleanor,  his  wife;  Samuel  Keady  and 
Eleanor,  his  wife;  Thomas  Yates  and  Alary,  his  wife;  John  Hervey  and  Sarah, 
his  wife;  and  Aliss  Margaretta  Yates,  from  the  West  Alexandria,  Pennsylvania, 
church ;  David  G.  Hervey  and  Jane,  his  wife ;  and  from  the  church  at  West  Lib- 
erty, Virginia :  Adam  Yates  and  Sarah,  his  wife.  The  first  house  of  worship, 
a  frame  building  36x46  feet,  which  cost  about  $1,400,  was  erected  on  a  lot  con- 
taining about  seven  acres,  donated  by  Adam  Yates,  and  dedicated  in  June,  1854. 
After  the  village  of  Dunlap  sprang  up  the  meeting  place  of  the  church  was  re- 
moved to  Dunlap  and  a  new  house  of  worship  erected  at  a  cost  of  something  over 
$5,000.  The  old  church  was  torn  down  and  the  land  on  which  it  stood  deeded  to 
the  church  as  a  burial  ground,  which  is  known  as  Prospect  cemetery.  A  parson- 
age was  added  to  the  church  property  in  1867,  at  a  cost  of  $3,000,  and  in  1878  it 
was  sold  and  a  new  parsonage  erected  at  a  cost  of  $1,700,  on  lots  donated  by 
David  G.  Hervey.  Among  the  pastors  who  have  served  this  church  are  Revs. 
David  Hervey,  John  Turbitt,  Thomas  F.  Smith.  George  Cairns,  J.  A.  E.  Simp- 
son, A.  S.  Gardner,  John  Winn,  Silas  Cook,  H.  V.  D.  Nevins,  D.  D.,  Harry  Smith 
and  R.  C.  Townsend.  Several  of  the  members  of  this  church  have  gone  into  the 
ministry,  among  them.  Rev.  George  Dunlap,  Rev.  Thomas  C.  Winn,  missionary 
to  Japan,  William  Jones,  William  Y.  Jones,  his  son,  missionary  to  Japan,  William 
Ayling  and  Franklin  Brown. 

The  Methodists  and  Catholic  church  histories  will  be  found  in  another  place 
in  this  volume. 

TIMBER  TOW^NSHIP 

Timber  township  acquired  its  name  from  the  fact  that  its  territory  was  covered 
at  one  time  with  a  very  fine  body  of  timber,  consisting  of  white,  black,  red  and 
bur  oak,  white  and  black  ash,  white  and  black  walnut,  elm,  cottonwood,  hard  and 
soft  maple,  linn,  sycamore  and  others.  The  township  is  located  in  the  southwest 
part  of  the  county  and  has  for  its  southern  boundary  the  Illinois  river.  On  the 
west  is  Fulton  county,  on  the  north  Logan  township  and  on  the  east  Hollis  town- 
ship. The  timber  land  upon  being  cleared,  developed  valuable  farms  and  the  bot- 
tom land  extending  from  the  bluffs  to  the  river,  in  width  from  a  half  to  two  miles, 
interspersed  with  beautiful  lakes,  namely,  Stillman,  Clifton,  Scott  and  Murray 
lakes,  are  not  surpassed  for  fertility  and  productiveness  anywhere.  Stillman 
lake  has  its  history.  It  received  its  name  from  General  Stillman,  who  passed  the 
remainder  of  his  days  on  his  farm  near  by,  after  having  commanded  a  body  of 
troops  in  the  Black  Hawk  war.  In  the  early  days  this  region  was  a  mecca  for  the 
hunter  and  fisherman.  The  lakes  abounded  with  a  fine  variety  of  fish,  while 
within  the  woods  roamed  deer  and  small  game.  Wild  turkeys  and  geese  were 
plentiful  and  often  the  settlers  brought  them  down  with  their  long  flint-lock 
rifles  while  standing  in  their  cabin  doors.  It  was  a  veritable  paradise,  where 
flowed  milk  and  honey,  the  wild  honey  being  frequently  found  in  the  trees. 

Allen  L.  Fahnestock,  in  his  sketch  of  this  township,  as  published  in  McCul- 
loch's  history  of  Peoria  county  in  1902,  gives  the  following  list  of  early  settlers  of 
Timber  township:  "Daniel  J.  Hinkle,  wife  and  family,  of  Virginia;  Jesse  and 
William  Egman  and  families  and  Thomas  Ticknor,  of  New  York,  came  in  1826; 
William  Scott  and  family,  of  Kentucky,  in  1829;  William  Duffield  and  family  of 
Virginia,  and  George  Griggs  and  family,  of  New  York,  in  1829;  Theodore  Slick- 
ers and  family ;  Elijah  Preston  and  family ;  Timothy  Gridley  and  family ;  John 
Runnels  and  family;  Jacob  McCann  and  family,  from  Ohio,  came  in  1830;  Boyce 
Hayes,  Isaac  Bush,  Thomas,  John  and  George  Hunt,  Charles  .Fielder,  Thomas 
Webb,  Elizabeth  Duflield  and  Regina  Green  and  families,  of  \'irginia ;  John 
Congleton  and  James  Congleton  and  families,  of  Kentucky ;  Jonathan  Newman, 
J.  Thurman,  Alexander  Brown  and  Isaac  Preston  and  families  ;  Dr.  Sealy,  William 
Gibbs  and  son,  of  New  York ;  John  and  Thomas  Baty  and  families,  all  came  in 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  287 

183J;  John  McFadden  and  family,  George  Stewart  and  family;  Walter  Stewart 
and  family,  in  1833;  Dr.  C.  A.  Duck,  H.  Partridge,  David  Spencer  and  families, 
1834:  Rice  Smith  and  family,  George  Fritt  and  family,  Robert  ^IcKay  and 
family,  1835;  .M.  B.  Murray  and  family,  and  John  Shock,  of  \'irginia;  S.  F. 
Holinger,  of  Pennsylvania;  Orange  Babbitt  and  family,  1836;  Jacob  Fahnestock, 
of  Pennsylvania;  W.  C.  Andrews,  William  Webb,  George  Clark,  Matthew  Fllis, 
John  Ellis,  James  O'Connor,  K.  Palmer,  George  C.  McFadden,  Nathan  Wells, 
James  Hamilton,  Nathan  Johnston  and  family,  of  Kentucky ;  Joseph  Doll,  Jacob 
Doll,  M.  F.  Wells,  S.  F.  Underwood,  S.  Clark,  Elias  Jones,  Sr.,  Elias  Jones,  Jr., 
Samuel  Farmer,  Solomon  Hootman,  David  Hootman,  William  Jones  and  John 
McFarland,  1837. 

The  hal.iits  and  customs  of  the  settlers  were  in  kee])ing  with  the  newness  of  the 
country.  Even  their  food  and  clothing  were  very  primitive.  Most  of  the  latter 
was  made  from  the  wool  by  the  women  of  the  household.  After  the  routine  work 
of  the  home  was  finished  the  spinning  wheel  was  made  to  whir  and  the  loom 
rattled  and  clattered  until  time  to  prepare  the  next  meal.  Linsey-woolsey  was  the 
chief  adornment  for  both  men  and  women,  although  on  rare  occasions  the  head 
of  the  house  had  a  suit  of  Kentucky  jeans,  and  the  women  a  calico  dress. 

Wild  animals  and  birds  were  the  pests  of  the  early  settlers.  'Coons  and  deer 
robbed  the  fields  at  night,  while  the  birds  played  havoc  in  them  in  the  daytime. 
These  were  the  days  of  clearings,  when  at  times  great  frolics  would  be  had  upon 
the  occasion  of  a  log  rolling.  Then  all  the  neighbors  came  in  and  assisted  one  of 
their  number  to  gather  the  logs  that  had  been  cut,  into  piles,  so  that  they  could 
be  gotten  out  of  the  way  for  the  plow.  Salt  v^-as  scarce  and  often  needed  not  only 
to  cure  the  meat  but  to  preserve  the  hides  accumulated  by  the  hunters.  But  all 
these  difficulties  were  met,  in  one  way  or  another,  and  the  settlers  contrived,  with- 
out any  great  effort,  to  live  comfortably  and  happily.  The  Indians  were  also  a 
source  of  annoyance,  many  of  them  still  retaining  their  habitations  in  the  town- 
ship long  after  the  first  settlers  had  gained  a  foothold.  Strenuous  methods  finally 
had  to  be  adopted  by  the  pioneers  to  rid  themselves  of  the  red  man. 

To  give  the  present  generation  of  farmer  boys  an  idea  as  to  the  primitive 
means  of  raising  a  crop,  the  following  excerpt  from  Mr.  Fahnestock's  article 
is  here  reproduced :  "It  was  under  great  difficulties  that  the  settlers  could  raise 
enough  to  support  their  families  on  account  of  the  birds  and  wild  animals.  The 
'coons  and  deer  would  be  in  the  fields  at  night  and  the  fowls  during  the  day. 
There  was  also  great  difficulty  in  getting  the  land  cleared  of  large  trees  and  brush, 
the  settlers  having  nothing  but  rude  tools,  such  as  the  ax  and  grubbing  hoe.  The 
trees  were  girdled  and  left  standing  until  they  rotted  down  and  were  then  rolled 
in  heaps  and  burned.  All  the  neighirors  would  help  at  the  log  rolling  and  at 
night  the  log  cabin  would  resound  with  the  music  of  the  old  violin  and  then  the 
dance  commenced  with  the  Virginia  reel,  money  musk  and  the  French  four.  The 
little  brown  jug  was  passed  around  and  a  happier  set  of  people  was  hard  to  find. 
Whiskey  was  cheap  at  twenty-five  cents  per  gallon,  but  was  not  the  fighting  kind 
we  get  at  the  present  time.  The  land  was  plowed  with  a  wooden  moldboard 
plow,  having  a  steel  point  and  share.  We  were  compelled  to  carry  a  paddle  to  clean 
the  moldboard  every  few  rods.  The  other  farm  implements  were  a  shovel 
plow,  wooden  harrow,  rakes  and  forks,  sickle  and  cradle  to  reap  the  grain.  The 
wheat  was  tramped  out  with  horses  on  the  hard  ground,  then  two  men  with  a 
sheet  would  create  a  wind  and  blow  out  the  chaff.  The  first  small  mill  was 
built  of  logs  by  the  sons  of  the  widow  Green.  The  small  stones  would  crack  the 
corn.  By  use  of  horses  or  oxen  it  would  grind  a  few  bushels  a  day.  The  next 
mill  was  built  at  Utica,  Fulton  county,  on  Copperas  creek,  also  Lowe's  mill  on 
the  creek  and  Hale's  mill  on  Kickapoo  creek.  The  great  difficulty  was  to  get  a 
good  grist  ground,  as  people  w  ould  go  to  mill  sixty  miles  away,  taking  meat  and 
corn  dodgers  along  to  eat  until  the  grist  was  ground.  People  were  sometimes 
compelled  to  live  on  hominy  and  dried  pumpkin,  meat  and  sweet  milk  for  a 
week  at  a  time  until  their  grists  were  ground.     Still,  for  dessert,  we  had  stewed 


2B8  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

pumpkin  and  crabapple  sauce  with  honey.  During  tlie  summer  we  fared  much 
better,  having  wild  fruit  of  all  kinds." 

From  1840  on  the  township  settled  up  quite  rapidly,  .\bout  this  time  Samuel 
Bailey  built  a  sawmill  at  Palmyra,  now  Kingston  mines,  disposing  of  the  product 
at  Pekin  and  Peoria.  It  was  within  this  period  also  that  the  mine  was  opened 
at  Kingston  by  Thomas  Robinson,  the  coal  being  hauled  by  oxen  to  the  mill  for 
fuel.  It  was  about  1843  that  Samuel  Bandy  and  Solomon  A.  Glasford  arrived 
in  the  township,  and  in  1846  A.  D.  and  H.  Reed,  of  Farmington,  built  a  slaughter 
and  packing  house  near  Lancaster  Landing,  where  hogs  were  bought  and  pre- 
pared for  market.  They  were  brought  from  Galesburg,  Farmington,  Kno.xville, 
Elmwood  and  Trivoli  to  the  landing  and  sold  for  $2  to  $2.70  per  hundred  pounds, 
dressed.  In  1851  David  McCook  and  family  moved  to  Kingston  Alines  and  ran 
the  mines  under  a  lease  from  J.  P.  Eddy  &  Company  of  St.  Louis,  and  also 
operated  a  store  there.  Finally  the  family  moved  back  to  Ohio,  whence 
they  came.  Several  of  the  sons  became  soldiers  and  served  with  distinction 
during  the  war  of  the  rebellion.  The  father  was  killed  during  the  Morgan  raid 
through  Ohio  in  1864. 

There  were  schools  in  the  township  early  in  its  history.  A  small  log  cabin 
was  built  at  Lancaster  and  another  at  Dry  Run,  where  school  was  taught  during 
the  winter  months.  The  teachers  were  Samuel  Farmer  and  a  Mr.  Weston,  who 
received  renumeration  for  their  services  through  subscriptions  paid  by  the  parents 
of  their  pupils,  the  teacher's  salary  being  partially  eked  out  by  "boarding 
round"  among  his  patrons.  The  books  most  generally  used  in  those  early  days 
were  the  New  England  primer.  Pike's  arithmetic,  Webster's  speller  and  the  Old 
Testament.  In  1835  section  16,  set  apart  for  school  purposes,  was  sold  in  lots, 
some, as  low  as  $1.82  per  acre,  which  the  trustees  invested.  As  early  as  1837  there 
was  a  board  of  school  trustees,  composed  of  S.  F.  Bolinger,  Thomas  Tickner  and 
John  G.  McFadden.     The  latter  was  school  treasurer. 

For  many  years  there  was  no  church  building  in  the  community,  the  old  log 
schoolhouses,  cabins  of  the  settlers  and  their  barns  being  used  for  religious 
purposes.  The  ministers,  if  they  may  be  called  such,  were  compelled  to  work 
as  others  to  keep  the  wolf  from  the  door.  Their  parishioners  were  generous, 
however,  and  they  were  furnished  by  the  hunters  with  all  the  meat  they  desired. 
It  was  a  common  occurrence  to  see  the  settlers  getting  meat  on  Sunday,  both 
deer  and  turkeys,  for  the  minister. 

There  were  no  postoffices  in  those  days  and  Allen  hahnestock  carried  letters 
on  horseback  once  a  week  to  Peoria,  receiving  twenty-five  cents  in  trade  for  each 
trip  and  a  furnished  horse.  This  same  Fahnestock,  with  nine  other  residents  of 
the  township,  enlisted  in  Captain  May's  company  at  Peoria  in  1846  for  the  Mexi- 
can war,  but  as  the  governor  had  all  the  troops  he  needed  the  boys  returned  home 
from  Peoria  without  going  to  the  front. 

VILL.\GES 

The  town  of  Glasford  was  laid  out  December  9,  1868,  by  Samuel  A.  Glas- 
ford, a  native  of  Ohio,  who  came  to  the  county  in  1842.  It  is  a  station  on  the 
Toledo.  Peoria  &  Western  railroad  and  has  a  population  of  625.  It  is  quite  a 
stirring  little  village,  with  good  stores,  mills  and  shops,  an  elevator,  a  churcli  and 
schoolhouse.  Colonel  A.  L.  Fahnestock,  who  came  to  the  county  in  1837  from 
Adams  county,  Pennsylvania,  located  at  Lancaster,  where  in  1856  he  engaged  in 
the  mercantile  business.  The  colonel  afterward  moved  to  Glasford  and  became 
its  leading  merchant  and  also  held  several  local  offices.  He  was  at  one  time 
treasurer  of  the  county.  His  Civil  war  record  is  a  good  one.  He  entered  the 
army  as  captain  and  was  conmiissioned  colonel.  To  him  the  compiler  of  this 
history  is  indebted  for  many  of  the  facts  contained  in  this  article,  as  he  has 
quoted  quite  liberally  from  .Mr.  Fahnestock's  sketch  published  in  McCulloch's 
history  of  Peoria  county  in  1902. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  289 

Lancaster  is  situated  on  section  17  and  was  laid  out  by  Samuel  V.  I'.olinger. 
It  was  quite  a  flourishing  little  village  until  the  advent  of' the  Toledo,  Peoria  & 
Western  railroad,  which  took  its  way  through  Glasford  and  left  Lancaster  in  the 
interior.  As  a  consequence,  Glasforil  profited  bv  the  innovation  and  Lancaster 
lost. 

Kingston  Mines  was  first  known  as  Palmyra.  It  was  founded  by  James 
Monroe  and  is  chiefly  noted  as  a  shipping  point  for  the  mines  located  there. 
It  has  a  population,  as  determined  by  the  census  of  1910,  of  492. 

ROSEFIELD  TOWNSHIP 

Geographically,  Rosefield  township  is  almost  in  the  center  of  the  county. 
Kickapoo  township  borders  it  on  the  east,  Logan  on  the  south,  Elmwood  on  the 
west,  Jubilee  on  the  north.  Topographically,  the  surface  is  broken  to  cjuite  an 
extent  by  Kickapoo  creek,  the  two  branches  of  which  unite  at  section  3.  How- 
ever, there  is  a  great  deal  of  fertile  and  highly  productive  land,  both  timber  and 
prairie.  The  farms  are  well  cultivated  and  fenced,  and  have  good  buildings, 
many  of  tliem  of  a  modern  description.  The  farmers  are  prosperous  and 
progressive. 

Rosefield  was  separated  from  other  precincts  and  organized  into  a  township 
in  1850,  and  on  the  2d  day  of  April  of  that  year  an  election  was  held,  Benjamin 
Brown  being  chosen  moderator  and  James  M.  Rogers,  clerk.  The  result  of  the 
voting,  there  being  about  thirty  votes  cast,  was  as  follows :  John  Combs,  super- 
visor; James  M.  Rogers,  town  clerk;  David  Slane,  assessor;  Nelson  Shephard, 
collector;  Edward  D.  Edwards,  Isaac  Clayton  and  Edward  Coolidge,  highway 
connnissioners ;  Daniel  Mc\'icker,  James  Sherwood,  constables ;  William  W. 
Miller  and  Ephraim  Rynearson,  justices. 

It  was  some  time  about  the  latter  part  of  1831  or  forepart  of  1832  that  the 
lirst  settlers  appeared  here  in  the  persons  of  Alinnie  Rynearson,  Casper  Yinger, 
John  and  David  Combs,  William  Ni.xon  and  Levi  Coolidge.  Amos  Stevens,  who 
afterwards  became  quite  prominent  in  the  history  of  Peoria  county,  located  at  the 
banks  of  the  Kickapoo  in  1833.  where  he  built  a  log  cabin,  and  with  an  ox  team 
worked  his  prairie  land.  One  of  the  state  roads  leading  to  Kno.xville  along  the 
Kickapoo  touched  this  ])oint,  whence  the  hamlets  of  Southport  and  New- 
burg  were  reached.  Joseph  I'.ohrer  and  Benjamin  Miller  settled  in  this  township 
about  the  year  1835.  among  many  others  who  came  that  year.  Mr.  Bohrer  was 
a  \'irginian.  In  1829  he  married  Harriet  Dawson  and  with  his  young  iiride  immi- 
grated to  Illinois  in  the  latter  part  of  1835.  settling  in  this  township.  Along 
Kickapoo  creek  below  the  forks  and  its  mouth,  were  three  grist  mills  and  two 
sawmills.  Each  of  these  had  a  mill  dam,  which  occasioned  at  times  considerable 
contention  between  their  owners  as  to  their  respective  rights.  The  commissioners 
under  the  law  had  authority  to  permit  such  dams  to  be  erected  under  certain 
conditions  and  might  also  assess  any  damages  sustained  by  other  owners.  At  the 
June  term  of  the  connnissioners'  court  a  writ  was  issued  in  favor  of  John  F. 
Kinney  for  the  erection  of  a  mill  and  dam  on  the  northeast  (|uarter  of  section  27,, 
and  at  the  July  term  David  Combs  applied  for  a  similar  writ  for  the  erection 
of  a  mill  dam  on  the  southwest  c|uarter  of  section  1 1 ;  hence,  it  was  not  a  matter 
of  surprise  to  their  neighbors  when  they  got  into  a  wrangle  over  their  rights  in 
the  premises.  The  sheriff,  when  the  case  came  on,  submitted  both  cases  to  the 
same  jury,  which  consisted  of  John  Coyle,  Stephen  Carl,  John  H.  Oliver,  Andrew 
Race.  I.  S.  \'an  .\rsdale,  William  Stackman,  Jacob  l>ush,  W.  F.  Mulvaney,  Adam 
Barfut,  Asa  Deal,  Samuel  \'eacock  and  I'.enjamin  Kibb.  Lie  fixed  the  height  of 
Kinney's  dam  six  feet,  six  inches  from  low  water  mark,  determined  that  Thomas 
Slane,  ^\'illiam  Nixon,  David  Combs  and  Tom  Scott  were  not  in  danger  of 
sustaining  any  damages  by  its  erection,  but  that  John  Combs  was  liable  to  sustain 
damages  from  time  to  time  thereby,  and  fixed  his  damages  at  $32.50.  The  jury 
also  found  that  the  neighborhood  would  not  be  injuriously  affected.    The  petition 


290  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

of  David  Combs  was  granted  witliout  any  findings.  Daniel  Combs,  however, 
appeared  liefore  the  court  by  his  attorney,  Charles  Ballance,  and  opposed  the 
granting  of  the  Kinney  petition,  stating  his  reason  therefor,  first  that  Kinney  had 
no  title  to  the  land ;  second,  for  informality  in  the  sheriiif' s  return ;  and  third, 
because  proper  legal  notice  had  not  been  given.  Kinney's  counsel  was  Elihu 
N.  Powell  and  upon  his  motion  the  sheriff  was  allowed  to  amend  his  return. 
Arguments  were  heard  and  action  taken  in  regard  to  Kinney's  [letition. 

Coal  was  early  discovered  in  this  locality  and  is  now  being  mined  quite 
extensively,  two  companies  operating  on  the  line  of  the  railroad.  The  principal 
shipping  points  are  at  Edwards,  Kramm  and  Langdon. 

The  township  is  well  supplied  with  schools,  it  having  twelve  districts  and 
parts  of  districts,  in  all  of  which  instruction  is  given  from  eight  to  nine  months 
during  the  school  year.  The  first  schoolhouse  was  built  in  1838  on  section  8 
and  Roswell  Smith  was  the  first  teacher.  A  year  previous  to  this,  however,  a 
subscription  school  was  taught  in  a  private  house  by  Martha  Miller,  daughter  of 
Benjamin  Miller. 

About  the  time  of  the  completion  of  the  Peoria  &  Oquawka  railroad,  now  a 
part  of  the  Burlington  system,  Joseph  Bohrer  and  William  M.  Dodge,  of  Peoria, 
on  April  19,  1856,  laid  out  the  village  of  Oak  Hill  on  the  south  half  of  the  south- 
west quarter  of  section  6.  The  firm  of  Tyng  &  Brotherson,  of  Peoria,  erected  a 
warehouse  and  at  once  commenced  buying  grain.  However,  when  the  Buda 
branch  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  it  Ouincy  railroad  and  the  Peoria  &  Farm- 
ington.  now  of  the  Iowa  Central  system,  were  built.  Oak  Hill's  trade  was  greatly 
diminished.    The  census  of  1910  gives  the  place  a  population  of  81. 

The  first  church  organized  in  the  township  was  a  Methodist.  The  society 
was  formed  in  1837  ^"d  a  place  of  worship  known  as  Combs'  meeting  house  was 
erected  on  section  14.  It  has  long  since  gone  to  decay  and  has  been  abandoned. 
For  a  full  history  of  the  Methodist  church  in  this  township,  see  article  in  this 
volume  devoted  to  that  subject. 

TRIVOLI  TOWNSHIP 

Geographically.  Trivoli  township  in  relation  to  others  in  the  county  is  in  the 
southwest  corner.  Its  boundaries  are  as  follows :  On  the  south  and  west  is  Ful- 
ton county,  north  is  Elmwood  township,  and  east  Logan.  It  is  well  watered 
throughout  the  whole  of  its  borders  by  small  streams,  and  the  (|uality  of  the  soil 
can  hardly  be  surpassed,  making  for  it  one  of  the  best  townships  in  the  county. 
The  land  is  highly  improved,  well  fenced,  residences  and  outbuildings  of  the  very 
best  and  a  general  air  of  prosperity  pervades  the  whole  community. 

Trivoli  was  organized  in  1850,  the  first  election  being  held  on  April  2d  of  that 
year.  Hazard  Larkins  was  the  chairman  and  Simeon  L.  Hunt,  clerk  of  the 
organizing  meeting.  On  motion  of  David  R.  Gregory,  Eli  Wilson  was  chosen 
moderator  and  Thomas  Johnson,  clerk.  The  election  for  town  oflicers  resulted 
as  follows :  David  R.  Gregory,  supervisor ;  Samuel  Wilkinson,  town  clerk ; 
Thomas  Ramsey,  assessor ;  Elias  Potter,  overseer  of  the  poor ;  Royce  Allen,  col- 
lector; Joseph  Stevens,  Jonathan  Crane  and  Melatiah  Bourne,  highway  commis- 
sioners; David  R.  Gregory  and  Thomas  Ramsey,  justices;  Royce  Allen  and 
James  Wilson,  constables. 

The  first  settler  was  Isaac  Harkness,  who  located  on  the  edge  of  the  grove 
on  section  4,  in  1830.  He  was  a  Pennsylvanian  by  nativity  and  trudged  all  the 
way  from  Bradford  county,  that  state,  on  foot  to  his  new  home,  where  he  built 
a  cabin  and  fenced  in  a  small  plat  of  ground,  in  which  he  planted  a  crop  of  corn. 
The  following  year  found  him  in  the  lead  mines  at  Galena,  to  which  place  he  had 
made  his  way  on  foot,  and  where  he  worked  and  earned  sufficient  money  to  pay 
his  expenses  back  to  Pennsylvania.  The  same  winter  he  walked  to  his  old  home 
and  returned  to  this  community  the  next  year  with  his  family,  arriving  on  Christ- 
mas day.     His  only  means  of  transportation  was  a  light  wagon,  drawn  by  one 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  291 

horse.  Luckily,  he  found  his  little  habitation  unmolested  and  his  corn  in  the 
same  condition,  notwithstanding  a  camp  of  Indians  consisting  of  twelve  families, 
lived  only  a  half  mile  therefrom.  The  following  year,  in  February,  1832,  his 
son  Henry  Harkness  was  born,  the  first  white  child  whose  birth  is  ascribed  to 
this  township.  Some  time  later  Isaac  Harkness'  father,  a  veteran  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  joined  him  and  made  his  home  here  until  his  death  in  1H35.  It  is 
said  that  soon  after  his  arrival  here  Mr.  Harkness  journeyed  to  Chicago  in  his 
one-horse  wagon  and  brought  back  from  that  embryo  city  the  first  barrel  of  salt 
ever  brought  into  the  township.  Levi  Harkness,  Gardner  Gilbert  and  wife,  Sam- 
uel Emer)-,  Sr.,  Melatiah  Bourne  and  Robert  McConnell  were  the  arrivals  in 
183 1.  Following  them  on  up  to  1835,  these  settlers  set  stakes  for  homes  here: 
Samuel  Clark  and  wife,  Benjamin  \V.  Crane  and  wife,  Elias  Wilson  and  wife, 
James  Wickshire,  James  and  Page  Hyatt.  David  R.  Gregory  and  wife,  Thomas 
and  Joel  Lane,  John  Bird,  Curtis  Cady  and  wife,  Samuel  M.  Mack,  Samuel  Clark, 
George  Robinson,  Saxton  Kellogg.  Martin  Mathis,  Thomas  Ramsey,  William 
Wilson,  John  Proctor.  Quinton  Wilson,  the  Arteus  and  Barnes  families,  and 
Philip  and  Henry  Green ;  and  then  the  population  began  to  increase  rapidly. 

The  first  schoolhouse  to  be  built  in  Trivoli  township  was  of  crude  logs  and 
located  on  the  farm  of  Isaac  Harkness.  Its  first  teacher  was  Miss  Sarah  Waters, 
daughter  of  Isaac  Waters,  whose  sisters*,  Maria,  Sarah  and  Ruth,  all  subse- 
quently taught  school  in  this  county.  In  the  southwest  portions  of  the  township 
a  schoolhouse  was  built  in  1841,  which  was  presided  over  by  John  Carter.  It 
was  a  frame  building  and  was  also  used  by  the  'Methodists  a  number  of  years  for 
their  meetings.  At  the  present  lime  there  are  eleven  schoolhouses,  modern  in 
their  make-up.  in  the  township.  The  one  at  the  village  of  Trivoli  has  two  rooms 
large  enough  to  accommodate  eighty  pupils.  Here  the  high-school  course  pre- 
scriljed  by  the  state  is  taught. 

September  19,  1840,  Rev.  George  G.  Sill  as  a  missionary,  and  Rev.  Abraham 
D.  Wilson,  acting  as  a  committee  of  the  Classis  of  Illinois,  organized  a  church 
with  ten  members,  which  for  a  time  was  known  as  the  Protestant  Dutch  church 
of  Copperas.  On  November  25,  1844,  when  a  postoffice  was  located  at  that 
point  and  named  Brunswick,  the  name  of  the  church  was  changed  to  Brunswick. 
Thomas  Ramsey  and  George  Wells  were  the  first  ruling  elders.  The  church  was 
received  into  the  I'resbytery  of  Peoria,  October  26,  1848,  and  has  since  been 
known  as  a  Presbyterian  church.  Rev.  D.  F.  McFarland  was  the  first  pastor. 
Located  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  25  is  an  Evangelical  Lutheran  church, 
which  was  organized  May  27,  1855,  with  seventeen  members.  Rev.  James  Scherer 
was  the  first  pastor,  Henry  Frank  the  first  elder,  and  Patrick  Gilbreath,  the  first 
deacon.  The  church  numbers  about  sixty  members.  The  Methodist  churches  of 
the  township  are  spoken  of  in  the  chapter  under  that  title. 

VILL,\GES 

There  have  been  several  villages  laid  out  in  the  township,  only  one  of  which 
has  survived.  March  25,  1836,  Eli  Wilcox,  Edson  Harkness  and  Benjamin 
Newell  laid  out  a  town  plat  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  5  and  northwest 
quarter  of  section  8,  which  they  named  Harkness.  For  some  time  it  was  quite 
an  important  station  on  the  stage  route  from  Peoria  to  Monmouth  but  it  has  so 
dwindled  into  insignificance  as  not  to  be  especially  mentioned  as  a  separate  entity 
in  the  census  reports. 

April  II,  1836,  Henry  F.  Coulter  laid  out  the  village  of  Wheeling  on  the  north- 
east quarter  of  section  9  on  the  road  leading  from  Peoria  to  the  Knox  county 
line.  It  now  has  no  place  upon  the  map.  On  April  28,  1836,  Isaac  Underwood, 
of  Peoria,  laid  out  lots  for  a  village  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  8  and  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  9  on  the  road  from  Peoria  to  the  Mississippi  river. 
This  embryo  village  was  given  the  name  of  Caledonia  and  the  ostensible  reason 
for  the  money  and  trouble  expended  in  creating  these  towns  was  the  possible 


292  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

building  of  the  Peoria  &  Warsaw  railroad  through  their  borders.  The  anticipa- 
tions of  their  projectors,  however,  were  never  realized. 

Aurora  was  another  village  contemplated  by  its  ambitious  promoter,  Robert 
McKay,  who  laid  it  out  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  27,  August  24,  1836. 
It  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  this  village  was  started  in  the  expectation  of  the 
railroad  being  projected  through  that  portion  of  the  townshi]x 

The  village  of  Cramer  is  a  shipping  point  and  station  on  the  Iowa  Central 
railroad,  which  sprang  up  after  the  advent  of  that  line  of  transportation. 

Trivoli,  the  only  village  to  survive  of  the  many  others  projected,  has  not 
a  recorded  plat  but  it  is  presumed  that  it  was  laid  out  some  time  [irevious  to  the 
founding  of  the  Trivoli  Social  Library,  which  was  organized  in  1839.  The  town 
was  first  built  along  the  Farmington  road  but  since  the  location  of  the  Iowa 
Central  railroad  the  principal  places  of  business  have  been  located  nearer  the 
station.  There  are  three  retail  stores  of  a  general  character,  an  agricultural 
implement  concern,  elevator  and  blacksmith  shop.  The  population  in  1910  was 
116.    The  history  of  the  churches  is  given  in  another  part  of  this  work. 

KICKAPOO  TOWNSHIP 

This  township,  9  north,  8  east,  is  centrally  located,  and  although  somewhat 
broken  by  the  Kickapoo  creek  and  its  branches,  is  well  adapted  to  agriculture. 
It  derives  its  name  from  the  creek  of  that  name  which  flows  through  it  from 
west  to  east.  This  creek  has  had  a  variety  of  names.  It  seems  to  have  been  known 
to  the  English,  when  the  country  belonged  to  them,  by  the  name  of  Cartineaux, 
to  the  early  French  by  the  name  of  de  Arescy,  or  Arcoury,  to  the  later  French 
by  the  name  of  Corteneau  and  Gatinan,  which  latter  was  probably  a  corruption ; 
also  by  the  name  of  Maillet's  river,  but  by  the  Indians  it  was  called  the  Kickapoo, 
which  is  their  name  for  the  Red  Bud  or  Judas  tree,  which  grew  in  great  abundance 
along  its  banks.  This  stream  was  considered  of  inestimable  value  to  tlTe  early 
settlers  on  account  of  the  water  power  it  afforded.  The  water  power  was  utilized 
at  a  very  early  day  in  the  history  of  the  township. 

male's  mill 

In  1S34  William  Hale  visited  the  Kickapoo  valley,  and  being  well  pleased  with 
the  outlook,  selected  a  site  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  35.  Returning 
home  to  Oswego  county,  New  York,  he  resigned  the  office  of  sheriff  which  he 
then  held,  and  returned  again  to  Illinois  in  the  spring  of  1835,  accompanied  by 
George  Greenwood,  John  Easton  and  Waldo  Hughes.  John  L.  Wakefield,  for- 
merly of  Radnor  township,  had  arrived  early  in  the  year  1834.  and  in  the  autumn 
of  the  same  year  Francis  and  George  O.  Kingsley  had  arrived,  also  John  Coyle 
and  Israel  Pinckney.  The  Kingsleys  were  from  Vermont  and  Mr.  Pinckney  was 
from  New  York  city.  He  built  his  cabin  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  12. 
Samuel  Dimon  came  from  Connecticut  in  1838  and  settled  on  section  10,  where 
he  resided  until  his  death.  Joseph  Vorhees  came  in  1839  and  Gideon  Thomas 
came  in  1844  ''nd  settled  on  a  farm  a  short  distance  east  of  the  Kickapoo  village. 

Upon  his  arrival  William  Hale,  who  had  a  brother,  Asahel,  erected  a  sawmill 
on  the  mill  site  he  had  selected  the  year  before.  It  appears  that  at  some  date 
prior  to  December,  1835.  the  Hale  brothers  had  obtained  from  the  county  com- 
missioners' court  a  writ  for  the  assessment  of  damages  for  the  erection  of  a 
mill  dam  on  the  quarter  selected,  which  writ  was  returned  at  the  December  term 
of  that  year.  The  jury  reported  that  they  had  been  sworn  by  the  coroner,  there 
being  no  sheriff  in  the  county ;  that  they  had  been  upon  the  land  and,  having 
viewed  the  site  and  the  land  above  and  below  it.  were  of  the  opinion  that  Francis 
P.  Kingsley  and  George  O.  Kingsley  would  sustain  damages  to  the  amount  of 
$5,000 ;  that  they  had  located  and  set  apart  three  acres  of  land  beginning  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Kickapoo  river  on  the  line  dividing  sections  35  and  26.  thence  to 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  293 

the  center  of  the  river,  taking  three  rods  from  said  center  east  and  west  on  both 
sides  of  the  center  of  said  river  following  up  the  stream  eighty  rods;  that  no  other 
persons  would  sustain  any  damage;  that  no  dwelling  house. "outhouse,  garden  or 
orchartl  would  be  overflowetl,  and  that  the  health  of"  the  neighborhood  would  not 
be  injuriously  att"ected  by  said  overflowing;  said  claims  being  made  upon  the  pre- 
sumption that  the  said  dam  should  not  be  built  more  than  ten  feet  high  above 
the  bed  of  the  stream.  This  return  dated  October  8.  1835,  is  signed  by  Horace 
P.  Johnson,  foreman.  Thomas  P.  Phillips,  Israel  B.  Tucker,  Henry  G.  McComsay, 
S.  \V.  Stanton,  Reuben  Carley,  Thomas  Hardesty.  Chris  Hamlin,  Isaac  Under- 
bill, Robert  Cline,  John  Donnelson  and  Fitch  Meaciiam,  jurors.  The  prayer  of 
the  petitioners  was  granted  and  they  were  permitted  to  build  their  dam  on  pay- 
ment of  the  damages. 

The  erection  of  the  mill  was  then  procee<led  with  and  in  the  spring  of  1836 
they  had  a  "raising."  Mr.  Hale,  during  that  summer  brought  his  family  by  wagon 
from  Albany,  New  York,  and  having  procured  the  necessary  machinery  in  the 
east,  the  mill  was  completed  and  set  to  running  in  the  spring  of  1837.  It  was 
finished  in  splendid  style,  the  interior  being  finished  equal  to  good  cabinet  furni- 
ture. It  immediately  gained  an  immense  custom,  being  visited  by  settlers  from  a 
distance  of  thirty  or  more  miles  in  every  direction.  It  seems  that  both  Asaliel 
Hale  and  George  Greenwood  had  joint  interests  in  it  with  William  Hale,  and  it 
was  known  as  Hale  &  Greenwood's  Mill. 

On  July  23,  1836,  before  this  mill  was  completed  and  doubtless  in  view  of 
the  numbers  of  people  that  would  be  attracted  there,  as  well  as  from  the  fact  that 
coal  mines  were  then  beginning  to  be  operated  on  the  adjoining  land,  Norman 
H.  Purple  and  Andrew  .M.  Hunt  laid  out  a  village  of  seventeen  blocks,  with 
Washington  square  in  the  center,  on  the  east  half  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 35,  which  they  named  Hudson.  This  proposed  village  was  very  near  the 
mill  and  only  a  short  distance  from  the  present  village  of  Pottstown.  On  the 
recorded  plat  of  the  road  to  Knoxville,  another  road  from  Jones'  to  Hale  & 
Greenwood's  mill,  the  mill  itself  and  the  location  of  extensive  coal  mines  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  plainly  appear. 

Mr.  Hale  being  a  devoted  Methodist,  donated  a  tract  of  land  for  burial,  religi- 
ous and  school  purposes  and  erected  thereon  a  small  house.  Rev.  Stephen  R. 
Beggs  was  one  of  the  first  ministers  to  visit  the  place.  He  held  services  there  and 
organized  a  Methodist  congregation  which  flourished  for  a  number  of  years  and 
is  said  to  have  had  at  one  time  one  hundred  and  fifty  members,  but  many  years 
ago  it  became  extinct. 

The  water  supply  having  in  a  measure  failed,  steam  ])ower  was  introduced 
about  1848.  Mr.  Hale  continued  to  own  and  control  the  mill  until  the  time  of  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1859.  The  mill  was  subse(|uently  converted  into  a 
distillery,  which  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1867. 

POTTSTOWN 

The  coal  mining  interests  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Hale's  mill  caused 
a  large  lumiber  of  miners  to  become  domiciled  there.  Samuel  Potts  was  one  of 
the  principal  operators  and  the  settlement  in  course  of  time  came  to  be  known  as 
Pottstown.  September  30,  1889.  Mrs.  Ann  Potts,  widow  of  Samuel  Potts,  laid 
out  a  ]>lat  on  part  of  the  west  half  of  the  northwest  (juarter  of  section  36,  which 
has  since  then  become  a  lively  village  of  miners.  /\  few  years  ago  the  Presby- 
terians established  a  church  there  aufl  erected  a  comfortable  house  of  worship. 
It  still  maintains  a  feeble  existence  but  it  has  recently  been  greatly  weakened  by 
dismissals  to  other  churches. 

KICK.\P00 

This  town  can  boast  of  as  great  an  age  as  almost  any  other  in  the  county.  It 
was  laid  out  by  John  Coyle,  July  3,  1836,  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  6. 


294  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

It  occupied  an  eight-acre  tract  and  had  a  public  square  in  the  center.  The  first 
house  was  erected  by  Mr.  Judkins  on  the  site  of  the  old  Kickapoo  house.  It  was  at 
first  used  as  a  store  but  additions  were  made  and  it  was  converted  into  a  hotel,  in 
which  capacity  it  continued  to  be  used  for  many  years.  As  the  village  was  on  the 
great  stage  route  from  Peoria  to  the  west,  a  large  amount  of  travel  passed  through 
it,  and  as  this  was  the  first  stopping  place  west  of  Peoria,  the  hotel  became  well 
known  to  travelers  and  did  a  flourishing  business.  The  village  was  also  the  place 
where  political  conventions  were  held  until  the  coming  in  of  the  railroads,  as  it 
was  the  nearest  village  to  the  center  of  the  county.  The  last  convention  held  there 
was  probably  the  democratic  convention  of  1856,  when  the  Peoria  delegates 
were  taken  by  rail  on  flat  cars  to  Edwards  and  thence  by  farm  wagons  to  the 
village.  The  railroad  was  then  finished  only  to  that  point  and  passenger  coaches 
had  not  yet  been  introduced.  Until  that  time  and  for  some  years  later,  the  village 
enjoyed  a  large  country  trade  Ijut  it  has  become  greatly  diminished.  There 
are  now  two  retail  stores  of  general  merchandise,  an  agricultural  implement  con- 
cern and  two  blacksmith  shops. 

CHURCHES 

There  are  four  churches  in  the  village — Baptist,  Methodist,  German  Catholic 
and  Irish  Catholic.  It  is  doubtless  true  that  the  Irish  Catholic  church  is  one  of 
the  oldest  in  the  county,  the  precise  date  of  its  organization,  or  of  the  erection 
of  its  first  chapel,  not  having  been  ascertained.  It  is  said  upon  good  authority 
that  in  the  '30s  Black  Partridge  (now  Lourdes,  iti  Woodford  county)  and  Kick- 
apoo were  more  important  places  in  the  Catholic  church  than  Peoria.  In  those 
early  days  the  priest  on  Christmas  morning  said  mass  at  the  stroke  of  twelve  in 
Kickapoo,  then  hurrying  on  to  Peoria  ofifered  up  the  Holy  Sacrifice  as  the  sun 
was  rising,  only  to  take  the  road  once  more  and  to  finish  his  day's  labor  with  a 
third  mass  about  noon  at  Black  Partridge.  It  is  said  the  present  chapel  was 
erected  in  1835,  but  this  is  not  certain. 

Episcopal  church  (now  extinct).  This  village  Ijeing  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  Jubilee,  the  residence  of  Bishop  Chase  and  the  headquarters  of  the  Episcopal 
church  in  Illinois,  many  of  that  denomination  settled  in  this  vicinity.  They 
erected  a  house  of  worship  in  1843,  which  continued  in  their  possession  until 
i860,  when  it  was  partially  destroyed  by  fire  and  never  afterwards  occupied  by 
that  denomination. 

The  German  Catholic  church.  In  1861  the  German  Catholics  bought  the 
grounds  and  the  standing  walls  of  the  Episcopal  church  edifice  for  $324,  and  at 
once  commenced  to  reconstruct  the  building.  Father  Fronenhofer  was  priest 
at  the  time  and  under  his  management  the  same  was  completed  in  the  fall  of  1862, 
at  a  cost  of  $842.  In  1869  an  addition  was  made  to  the  building  at  a  cost  of 
$1,725.  Adjoining  the  church  is  a  parsonage,  erected  in  1876,  at  a  cost,  including 
the  lot,  of  $3,000.     Rev.  Father  Stower  is  pastor  of  both  Catholic  churches. 

The  Baptist  congregation  was  organized  March  29,  1851,  by  Rev.  Henry  G. 
\Veston,  of  Peoria,  who  preached  a  sermon  on  that  occasion.  Services  had  been 
held  at  several  places  in  the  vicinity  for  some  time,  as  there  were  many  of  that 
faith  settled  near  the  village.  The  charter  members  were  .Moses  Smith,  Evan 
Evans  and  wife,  Thomas  Fallyn  and  wife,  Anthony  Fallyn  and  wife,  Joseph 
Fallyn,  George  H.  Frye  and  wife,  George  W.  Weston  and  wife,  Elizabeth  Bell 
and  Fanny  Huxtable.     A  church  was  built  in  1854. 

EDW.'VRDS  STATION 

This  village  is  on  the  extreme  western  boundary  of  the  township  where  the 
state  road  crosses  from  the  east  side  to  the  west  side  of  the  Kickapoo  creek. 
It  has  always  been  considered  an  important  point  from  the  year  1836,  when 
George  Berry  petitioned  the  county  commissioners'  court  for  permission  to  erect 


EDW-AUDS    JIULhL    A  I     i:i)\\  Al;l),s    MAIIii.X 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  295 

a  mill  clam  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  30.  \\  hen  the  railroad  was  finished 
to  that  point  it  became  and  continued  to  be  the  principal  shipping  point  until 
Oak  Hill  was  reached.  It  has  ever  since  been  a  place  where  considerable  local 
trade  has  been  carried  on.  Extensive  coal  mines  are  worked  in  the  immediate 
vicinity,  which  fact  has  been  the  occasion  of  the  growth  of  a  miners'  village  at 
this  point.  The  first  settler  at  the  place  where  the  station  was  afterwards  located 
was  Isaac  Jones,  who  died  in  1840.  The  next  was  Conrad  Beck  in  1861.  E.  D. 
Edwards  opened  the  first  store  in  1851  and  two  years  later  built  a  steam  flouring 
mill,  which  was  successfully  operated  for  three  or  four  years,  when  it  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire.     It  has  never  been  rebuilt. 

COAL    MINING 

Coal  mines  had  been  opened  near  Hale's  mill  as  early  as  1838,  but  they  do 
not  seem  to  have  been  operated  extensively  imtil  1849  or  1850,  when  Jacob  Darst, 
of  Peoria,  began  "stripping,"  which  he  continued  for  about  five  years.  He  then 
sold  some  bluff  land  to  Frederick  Ruprccht  and  John  Woolenscraft,  who  com- 
menced "drifting"  into  the  hillside.  In  1851  Ruprecht  sold  out  to  his  partners 
who  continued  to  operate  the  mines  for  about  two  years,  when  he  sold  to  Ander- 
son Grimes  and  Judge  Thomas  Bryant,  of  Peoria,  who  in  turn  sold  to  .Samuel 
I'oJtts.  Mr.  Potts  became  a  very  large  operator  and  continued  to  carry  on  the 
business  during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Other  mines  have  for  many  years 
been  carried  on  in  the  same  vicinity  and  between  that  and  Edwards  Station. 

In  i860  Dr.  Justin  11.  Wilkinson  commenced  buying  coal  lands  near  Edwards 
Starion  and  continued  to  make  purchases  in  Rosefield,  as  well  as  in  Kickapoo, 
until  at  one  time  he  owned  about  one  thousand  acres.  In  December,  1876,  he 
associated  himself  with  Isaac  Wantling,  an  experienced  miner,  and  together  they 
developed  very  extensive  mines.  These  two  points,  Pottstown  and  Edwards, 
ha\c  in  vears  become  two  of  the  most  important  mining  points  in  the  county. 

SCHOOLS 

Prior  to  the  adoption  of  the  free  school  system  there  were  very  few  public 
schools  in  the  township.  In  1840  Samuel  Dimon,  who  had  come  to  the  township 
in  1838,  hauled  the  logs  for  the  first  schoolhouse  in  what  is  now  district  No.  i. 
It  was  situated  on  the  northeast  (juarter  of  section  11,  where  the  present  school- 
house  now  stands.  In  that  house  Miss  Harriet  Hitchcock  is  believed  to  have 
lieen  the  first  teacher.  Samuel  Dimon  afterwards  taught  there  for  two  or  three 
terms.  Prior  to  185 1  there  was  a  schoolhouse  some  distance  west  of  Hale's 
mill  known  as  the  Kingsley  schoolhouse,  but  it  is  not  known  when  or  by  whom 
it  was  built.  In  185 1  Miss  Sarah  Smith  taught  the  first  school  at  Hale's  mill, 
occupving  a  cooper  shop  for  a  schoolhouse.  The  school  now  located  at  Potts- 
town is  known  as  No.  4. 

The  first  schoolhouse  in  district  No.  5  was  located  on  the  northwest  quarter 
of  section  9.  It  w^as  a  frame  building,  erected  in  the  spring  of  1851,  at  a  cost 
of  $260.  The  first  school  taught  there  was  by  H.  Gregory,  commencing  in  the 
fall  of  that  year.  This  schoolhouse  was  replaced  in  1S77  by  a  modern  frame 
house  which  cost  $570. 

The  first  schoolhouse  in  district  No.  6  was  erected  on  the  southeast  quarter 
of  section  16,  in  August,  i860.  It  was  a  frame  building,  costing  $300.  School 
was  commenced  there  in  the  fall  of  i860  by  a  teacher  named  H.  M.  Behymer. 

The  first  schoolhouse  in  district  No.  7  was  erected  in  the  summer  of  1867 
on  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  33.  Miss  H.  Pritchard  was  the  first  teacher 
there.     She  commenced  in  the  winter  of  that  year. 

The  first  schoolhouse  in  district  No.  8  was  erected  in  the  suminer  of  1867 
on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  13,  at  a  cost  of  $528.  The  first  school  was 
taught  there  in  the  winter  of  that  year  by  Miss  Hattie  C.  Hennison.    The  town- 


296  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

ship  is  now  well  supplied  with  schoolhouses  of  modern  style  and  the  schools 
are  in  a  prosperous  condition. 

The  I'atrons  of  Husbandry  at  one  time  had  a  stronghold  in  this  township, 
there  having  been  two 'granges,  No.  446  or  South  Kickapoo,  now  extinct,  and 
Orange,  having  a  grange  hall  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  11.  It  is  one 
of  the  seven  yet  surviving  in  the  county. 

CHILLICOTHE  TOWNSHIP 

lliis  townshi])  is  the  only  one  that  lies  in  range  9  east  of  the  fourth  principal 
meridian.  It  is  composed  of  two  fractional  congressional  townships,  10  north, 
9  east,  and  1 1  north,  9  east,  the  first  named  being  a  very  small  fraction.  The 
northeast  corner  of  this  township  is  the  northeast  corner  of  the  county,  its 
northern  boundary  being  the  south  line  of  Marshall  county,  its  eastern  and 
southeastern  boundaries  being  the  Illinois  river,  which  separates  it  from  Wood- 
ford county. 

Could  the  early  history  of  this  township  be  written  it  would  doubtless  prove 
little  less  interesting  than  that  of  Peoria.  It  was  here  the  eyes  of  Joliet  and 
Marquette  last  rested  upon  the  soil  of  Peoria  county,  and  here  LaSalle  and  his 
companions  first  entered  Pake  Pimiteoui.  We  can  well  imagine  all  the  cele- 
brated vnyagcurs  and  missionaries  to  have  camped  here  in  their  voyages  up  and 
down  the  river,  and  to  have  established  mission  stations  or  trading  posts  within 
its  borders.  Here  also  dwelt  Gomo  and  Senachwine,  two  chiefs  of  the  Potta- 
wottomies.  It  was  in  this  township  Captain  William  Levering  visited  Gomo  in 
the  year  181 1  and  slept  in  his  cabin  just  before  the  great  council  at  Peoria.  It 
was  doubtless  at  the  Indian  village  between  Rome  and  Chillicothe  he  halted  and 
was  obliged  to  engage  a  new  crew  to  complete  his  journey.  Into  this  township 
the  Indians  of  Black  Partridge's  village  fled  when  the  village  was  attacked  and 
destroyed  by  Governor  Edwards  in  18 12.  It  was  here  that  General  Howard 
halted  his  army  of  nearly  1,000  men  in  his  march  against  the  Indians  of  Gomo's 
tribe  in  181 3,  and  it  was  from  this  point  they  returned  to  Peoria  to  assist  in  the 
building  of  Fort  Clark.  All  these  events,  however,  occurred  long  before  the 
modern  history  of  the  township  began. 

LaSalle  Prairie,  a  portion  of  which  lies  in  this  township,  is  about  ten  miles 
long  from  three  to  four  miles  wide,  and  lis  one  of  the  most  fertile  spots  in  the 
country.  This  fact,  coupled  with  its  nearness  to  the  river,  as  well  as  to  the 
timber  land  surrounding  it,  early  attracted  an  enterprising  and  industrious  com- 
munity of  farmers.  In  fact  it  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  centers  of  population, 
so  that  in  the  assessment  of  property  those  living  there  were  designated  as  resi- 
dents of  LaSalle  Prairie,  the  same  as  were  those  of  Farm  Creek,  Ten  Mile  Creek, 
Mackinaw  and  other  places.  In  1837  it  had  obtained  a  place  and  name  in  the 
Gazetteers  of  the  day  and  the  settlement  is  said  to  have  contained  one  hundred 
families.  It  also  gave  its  name  to  election  precincts  and  school  districts.  (^  This 
community  furnished  a  goodly  number  of  public  officers  and  other  public-spirited 
men  who  did  much  toward  the  organization  and  development  of  the  county.  It 
was  here  the  "Farmers  Exporting  Company"  was  formed.  At  an  early  day 
also  a  state  road  was  laid  out  from  a  point  on  the  Galena  road  near  ]\Iossville, 
thence  along  the  river  through  Rome  and  the  village  of  Chillicothe  to  points 
farther  north,  which  became  part  of  the  stage  route  from  Peoria  to  Chicago. 
The  northern  part  of  the  township  which  was  originally  timber  land  has  been 
cleared  and  now  contains  many  fine  farms. 

The  Senachwine  creek  is  the  largest  stream  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
county  flowing  into  the  Illinois  river.  It  divides  the  township  into  two  nearly 
e(iual  portions.  It  derived  its  name  from  Senachwine.  the  last  chief  of  the 
Pottawottomies  in  this  section  whose  village  was  located  on  its  banks.  In  an 
early  day  the  flow  of  water  was  much  greater  than  at  present,  affording,  as  it 
did.  water  power  for  the  driving  of  both  grist  and  sawmills.     Although  it  is  said 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  297 

that  William  Motifitt  had  a  mill  in  this  lownsiiip  as  early  as  il~*34,  yet  it  appears 
that  March  7,  1836,  William  and  Jeremiah  .MotYitt  petitioned  the  county  com- 
missioners' court  for  a  writ  for  the  assessment  of  such  damages  as  might  be 
occasioned  by  the  erection  of  a  mill  dam  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  iS. 
On  the  same  day  Ashbel  .Merrill  obtained  a  similar  writ  for  the  erection  of  a 
mill  dam  on  the  northwest  (luarter  of  section  17.  At  the  April  term,  1836,  the 
writ  in  favor  of  Ashbel  .Merrill  was  returned,  allowing  Henry  Pepper  $50  dam- 
ages caused  to  his  land  by  the  erection  of  the  dam.  The  return  to  Moffitt's  writ 
found  the  dam  to  be  u])on  their  own  land  and  no  injury  would  be  caused  to  the 
neighborhood.  The  Motifitt  mill  was  a  grist  mill,  much  resorted  to  by  people 
for  many  miles  around.  It  had  probably  no  competitor  nearer  than  Rochester 
on  Spoon  river  and  the  mills  on  the  Kickapoo  near  Peoria.  Merrill's  mill  is  said 
to  have  been  a  sawmill  located  about  one-half  mile  lower  down  the  stream  than 
Mofifitts'. 

About  this  time  or  a  little  later  there  were  three  rival  villages  in  what  is  now 
Chillicothe  township — Rome,  Allentown  and  the  village  of  Chillicothe,  the  first 
having  twenty-five  hou.ses,  the  second  three,  and  the  third  thirty  houses.  There 
is  no  plat  of  Allentown  on  record  but  the  ferry  licenses  granted  to  George  Allen 
in  the  year  1832  locate  it  on  the  southeast  (|uarter  of  section  29,  township  11 
north,  range  9  east. 

The  first  attempt  to  locate  a  village  upon  llie  present  site  of  the  city  of 
Chillicothe  was  made  by  Samuel  T.  McKean,  who  on  November  28,  1834,  caused 
a  plat  to  be  surveyed  by  Charles  Ballance,  county  surveyor,  on  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  21,  and  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  28.  It  consisted  of 
four  entire  blocks  and. four  extra  lots,  which  were  doubtless  intended  to  be 
included  in  a  subsequent  plat.  It  was  acknowledged  December  18,  1834,  before 
Andrew  M.  Hunt,  justice  of  the  peace. 

June  6,  1S38,  Harrison  H.  Jamison  and  Joseph  Hart  platted  a  village  on  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  21,  and  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  20,  cover- 
ing a  nuich  larger  territory,  which  they  named  Chillicothe,  apparently  ignoring 
the  former  plat,  and  possibly  including  it  in  this.  The  streets  were  66  feet  wide, 
alleys   18,  lots  66x166  feet. 

October  21,  1836,  James  T.  Temple  and  Harrison  H.  Jamison  laid  out  an 
addition  to  Chillicothe  which  they  named  Temple  &  Jamison's  addition.  It  was 
located  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  2S  on  the  river.  It  was  of  an  ir- 
regular shape,  consisting  of  three  fractional  blocks  on  the  river,  three  full  blocks 
and  two  other  fractions.  Several  other  additions  have  since  then  been  annexed 
but  these  were  the  original  plats  of  the  city. 

December  24,  1832,  Jefferson  Taliafero  placed  upon  the  records  of  deeds  in 
the  recorder's  office  of  Peoria  county,  a  plat  of  the  village  of  Rome.  It  con- 
sisted of  twenty-three  blocks  and  a  public  square,  but  not  being  accompanied 
with  any  survey  or  dedication,  its  location  cannot  be  definitely  fixed.  I!ut  that 
it  was  the  original  plat  of  the  village  of  Rome  cannot  be  doubted.  It  is  one  of 
the  very  earliest  villa.ge  plats  recorded  in  Peoria  county,  it  being  contempo- 
raneous with  the  first  plat  of  what  is  now  ^lill's  addition  to  the  city  of  Peoria. 
The  streets  running  parallel  with  the  river  were  named  Front,  Second,  Third, 
and  Fourth,  while  the  ones  running  at  right  angles  to  those  mentioned  bore 
the  distinguished  names  of  Caesar,  Pompey,  Anthony,  Octavius,  Cato,  Cicero  and 
Brutus. 

October  10,  1835,  Isaac  Underbill  laid  out  a  village  which  he  also  named 
Rome,  which  may  have  covered  the  territory  occupied  by  the  former  one,  but 
inasmuch  as  tlie  land  is  not  specifically  described  this  must  rest  upon  conjecture. 
It  consisted  of  forty-four  blocks  and  a  public  square,  ten  lots  of  82i<^xi32  feet 
to  a  block.  .As  already  seen,  Rome  was  a  dangerous  rival  of  Chillicothe  and  is 
said  to  have  been  at  one  time  an  aspirant  for  the  location  of  the  county  seat. 

June  20,  1837,  Samuel  Bell  laid  out  a  village  plat  named  LaSalle,  on  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  32.  surveyed  by  John  ^IcFadden,  deputy  of  Thomas 


298  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

Phillips,  county  surveyor.  The  tract  is  a  fractional  one  containing  about  seventy- 
five  acres,  of  which  about  sixty-four  acres  were  embraced  in  the  plat.  Little  is 
known  of  this  village,  if  in  fact,  it  ever  had  any  existence.  It  was  vacated  ]\Iarch 
6,  1849,  by  Hiram  Cleveland,  who  was  then  owner  of  all  the  lots. 

In  1840  Mr.  Underbill  began  the  cultivation  of  his  farm  at  Rome  by  the 
l)reaking  up  of  two  hundred  acres,  to  which  were  added  five  hundred  acres  more 
the  following  year.  It  subsequently  grew  to  twenty-two  hundred,  which  was 
doubtless  the  largest  farm  in  the  county.  In  the  fall  of  1841  he  sowed  three 
hundred  acres  in  winter  wheat,  from  which  he  had  an  excellent  crop,  harvested 
with  the  old-fashioned  cradle,  and  sold  at  thirty-two  cents  per  bushel,  the  highest 
market  price  of  that  year.  The  next  year  he  put  one  thousand  acres  into  winter 
wheat,  which  was  so  badly  winter  killed  he  did  not  harvest  one  bushel.  In  1846 
he  set  out  on  his  land  at  Rome  ten  thousand  grafted  apple  trees  and  six  thousand 
peach  trees  which  he  cultivated  for  seven  years.  April  i,  1853.  he  sold  his  farm 
to  Dr.  Ela  H.  Clapp  and  a  Mr.  Butler  for  $40,000. 

While  extending  his  farm  at  Rome,  Air.  Underbill  had  a  house  built  to  run 
on  wheels,  somewhat  similar  in  construction  to  a  sleeping  car.  It  was  drawn  by 
oxen  to  difi^erent  parts  of  the  farm,  which  consisted  wholly  of  a  smooth  prairie. 
He  had  about  twenty  yoke  of  oxen,  used  in  breaking  the  sod.  He  had  thirty- 
five  families  of  renters,  among  whom  was  a  preacher  who  got  free  of  rent  all 
the  land  he  could  till  in  consideration  of  his  preaching  to  the  tenants  on  Sunday. 
Another  was  a  fiddler  who  furnished  the  music  for  the  balls  that  were  frequent 
occurrences  at  the  Rome  Hotel  during  the  winter  season,  on  which  occasions  Mr. 
Underbill  would  be  a  frequent  guest. 

After  the  completion  of  the  Peoria  and  Bureau  \'alley  railroad,  of  which 
Mr.  Underbill  was  president,  a  controversy  sprang  up  between  it  and  the  city 
of  Peoria  in  regard  to  the  use  of  the  streets  or  some  other  terminal  privileges  to 
connect  with  the  steamboat  landing,  in  consequence  of  which  Rome  was  for  a 
time  made  the  head  of  navigation  as  to  all  freights  going  by  rail  and  river.  A 
spur  track  was  built  to  connect 'the  main  track  with  the  river  and  a  large  ware- 
house was  erected  on  the  river  bank  (there  being  a  good  landing  at  that  point) 
through  which  all  freight  to  and  from  the  boats  and  the  railroad  were  passed, 
thus  avoiding  the  complications  at  Peoria.  Rome  has,  however,  not  grown  much 
in  population,  it  being  at  the  present  day  but  little  larger  than  it  was  sixty 
years  ago.  The  Rome  fraction  constitutes  a  school  district  by  itself,  having  a 
good  schoolhouse,  in  which  a  good  school  is; maintained. 

Prior  to  township  organization  that  portion  of  territory  known  as  township 
II  north,  range  9  east,  constituted  an  election  precinct  by  the 'name  of  Senach- 
wine.  When  the  reorganization  took  place,  the  fraction  known  as  township 
10  north,  range  9  east,  was  attached  and' the  name  of  Chillicothe  was  given  to  the 
newly   formed  townshijx 

Prior  to  1830  there  were  a  few  settlers  in  what  is  now  Chillicothe  township. 
Mahlon  Lupton  and  John  Hammett  with  his  family  had  settled  north  of  the 
creek  on  section  9,  as  early  as  1830.  The  first  cabin  erected  on  the  site  of  Chilli- 
cothe was  that  of  Jefferson  Hickson,  a  blacksmith,  on  the  bank  of.  the  river,  near 
which  he  also  erected  his  shop.  The  second  was  that  of  Edwin  L.  Jones,  who 
was  the  pioneer  .merchant  of  the  place.  His  store  occupied  one  room  of  the  cabin 
in  which  he  lived.  He  was  the  first  justice  of  the  peace  and  was  a  man  of  prom- 
inence in  the  county,  he  having  also  served  for.  some  years  as  a  member  of  the 
county  commissioners'  court.  In  1838  a  ]\Ir.  Lehart  erected  a  small  frame  house 
of  one  room  which  his  family  occupied  while. he  kept  store  in  a  cabin  on  Water 
street. 

The  first  tavern  was  opened. in  1835  by  James  M.  Brown,  which  was  called 
the  Dunlap  House.  It  was  a  one  and  a  half  story  house  situated  on  First  street, 
but  the  name  was  subsequently  changed  to  the  American.  House.  It  was  kept 
by  William  Dunlap  for  about  five  years,  during  which  time  it  was  the  stopping 
place  for  stages  to  and  from  Chicago.  .The  next  is  said  to  have  been  the  Illinois, 
subsequently  changed  to  the  Buckeye. 


MAIX   STUEKT.   (  IIIIJ.IK  ITIIE 


l'rr,IJ(     s(  l|o,)l>.   (  llll.l.U  DillK 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  299 

The  Transit  Hotel  was  erected  about  1850.  Thomas  Kilts  was  the  first  pro- 
prietor. It  is  at  present  operated  by  J.  H.  Humes.  The  Union  Hotel  was 
erected  about  1865  by  O.  G.  Wood  and  was  at  first  called  Wood's  Hotel.  It  was 
subsequently  changed  to  the  Commercial  and  later  to  Union  Hotel.  D.  McKeel 
is  the  present  proprietor. 

The  Chillicothe  House  was  a  frame  building  containing  ten  to  fifteen  rooms, 
erected  and  kept  for  some  years  by  John  Haves.  It  was  destroyed  l)y  fire  in  1873. 

From  its  position  on  the  river  and  its  pro.ximity  to  the  fertile  lands  in  the 
northern  part  of  Peoria  and  the  southern  part  of  ?ilarshall  counties,  Chillicothe 
has  from  an  early  day  been  a  prominent  market  for  grain,  pork  and  other  prod- 
ucts of  the  farm.  This  trade  was  also  enhanced  by  the  running  of  a  ferry  to 
the  opposite  shore,  which  enabled  it  to  command  the  custom  from  a  large  portion 
of  Woodford  county,  as  well  as  from  that  portion  of  Marshall  county  lying  east 
of  the  river.  Of  such  importance  was  this  trade  considered  that  on  Alarch  4. 
1867,  a  charter  was  obtained  from  the  legislature  for  the  Chillicothe  Ferry  Road 
and  llridge  Company,  with  i)ower  to  establish  and  run  a  ferry,  to  build  a  bridge, 
to  make  roads  approaching  the  same  on  both  sides  of  the  river  and  to  purchase 
or  condemn  lands  for  that  purpose,  these  rights  to  be  exclusive  for  a  distance 
of  three  miles  along  the  river.  The  company  had  a  capital  of  $30,000.  It  es- 
tablished the  ferry,  constructed  the  road  across  the  bottom  lands  on  the  easterly 
side  of  the  river  and  has  been  operating  the  same  ever  since. 

John  A.  ^Moffitt  built  the  first  grain  warehouse  on  the  river  bank  in  1847,  the 
trade  at  that  time  being  confined  to  the  river.  Henry  Truitt  erected  a  grain 
warehouse  about  the  year  1853,  and  in  company  with  Samuel  C.  Jack  started  the 
first  extensive  business  in  grain.  This  firm  and  its  successors  have  done  a  very 
large  and  flourishing  business  for  many  years.  Soon  after  the  completion  of 
the  Peoria  and  Bureau  \'alley  railroad,  its  lessee,  the  Chicago  &  Rock  Island 
Company,  erected  an  elevator  at  the  depot,  which  was  consumed  by  fire  in  1864. 
It  was  rebuilt  and  an  elevator  has  ever  since  been  maintained  at  that  point  for 
the  shipment  of  grain.  It  is  at  present  operated  by  the  Chillicothe  Grain  Com- 
pany. An  extensive  business  in  milling  was  formerly  carried  on,  but  unfor- 
tunately, one  of  the  finest  mills,  that  of  Wood  &  Hosmer,  was  destroyed  by  fire 
in  i86g.  The  year  before  that  event,  the  Farmers'  Mill,  w^ith  a  capacity  of  grind- 
ing fifty  barrels  of  flour  per  day,  had  been  erected  by  Adam  Petry  and  A.  C. 
Thomas.  The  River  elevator,  or  Old  Star  elevator,  which  had  been  lying  idle 
for  many  years,  is  now  operated  by  the  Turner,  Hudnut  Company,  of  Pekin, 
Illinois,  who  do  their  shipping  entirely  by  the  river,  as  there  are  no  railroad 
tracks  reaching  it. 

Prior  to  1873  Chillicothe  had  been  governed  as  a  village  by  a  board  of  trus- 
tees. In  April  of  that  year  it  adopted  a  city  government  and  elected  Henry 
Hosmer,  mayor;  William  McLean,  Levi  Booth,  Joseph  Bailey,  William  H.  Bar- 
bour and  Richard  Hughes,  aldermen.  It  now  has  a  poi)ulation  of  about  1,850 
and  contains  the  numljer  and  variety  of  business  houses  usually  found  in  cities 
of  its  size;  among  which  may  be  mentioned  several  dry-goods,  grocery,  drug  and 
hardware  stores,  estaljlishments  for  tlie  sale  of  farm  machinery  and  furniture, 
grain  elevators,  lumberyards,  etc. 

There  are  two  banks.  The  first,  that  of  Truitt,  Matthews  &  Company,  was 
organized  in  1868  by  Henry  Truitt  and  Samuel  C.  Jack.  Later  the  firm  was  com- 
posed of  Henry  Truitt,  P.  T.  Matthews,  Harvey  Holman  and  A.   D.  Sawyer. 

The  present  proprietors  are  Henry  Truitt,  P.  T.  Matthews, •  Mead  and  Rollin 

H.  Truitt.  It  has  a  capital  stock  of  $40,000,  surplus,  $30,000.  Frank  L.  Wilmol 
is  cashier. 

The  First  Xational  Bank  was  organized  December  10,  1900,  with  a  capital 
of  $25,000.  B.  F.  Zinzer  being  president,  Ira  D.  Buck,  vice  president,  and  Fugene 
Moffitt,  cashier.  The  present  cashier  is  L.  R.  Phillips.  Its  stockholders  are 
among  the  most  prosperous  business  men  of  Peoria,  Pekin,  W^ashington  and 
Chillicothe.  February  10,  1902,  its  resources  were  $111,778,  and  its  deposits, 
$79.557- 


300  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

There  are  two  weekly  newspapers,  the  ChilHcothe  Liiillctin  and  the  Chilh- 
cothe  Enquirer,  the  first  started  July  4,  1883,  by  the  present  proprietor,  Frank 
\V.  LJailcy,  the  second  in  1891  by  Messrs.  Day  &  Bates.  The  present  proprietor 
of  the  latter  is  H.  A.  Bates,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  paper. 

The  city  is  supplied  with  telephone  service  by  The  Peoples  Telephone  Com- 
pany, of  which  B.  F.  Zinzer  is  president,  and  E.  .Moffitt  is  secretary  and  treas- 
urer. The  company  was  organized  in  i8gi.  It  now  has  one  hundred  and  fifty 
'phones  in  operation.  It  furnishes  country  service  in  Peoria  county  and  cable 
service  across  the  river  connecting  with  lines  in  Woodford,  McLean,  Marshall 
and  Tazewell  counties. 

CHURCHES 

The  Baptists  were  the  first  to  hold  religious  meetings  in  ChilHcothe,  probably 
under  the  direction  of  Elder  Gersham  Silliman  as  early  as  1837.  In  the  spring 
of  1838  they  organized  the  Baptist  church  with  the  following  members:  Peter 
Temple  and  wife,  James  H.  Temple  and  wife,  James  Hanimctt  and  his  wife  and 
mother.  Elder  Silliman  ministered  to  the  people  for  a  short  time,  when  Alex- 
ander Rider,  a  Scotch  clergyman,  became  pastor  and  remained  for  two  years. 
In  the  same  year  James  H.  Temple  started  a  Sunday  school  which  was  held  at 
the  residence  of  the  members.  The  church  was  then  without  a  pastor  for  several 
years,  there  being  occasional  preaching  from  time  to  time.  In  1830  Elder  C.  D. 
Merritt  began  preaching  semi-monthly  and  a  reorganization  took  place  with 
fifteen  members.  Elder  Thomas  Bodley  became  the  iirst  pastor  in  1850  and 
was  succeeded  in  185 1  by  Rev.  C.  D.  Merritt.  Through  a  revival  of  that  year 
the  congregation  increased  its  membership  to  ninety-two,  and  in  185 1  and  1852 
it  erected  a  comfortable  brick  house  of  worship,  with  a  seating  capacity  of  400. 
By  1857  the  congregation  had  increased  its  membership  to  102.  The  church 
then  suffered  a  great  decline  for  some  years  and  its  church  building  was  sold 
for  debt,  but  through  the  exertions  of  its  members,  aided  by  the  citizens,  it  was 
redeemed  and  from  that  time  took  on  new  life.  In  1866  the  building  was  re- 
paired at  an  expense  of  $goo,  and  on  the  2d  of  December  of  that  year  was  re- 
dedicated.  From  that  time  until  now  it  has  been  one  of  the  permanent  churches 
of  the  city.  It  is  located  on  the  corner  of  South  Second  and  Elm  streets.  It 
maintains  a  Sunday  school  of  about  fifty  in  average  attendance,  George  H. 
Sanders  being  superintendent. 

REFORMED    EPISCOP.XL  CHfRCH 

This  church  is  in  one  sense  the  successor  of  St.  John's  parish  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  church,  which  was  organized  about  1865.  The  first  rector  was  Rev. 
Dr.  Chamberlain,  under  whose  pastorate  a  church  building  was  erected,  which 
was  used  for  several  years.  He  was  succeeded  for  a  short  time  by  Rev.  Russell 
and  he  by  Rev.  Johnson. 

October  25,  1874,  Rev.  J.  P.  Davis,  as  missionary  of  the  Reformed  Episcopal 
church  commenced  holding  services  in  the  church,  it  having  been  for  some  time 
vacant.  September  12,  1875,  by  vote  of  the  members,  the  parish  severed  its 
ecclesiastical  connection  with  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church  and  united  with 
the  Reformed  Episcopal  denomination,  it  still  retaining  the  name  of  St.  John's 
parish.  About  1880  the  church  building  was  sold  and  a  new  one  was  erected 
at  a  cost  of  about  $2,000.  This  was  also  sold  to  the  Roman  Catholics  and  in 
1890  the  present  building  .was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $4,000.  The  first  oftlcial 
board  under  the  new  organization  was  composed  of  Solomon  Stowell,  Stephen 
Martin  and  Elias  Butz. 

Rev.  Jesse  P.  Davis  was  rector  from  1874-84;  Frederick  Walton,  1885-88; 
H.  L.  Gregg,  1888-89;  G.  Stroud  Vail,  1890-93;  E.  H.  Huston,  1894-98;  Frank 
V.  C.  Cloak,  1899,  to  the  present  time.  There  is  a  Sunday  school  with  36  mem- 
bers. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  301 

PLYMOUTH    CONGREGATIONAL    CHURCH 

This  society  was  organized  August  12,  1891,  with  nineteen  members.  The 
lirst  pastor  was  Rev.  Elbert  G.  Colhns,  who  served  from  1892-1900,  and  in  the 
latter  year  the  present  pastor,  Rev.  J.  Charles  Evans,  assumed  charge.  The 
church  building,  located  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Fourth  and  Pine  streets, 
was  erected  in  1S92.  and  dedicated  February  19,  1893,  at  a  cost  of  $1,500. 

SCHOOLS 

Chillicothe  has  always  occupied  an  advanced  position  in  regard  to  her  public 
schools.  The  first  school  taught  in  the  village  was  in  the  winter  of  1838-9,  in 
a  log  cabin.  In  1S45  a  frame  schoolhouse  of  one  room  was  erected  on  the  public 
square.  This  served  its  purpose  until  the  adoption  of  the  free  school  system  in 
1855.  As  soon  as  public  funds  could  be  raised  by  taxation,  a  commodious  brick 
building,  30x56  feet,  and  two  stories  high,  containing  four  rooms,  was  erected  and 
supplied  with  all  up-to-date  furniture  and  equipments.     It  was  erected  in  1856. 

The  authorities  were  greatly  encouraged  and  stimulated  into  activity  by  the 
holding  of  the  Peoria  County  Teachers'  Institute  in  their  new  school  building  in 
October,  1856.  During  its  session  night  meetings  with  public  lectures  were  lield 
in  one  of  the  churches.  In  1870  it  became  necessary  to  enlarge  the  building, 
which  was  done  by  adding  two  school  rooms,  two  recitation  rooms  and  a  hall. 
The  exterior  of  the  building  was  also  greatly  improved  and  beautified.  It  was 
located  on  the  corner  of  Elm  and  Fourth  streets  and  when  first  erected  cost 
$4,000.  The  additions  and  improvements  cost  about  $6,000  additional.  This 
building  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1890,  and  in  the  following  year  a  new  one  con- 
taining thirteen  rooms  was  erected  on  North  Sixth  street  between  Cedar  and 
Chestnut.     It  accommodates  about  500  pupils  and  has  twelve  teachers. 

JUBILEE  TOW  X SI  IIP 

In  the  second  tier  of  townships  is  Jubilee,  which  has  for  its  northern  boundary 
the  township  of  Princeville.  On  the  east  is  Radnor,  the  south,  Rosefield,  and 
the  west,  P.rimfield.  The  first  settlers  to  locate  and  acquire  permanent  homes 
came  in  1835,  about  fifteen  years  before  the  adoption  of  township  organization, 
settling  in  or  near  what  is  now  the  west  part  of  the  township  and  at  neighboring 
distance  from  the  little  hamlet  of  Charleston,  now  the  village  of  Brimfield.  A 
few  others  scattered  themselves  on  the  east  side  in  anticipation  of  a  college 
being  founded  by  Bishop  Chase.  The  first  settlers  who  came  from  1835  to  1840 
appeared  to  be  of  three  classes.  First,  those  who  possessed  a  little  money  and 
wished  to  begin  life  and  homes  where  property  would  appreciate  in  value  with 
time  and  improvement ;  others,  having  failed  in  business,  or  at  their  first  start 
in  life  for  themselves  in  the  older  parts  of  the  country,  came  to  a  new  one  to 
begin  life  and  fortune  again.  A  few  of  a  third  class  were  hunters  and  frontiers- 
men, who  keep  in  advance  of  civilization,  when  game  becomes  scarce  and  neigh- 
bors too  near  their  door,  sell  out  and  move  farther  on. 

Jubilee  township  has  as  great  a  variety  of  land  and  as  many  natural  resources 
as  any  part  of  the  county.  There  are  a  few  sections  of  prairie  land  scattered  in 
with  what  is  rather  a  rough  and  broken  township.  Several  tributaries  of  the 
Kickapoo  creek  have  their  source  in  and  pass  through  the  township ;  also  the 
east  branch  crosses  the  southeast  corner  and  joins  the  main  stream  near  the  south 
line.  A  few  white  oaks,  black  oaks,  bur  oaks  and  red  oak  trees,  also  several 
varieties  of  hickory,  were  scattered  over  the  bluffs  and  points  at  that  time  called 
by  the  settlers  Oak  0])cning,  skirling  the  streams,  and  on  the  bottoms  were  a 
large  variety  of  forest,  the  oaks,  black  and  white,  walnut,  sycamore,  cottonwood, 
maples,  both  hard  and  soft,  and  varieties  of  willow.  As  the  timber  on  the  up- 
land was  scattered  and  in  small  groves,  that  on  the  bottoms  and  along  the  streams 


302  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

much  l)elo\v  the  general  level,  the  view  of  the  country  was  nearly  unobstructed 
and  presented  to  the  observer  a  pleasing  sight. 

Shrubs  and  small  fruits  were  found  on  the  open,  also  some  varieties  of 
berries,  surpassing  in  sweetness  and  flavor  those  of  the  cultivated  kind,  grew  in 
the  thickets  of  the  timber.  Many  varieties  of  grasses  covered  the  ground, 
furnishing  food  and  sustaining  numerous  varieties  of  wild  game  that  roved  at 
will  over  the  country,  which  in  their  turn  furnished  a  large  amount  of  the  pro- 
vision for  the  settlers  and  their  families. 

The  cabins  or  homes  of  the  pioneers  were  of  the  most  primitive  and  rude 
construction,  built  in  the  usual  style  of  the  pioneer  log  cabin.  Some  of  the  fron- 
tiersmen, however,  being  skilled  in  woodcraft,  or  handy  with  an  ax,  built  houses 
of  a  better  class.  They  hewed  the  timber  to  a  square,  dove-tailed  the  ends  at  the 
corners,  laid  a  stone  foundation  in  lime  mortar,  erected  the  timber  walls  above 
that,  making  them  straight  and  true  as  a  brick  wall,  carrying  them  to  the  height 
desired,  usually  one  story  and  a  fourth  or  a  half.  The  rafters,  hewn  smooth, 
were  set  at  a  good  slant,  ribs  fastened  on  crosswise  to  which  shingles,  split  and 
shaved  by  hand,  were  nailed,  fire  place  and  chimney  of  stone  or  brick  filled 
with  mortar,  as  was  also  the  joints  in  the  timber  walls.  The  floors  were  often 
laid  witli  boards  of  the  boxes  the  people  brought  their  goods  in,  a  wide  board 
for  a  door,  one  window  of  sash  and  glass  for  each  room,  and  what  more  could 
human  nature  want? 

The  few  vehicles,  tools  and  agricultural  implements  were  of  the  simplest  de- 
sign and  construction  and  were  often  made  by  those  who  used  them.  Teams  of 
oxen  were  more  generally  used  than  horses  or  mules,  being  cheaper  and  easy  to 
keep  at  that  time.  The  first  breaking  of  the  prairie  sod  was  done  with  four  yoke 
of  cattle,  a  large  plow  held  in  the  proper  position  by  axle  lever  and  wheels 
cutting  and  turning  over  a  sod  twenty  inches  in  width.  This  work  was  per- 
formed in  the  months  of  June  and  July,  the  tough  sod  rotting  sooner  if  broken 
up  at  that  time.  Also  a  crop  of  sod  corn  and  pumpkins  were  grown  that  same 
season.  Cradles  were  used  to  harvest  the  small  grain,  the  hay  and  wild  grasses 
being  cut  with  a  scythe  and  all  put  into  the  stack  by  hand.  Small  grain  was 
threshed  and  corn  shelled  with  flails  or  trodden  out  with  horses  until  the  advent 
of  the  little  thresher,  a  cylinder  and  concave  set  in  a  small  frame  and  run  by  a 
four-horse  sweep  power,  the  straw  being  raked  ofl:  by  hand.  The  grain  was 
afterwards  cleaned  up  with  a  fanning  mill.  Possibly  the  hardest  and  most  dif- 
ficult labor  which  the  early  settlers  had  to  perform  was  the  construction  and 
maintenance  of  their  fences,  the  kind  in  general  use  being  built  with  rails,  the 
splitting  of  which  would  occupy  the  entire  winter  to  make  enough  to  fence  a 
few  acres  for  cultivation.  Fenced  pasture  at  that  time  was  unknown,  all  stock 
running  at  large  or  in  common. 

The  spinning  wheel  and  hand  loom  were  found  in  many  of  these  cabin 
homes,  where  the  women  folk  made  the  cloth  or  homespun  for  clothes  for  their 
families  and  a  carpet  for  the  floor.  These  primitive  outfits  and  homes  did  not 
require  much  money,  as  that  was  scarce  and  hard  to  obtain.  With  the  few 
things  that  were  brought  to  the  country  and  such  as  ingenuity  could  contrive,  the 
pioneer  had  the  necessaries  and  a  few  of  the  comforts  of  existence.  Such  was 
life  in  the  log  cabin  days. 

Prominent  among  the  pioneers  of  the  township  was  the  Rev.  Philander 
Chase.  ISishop  of  Illinois,  who  came  to  the  then  west  to  found  the  colloge  known 
as  Jubilee.  He  permanently  settled  in  1836  on  a  part  of  section  36  in  the  south- 
east corner  of  the  township.  Erecting  a  log  cabin  for  himself  and  family,  as 
did  the  other  settlers,  he  set  about  the  college  work.  Securing  some  funds, 
partly  from  friends  in  England  and  some  from  others  in  the  eastern  states,  and 
at  times  contributing  from  his  own  resources,  a  tract  of  land  was  secured  em- 
bracing about  three  thousand  acres,  more  than  two  thousand  of  which  were  in 
Jubilee  township,  and  near  the  home  chosen  for  himself.  Procuring  stone  and 
timber  near  the  site  chosen  for  the  buildings  on  section  26,  the  corner  stone  of 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  303 

the  chapel  and  schoolhouse  was  laid  on  the  3d  day  of  April,  1839.  The  erection 
of  the  buildings  soon  followed  with  the  other  necessary  buildings;  residences 
for  the  teachers,  boarding  houses  for  the  scholars  and  workmen,  so  that  in  a 
few  years,  but  later  than  1850,  nearly  all  of  the  various  industries  of  the  times 
were  represented  in  the  little  village  of  Jubilee  and  the  near  surroundings.  .A 
sawmill  was  constructed  on  Kickapoo  creek,  two  miles  south  from  the  college 
to  which  was  soon  added  a  flour  mill,  with  both  steam  and  water  power.  .A 
store  building  near  at  hand  was  filled  with  such  goods  as  were  used  by  the  early 
settlers.  A  blacksmith  shop  and  a  shoemaker  shop  were  added  for  the  con- 
venience of  all  near  liy.  A  small  hand  printing  press  was  operated  in  the  college 
building,  on  which  was  printed  at  short  intervals  a  small  sheet  entitled  "The 
Alotto."  Farming  and  stockraising  were  carried  on  extensively  by  the  college 
which  introduced  and  operated  the  first  agricultural  machinery  seen  in  the  vicin- 
ity, such  as  McCormick's  reaper,  Allen's  mower,  Emory's  tread  power  and 
thresher.  Students  soon  filled  the  buildings  and  the  college  flourished  for  a 
number  of  years. 

The  first  graduating  exercises  held  at  the  college  occurred  July  7,  1847,  at 
which  five  persons  received  their  degrees  in  the  arts  and  sciences.  A  large  booth 
was  erected  for  the  occasion,  constructed  of  poles  set  in  the  ground  and  covered 
with  branches  from  the  trees.  A  band  from  Peoria  city  furnished  the  outdoor 
music.  The  exercises  were  attended  by  several  hundred  people  and  it  was  indeed 
a  happy  and  proud  event  to  the  founder  of  the  college.  A  little  knowledge  of 
the  work  and  the  difficulties  encountered  in  the  building  of  such  an  institution 
in  those  early  days  may  be  obtained  when  we  realize  that  the  stone  was  first 
dug  from  the  quarry  and  shaped.  The  brick  was  burned  within  a  few  rods  of 
where  it  was  used  and  nearly  all  the  timbers  were  cut  and  hewn  from  the  native 
forests  by  hand.  On  one  occasion,  in  1842,  one  of  the  settlers  made  the  journey 
to  Chicago  in  the  winter  with  a  team,  bringing  from  there  a  barrel  of  salt  for 
use  at  the  college  and  a  load  of  lumber  with  which  to  make  sash  for  the  build- 
ings. Other  settlers  procured  some  of  the  materials  for  their  first  homes  in  the 
same  wa}'. 

Township  organization  was  adopted  .April,  1850,  and  the  usual  township  of- 
ficers elected.  The  formation  of  school  and  road  districts  was  completed  in  a 
few  years  afterwards,  the  number  of  each  at  the  present  time  being  eight.  The 
schools  in  each  district  hold  from  six  to  eight  months  of  school  each  year. 

Religious  services  and  Sunday  schools  were  held  at  various  times  in  several 
of  the  schoolhouses  until  the  building  of  various  edifices  for  public  worship,  of 
which  Jubilee  has  three — the  Episcopal  at  the  college,  German  Methodist  and 
Lutheran.  Five  cemeteries  situated  in  difl:'erent  parts  of  the  township  give  the 
unwritten  history  that  many  have  finished  their  labors  and  gone  to  the  other 
shore.  But  few  of  those  are  living  who  purchased  their  land  from  the  govern- 
ment, and  at  this  writing  but  one  is  living  on  the  land  which  was  purchased  by 
them  from  Uncle  Sam. 

For  a  time  elections  were  held  at  private  houses  or  at  the  residence  of  the  town 
clerk.  Elections  and  town  meetings  are  now  held  at  the  town  hall  in  the  center 
of  the  township.  Some  changes  of  town  officers  have  been  made  at  every  annual 
meeting  and  but  few  have  served  the  township  many  years  in  succession.  Three 
members  of  the  Illinois  general  assembly  have  been  chosen  from  the  township, 
namely:  William  Rowcliff,  H.  R.  Chase  and  Peter  Cahill.  As  township  officers, 
William  Church,  H.  I.  Chase,  Gilbert  Hathaway,  James  H.  Forney,  J.  B.  Slocum, 
John  Moss.  William  Rowcliff,  H.  R.  Chase,  Richard  Pacey,  Peter  Cahill  and 
Cecil  C.  Moss  have  served  as  supervisors.  Those  having  acted  as  town  clerk 
are:  David  Sanborn,  William  M.  Jenkins,  George  Radley,  Noah  Alden,  George 
Paul,  William  H.  Paul,  S.  S.  Stewart,  Charles  Hayes,  F.  E.  Coulson,  R.  H.  Van 
Renssalaer.  George  Stewart,  F.  T.  Keefer,  L.  Hasselbacher,  L.  S.  Barrett,  S.  P. 
Bower,  tjilbert  Hathaway  held  the  office  of  school  treasurer  for  twenty-seven 
years,  Thomas  Pacey  and  Charles  Hayes  about  twenty  years. 


304 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


I'AU  M  FI FLD  TOW  X  S 1 1 1 P 


Brimfield  township  is  one  of  the  richest  agricultural  sections  of  the  county. 
It  doubtless  has  more  good  arable  land  than  any  other  township,  there  being 
not  over  forty  acres  that  cannot  be  plowed  and  cultivated.  There  is  an  abundance 
of  bituminous  coal  underlying  the  surface  of  the  whole  township  in  five  or  six 
veins,  some  of  which  are  being  successfully  worked.  Two  groves  are  found  in 
the  township,  one  of  which,  situated  in  the  southwesterly  part,  is  called  Atkin- 
son's Grove,  from  the  first  settler,  the  other  French  (French's)  Grove,  west  oi 
the  town  of  Brimfield,  besides  which  there  is  a  point  of  timber  a  half  mile 
northeast  of  the  village.  There  are  quarries  of  lime  and  sand  stone  and  an  abun- 
dance of  living  water. 

Philip  Atkinson  is  considered  to  have  been  the  first  settler,  he  having  arrived 
in  the  township  in  1834.  He  was  a  protestant  Irishman  and  well  educated,  as 
were  his  whole  family.  He  settled  in  the  same  grove  which  bears  his  name.  Two 
of  his  sons  became  Methodist  ministers ;  Phili[),  the  youngest,  became  a  college 
professor  and  afterwards  wrote  a  work  consisting  of  four  volumes  on  the  sub- 
ject of  electricity. 

In  the  year  1837  a  number  of  newcomers  settled  in  the  township,  or  in  its 
immediate  vicinity.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  L.  S.  Booth  and  family, 
who  settled  in  the  west  end  of  Atkinson's  Grove;  Levi  Jennings,  a  Quaker,  who 
settled  on  the  section  on  which  Zion's  church  now  stands ;  John  Tucker  and 
family.  Isaac  Cutter  and  family  and  Daniel  Simon  and  family,  all  of  whom 
settled  in  French  Grove ;  John  Sutherland,  who  settled  on  the  northwest  of 
French  Grove  near  the  present  Presbyterian  church.  Northeast  of  Brimfield 
there  was  another  group  of  settlers,  among  whom  were  William  Compher,  who 
represented  the  district  in  the  legislature  in  1838-40.  Others  were  Jacob  W  ills, 
who  was  the  first  blacksmith,  and  the  man  who  opened  the  first  coal  bank ;  a 
Mr.  Martin,  whose  son,  still  living,  was  the  first  child  born  here ;  Thomas  John- 
son and  family,  a  Mr.  Schenck  and  family,  David  Shane.  Hiram  and  \\'illiam 
Shane,  sons  of  William  Shane,  Sr.,  with  their  families;  and  Isaac  Harrison  and 
family. 

.As  the  village  of  Brimfield,  which  early  became  the  center  of  population,  is 
on  the  extreme  eastern  edge  of  the  township,  it  has  been  thought  not  out  of 
place  to  mention  some  who  were  not  within  the  township,  but  who  were  within 
the  old  precinct  of  Brimfield.  East  of  the  village,  along  the  state  road,  was 
the  following  group  of  settlers :  Thomas  Martin,  William  Lambert  and  family, 
Clark  D.  Powell,  who  was  one  of  the  county  commissioners  and  a  justice  of  the 
peace,  a  man  of  liberal  education  and  a  very  pleasing  speaker.  He  also  had  a 
brother,  Thornton  T.  Powell,  who  with  his  family  settled  in  the  same  vicinity. 
About  two  miles  southeast  of  the  village  was  a  small  colony  from  Pennsylvania, 
consisting  of  Roswell,  Asahel  and  Isaac  Walker,  with  their  families,  Isaac  Hark- 
ness,  a  prominent  citizen  who  afterwards  removed  to  Harkness  Grove  in  Elmwood 
township,  Edson  Harkness,  a  brother  of  Isaac,  with  his  son  Wright  and  family, 
and  Ichabod  Rowley  and  his  family. 

In  1836  Jacob  Snyder  with  a  large  family,  H.  N.  Wiley,  John  F.  and  Hiram 
Wiley,  vvith  their  sisters  Elvira  and  Marcia,  W'illiam  Lynch,  William  Berry, 
Daniel  Stansberry  and  family,  a  Mr.  Floyt,  Noah  Alden,  a  very  old  man  with  two 
sons,  Hiram  and  Noah,  all  arrived. 

In  1837  the  following  came :  James  Berrian.  Thomas  N.  Wells  and  family ; 
in  1838,  Bradford  Hall  and  family,  David  Sanborn.  John  W.  Perran,  Sanuiel 
and  George  Pulsifer,  a  Mr.  Marvin,  Captain  Fisher,  S.  H.  Judson,  John  Shores, 
Edward  Hayward  and  M.  D.  X'illings. 

May  6,  1836,  a  town  was  laid  out  on  section  25,  called  Cambridge,  but  the 
stage  route  from  Peoria  to  Burlington  having  been  located  a  half  mile  north  of 
it,  another  town  was  laid  out  by  Abner  Clark  (June  9.  1836)  on  section  24,  called 
Charleston,   and   the   former   was  abandoned.     The    first   settlers   in   Charleston 


SCENE    AT    I'EOKIA    (  nrXTY    OLD    SF/I'll.ERS-    ASSOCFATION    PK'XIC 
Liltle  };irl  ilrove  c;ilf'  and  rait    twi'iitv   m\\r<i  to   I'l-nria. 


OLD    TIME   WEDDING    SCENE    AT    BRI5IF1ELD 
Peoria   County  Old  Settlers'  Picnic,  showing  Judge  N.   K.  Wortliingtoii   to   the  left    staiidiiif; 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  305 

were  Woeniger  and  Jacob   \'an   Houten,   the  latter  being  the   first  postmaster. 
The  mail  was  then  carried  from  Peoria  on  horseback. 

When  Mr.  Guyer  came  to  Charleston  in  December,  1836,  he  found  two 
families  living  here — Van  Ilouten  and  Woeniger,  the  former  on  lot  10,  block 
16,  the  latter  on  lot  6,  block  16.  The  proprietor  of  the  town  had  an  empty  log 
cabin  which  had  been  moved  from  Charleston,  into  which  Mr.  Guyer  moved 
with  his  stock  of  goods,  which  was  the  first  stock  of  general  merchandise  in  the 
town.  He  boarded  with  \'an  Ilouten  until  he  moved  away,  leaving  Mr.  Guyer 
for  company,  a  dog  and  a  cat.  About  the  same  time  Woeniger  also  took  his 
departure,  leaving  .Mr.  Guyer  alone  to  "keep  bach"  with  only  the  dog  and  cat 
for  his  companions.  Two  or  three  months  later  Dr.  Prouty,  a  young  man  from 
.\ew  Hampshire,  came  and  took  up  his  abode  with  Mr.  Guyer.  About  that  time 
James  Wolcott  came  to  look  at  the  country,  bought  Van  Houten  out  and  returned 
to  New  York  for  his  family,  who  upon  their  arrival  took  their  first  meal  with 
the  two  bachelors.  Early  the  next  spring  Mr.  Guyer  built  a  two-story  log  house, 
into  which  he  moved  his  goods  and  "kept  bach"  upstairs.  Mr.  Wolcott's 
coming  here  brought  quite  a  number  of  enterprising  and  intelligent  families. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wolcott  were  both  very  intelligent  and  refined  people,  and  their 
house  was  the  center  of  all  the  social  gatherings  of  the  village.  They  had  a  son, 
James  P.  Wolcott,  and  a  daughter,  Lucretia,  both  very  accomplished  young 
people,  who  made  the  social  circle  of  the  home  very  attractive.  Among  others 
who  had  the  pleasure  of  enjoying  those  social  gatherings  at  the  W^olcott  home 
may  be  mentioned  the  following  well  known  citizens  of  the  county:  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Thomas  N.  Wells,  ^Ir.  and  Mrs.  Washington  Cockle,  Charles  Wells,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  William  Fessenden,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Daniel  Belcher.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Samuel 
judson,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Tobey,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Caldwell,  Hon.  and  Mrs. 
W.  W.  Thompson  and  two  daughters,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  David  Sanborn,  Hon.  S.  S. 
Cuiyer  of  Rock  Island,  L.  L.  Guyer,  Drs.  Prouty  and  Kellogg,  John  M.  Wiley 
and  H.  N.  Wiley  and  their  two  sisters,  and  Edward  Hayward. 

Mr.  Wolcott  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  talents,  at  one  time  a  manu- 
facturer of  Wolcottsville,  Massachusetts,  from  which  place  he  moved  to  New 
York  city,  where  he  was  for  a  time  in  partnership  with  A.  S.  W.  Goodwin,  as 
brokers  in  merchandise.  He  was  a  good  public  speaker  and  it  is  said  that  his 
speeches  would  compare  very  favorably  with  some  of  the  best  made  in  Congress. 
He  was  a  whig  in  politics  and  c|uite  a  strong  politician.  He  was  a  brother-in-law 
of  the  Hon.  W.  W.  Thompson,  who  was  a  democrat,  and  their  discussions  of  the 
political  questions  were  often  c|uite  animated  and  interesting.  Mr.  Wolcott  died 
in  1835  and  Mrs. 'Wolcott  died  in  1862. 

Daniel  Belcher  arrived  in  the  winter  of  1838  and  in  the  following  spring  he 
erected  the  first  frame  house  which  was  kept  as  a  hotel  by  him  and  the  members 
of  the  family  who  survived  him,  for  a  period  of  about  fifty  years. 

In  1838  Charleston  received  quite  a  stream  of  immigrants,  among  whom  were 
A.  S.  W.  Goodwin,  with  his  family,  one  of  whom,  his  aged  mother,  was  the  first 
person  who  died  and  was  buried  in  Charleston.  W^illiam  Tobey,  the  far  famed 
manufacturer  of  the  steel  plow,  Daniel  Caldwell,  L.  A.  Jones  and  his  brother 
Darius,  the  first  carpenters,  came  with  their  respective  families. 

In  1839  came  Charles  H.  Freeman.  William  11.  Fessenden,  Curtis  Cod\-,  James 
M.  Wiley  and  others. 

From  1S40  to  1850  the  surrounding  country  filled  up  very  rapidly,  and  now 
farms  were  laid  out  and  improved  in  every  direction.  During  the  session  of  the 
legislature  to  which  Hon.  W.  W.  Thompson  had  been  elected,  the  name  of 
Charleston'  was  changed  to  Brimfield,  the  name  of  his  native  place  in  Massa- 
chusetts. 

About  this  time  a  lyceum  was  formed  at  Charleston,  which  was  the  leading 
one  in  this  part  of  the  state.     Its  officers  were  W.  W.  Thompson,  president,  and 
L.  L.  Guyer,  secretary.     The  meetings  and  debates  were  very  spirited  and  at- 
tractive, the  most  prominent  members  of  the  Peoria  bar  often  attending  them. 
V..1. 1—20 


306  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

Its  iirominent  members  were  James  Wolcott,  W.  W.  Thompson,  James  P.  W'ol- 
cott,  A.  S.  W.  Goodwin,  William  Compiler,  Clark  D.  Powell,  Thomas  N.  Wells, 
William  H.  Fessenden,  David  Sanborn  and  Samuel  Pulsifer. 

Of  these,  W.  W.  Thompson,  William  Compher,  David  Sanborn  and  Washing- 
ton Cockle,  another  resident  of  the  vicinity,  became  members  of  the  legislature. 
Clark  D.  Powell  was  county  commissioner.  William  H.  Fessenden  removed  to 
Peoria  and  there  became  postmaster.  James  L.  Riggs,  another  resident,  became 
sheriff  of  the  county  in  1850  and  1852,  removed  to  Peoria  and  there  laid  out 
two  additions  which  bear  his  name. 

The  first  election  was  held  in  1837  at  the  home  of  IMr.  Cutter  in  French 
Grove.  This  was  a  precinct  election,  which  at  that  time  included  Brimfield  and 
part  of  Jubilee  townships.  John  F.  Wiley  and  Clark  D.  Powell  were  elected 
justices  of  the  peace  and  Samuel  Johnson,  constable. 

In  1838  the  Frink  and  Wallace  stage  line  was  started,  carrying  the  mails 
from  Peoria  westward.  Postage  was  paid  at  the  end  of  the  route ;  that  on  letters 
carried  300  miles  or  over  being  25  cents;  under  that  distance  18^  cents,  or  less, 
according  to  distance.  During  the  rush  of  immigration  the  coaches  were  of  the 
finest  construction,  drawn  by  finely  matched  and  richly  caparisoned  teams  of 
four  horses  each.  Charleston  was  the  first  station  from  Peoria  where  horses 
were  changed,  and,  as  the  yelp  of  the  stage  driver  was  heard,  the  inhabitants 
turned  out  to  witness  the  grand  equipage  round  up  in  magnificent  style  in  front 
of  Belcher's  tavern.  Mr.  Belcher  was  a  dignified  and  affable  landlord  who  was 
always  ready  to  welcome  passengers  to  the  best  table  a  prairie  country  could  set ; 
a  table  that  would  put  to  blush  many  in  the  more  pretentious  hostelries  of  the 
present  day. 

As  other  means  of  travel,  such  as  steamboat  lines,  canals  and  railroads  began 
to  open  up,  the  stage  lines  were  deserted  of  all  through  travel,  the  splendid 
coaches  were  withdrawn  and  those  of  inferior  grade,  driven  by  two  horses, 
were  substituted. 

The  first  schoolhouse  was  built  in  1839.  The  first  teacher  was  Aliss  Ellen 
Bartlett,  of  Peoria.  Among  the  arrivals  this  year  were  Charles  H.  Freeman 
and  Captain  Fisher. 

The  first  marriage  in  town  was  that  of  L.  L.  Guyer  and  Miss  Elvira  M. 
Wiley,  Rev.   George  Wilkison  performing  the  ceremony. 

CHURCHES 

The  Baptist  church  of  Brimfield  was  organized  Saturday,  May  4,  1850,  with 
nine  members,  as  follows :  Eli  liailey,  Elizabeth  Bailey,  Dorothy  Getty,  Deborah 
Alden,  Elizabeth  J.  Aiken,  Elizabeth  Layman,  A.  E.  Martin,  A.  Taylor  and 
Matilda  Taylor.  On  the  following  day,  Sunday,  five  persons  were  received  by 
baptism,  being  baptized  by  Elder  Simeon  G.  Miner,  of  Canton.  They  were 
Lewis  Atkinson,  Eddy  Baker,  Eliza  Baker,  Mrs.  Margaret  Martin  and  Miss 
Jane  Layman.  The  alcove  fourteen  composed  the  whole  number  of  the  church 
when  it  was  received  into  the  Illinois  River  Association,  which  met  in  Peoria,  in 
June,  1850.  Lewis  Atkinson,  who  had  formerly  been  a  ]\Iethodist  preacher,  was 
"the  first  pastor  of  the  church,  Elder  Bailey  the  first  deacon  and  Adonijah  Taylor 
its  first  clerk,  all  of  whom  were  elected  at  the  organization  of  the  church.  The 
number  of  members  in  1851  was  eighteen. 

Early  in  the  year  1852  the  church  resolved  to  erect  a  house  of  worship.  Five 
trustees  were  elected,  a  building  committee  chosen  and  most  of  the  timber  de- 
livered on  the  ground  that^  spring.  During  that  conference  year  ten  members 
were  added  to  the  society.  The  frame  of  the  building  was  raised  in  August,  it 
being  38.\Go  feet  in  size,  and  was  finished  in  1854,  at  a  cost  of  $3,000.  The 
church  increased  in  1853  to  thirty-five  members.  In  February,  1854,  Rev.  E.  N. 
Jencks  was  called  and  entered  upon  pastoral  duties  on  the  1st  of  April  following. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  307 

The  I'irst  Congregational  church  was  organized  .March  29,  1847.  -^^  ^''^it 
time  the  following  persons  hecame  members:  Bradford  Mall  and  wife,  Cather- 
ine Hall.  Alargarei  Cummings,  Julia  Ann  Jones,  James  Delano  and  wife  and 
I^lizalieth  Delano.  On  the  10th  of  April  following  seven  others  were  added  to 
the  number.  At  first  services  were  held  in  the  schoolhouse  or  in  the  Methodist 
church.  In  the  latter  part  of  1852  the  members  planned  to  build  a  house  of  wor- 
ship. The  heavy  timbers  were  cut,  hewed  and  scjuared  in  the  woods  near  by. 
The  work  progressed  slowly.  In  May,  1854,  the  new  church  was  dedicated, 
under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  J.  E.  Roy,  D.  D.,  since  field  secretary  of  the  Ameri- 
can Missionary  Association  of  the  Congregational  church,  located  at  Chicago. 
The  building  was  50x36  feet  and  was  a  handsome  structure  for  those  times. 
The  first  pastor  was  Milo  N.  Mills,  followed  in  order  by  George  Sills,  John 
Somers,  L.  H.  Parker,  J.  E.  Roy,  H.  W.  Cobb,  M.  W.  Fairfield,  T-  Vincent,  L. 
Benedict,  1.  W.  Atherton,  C.  E.  Leach,  A.  J.  Drake,  W.  Wakefield,  A.  J.  Mar- 
shall, H.  P.  Chase,  L.  P.  Norcross,  J.  E.  Storm,  E.  W.  Jenney,  William  Parker, 
J.  S.  Onion,  I.  L.  Rozelle  and  the  present  pastor,  W.  II.  Jordan,  who  came  in 
August,  1894. 

In  February,  1899.  the  members  resolved  to  build  a  new  church.  The  old 
building  was  sold  and  removed,  the  new  structure  w'as  erected  on  the  old  site 
and  was  dedicated  November  26.  1899,  at  a  cost  of  about  .$5,000.  The  society 
also  owns  a  good  parsonage  near  b}'. 

The  Protestant  Episcopal  church. — Rt.  Rev.  I'hilander  Chase,  Bishop  of 
Illinois,  began  to  preach  in  Guyer's  Hall  in  the  year  1838,  and  continued  to  preach 
there  until  1845,  when  the  parish  erected  a  new  stone  church.  In  1844,  Rev. 
Mildoller  came  to  this  place  from  Brooklyn,  New  York.  He  was  an  able  preacher, 
and  contrary  to  the  customs  of  the  country,  he  was  the  owner  of  several  valuable 
tracts  of  land  lying  to  the  south  of  the  village,  on  one  side  of  which  he  formed 
the  design  of  erecting  a  parish  church.  To  this  end  he  had  worked  among  the 
people  outside  of  the  village,  had  obtained  a  subscription  of  about  $600  and  had 
had  a  board  of  trustees  appointed.  Mr.  Guyer  having  learned  of  this  project, 
promised  the  minister  some  assistance  if  he  would  build  in  the  village.  This  he 
declined  to  do.  saying  that  he  could  get  the  money  he  needed  in  Brooklyn.  Mr. 
Guyer  communicated  his  information  to  Mrs.  Belcher,  who  was  a  member  of 
Bishop  Chase's  church,  to  whom  she  in  turn  told  what  she  had  heard.  The 
Bishop,  having  been  promised  assistance  if  he  would  order  the  church  to  be  built 
in  lirimfield.  did  so.  The  church  was  erected  in  1845.  It  is  a  stone  building 
aiid  still  stands. 

The  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  May  3,  1854,  by  Rev.  John  Turbitt, 
and  ruling  elders,  James  Yates  and  W.  H.  Wilson,  as  a  committee  from  Presby- 
tery. This  organization  continued  until  1865,  when  it  was  dissolved  by  action 
of  the  Presbytery.  A  reorganization  was  efifected  May  15,  1870,  by  Rev.  J.  H. 
Smith,  Rev.  J.  R.  Reasoner,  and  ruling  elder,  John  Cameron,  as  a  committee  of 
Presbytery.  There  were  fifteen  members.  In  1871  a  house  of  worship  was 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $4,000.  The  pastors  who  served  the  church  are:  Revs. 
James  II,  .Smith.  J.  L,  Martin,  Carson  and  McLeur.  The  church  was  not  pros- 
perous as  a  Presbyterian  organization  and  in  1900  the  members  united  with  the 
Congregationalists. 

LOGAX  TOWXSIIir 

l^ogan  township  was  settled  as  early  as  1830.  It  is  located  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  county,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Rosefield,  east  by  Limestone, 
south  by  Timber  and  west  by  Trivoli  township.  The  north  portion  of  the  town- 
ship's topography  shows  high,  rolling  jirairie ;  the  southern  portion  originally 
was  covered  with  timberlands,  broken  in  places  by  small  streams,  emptying 
into  Copperas  creek.  Limestone  abounds  here  to  the  extent  that  quar- 
ries have  prevailed  for  a  number  of  years.  Coal  has  also  been  quarried 
for  some  time  past.     The  first  shaft  was  sunk  in  1870  on  the  farm  of  Thomas 


308  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

Forbes,  to  a  depth  of  forty  feet,  where  a  four-and-a-half-foot  vein  of  coal  was 
reached.  At  first  the  coal  was  hoisted  by  horse  power  but  in  1883  an  extensive 
shaft,  with  steam  hoisting  apparatus,  was  put  in  operation  at  Hanna  City,  a 
small  village  on  the  Iowa  Central  railroad.  A  large  portion  of  Logan  township 
is  composed  of  fine  farms,  whose  owners  are  prosperous  and  enterprising.  Be- 
fore the  community  was  more  thickly  settled,  there  were  large  tracts  of  valuable 
timber,  which  have  been  changed  into  fields  producing  large  crops  of  corn,  oats, 
wheat,  etc. 

The  first  election  in  the  organized  township  of  Logan  was  held  at  Smithville, 
April  2,  1850.  John  Lobaugh  was  moderator  and  John  Stewart,  clerk.  The 
following  officials  were  elected :  Supervisor,  Thomas  I'.  Smith  ;  commissioners 
of  highways,  James  H.  Patterson,  John  McCullough  and  Richard  Bourne;  town 
clerk,  John  Stewart;  assessor,  William  Dryden;  justices  of  the  peace,  John 
Smith  and  S.  W.  Brooks;  constables,  Robert  Smith  and  Merritt  Tracy. 

THE    FIRST    SETTLER 

The  first  settler  is  conceded  to  have  been  an  old  Indian  trader,  answering  to 
the  name  of  Triall.  He  set  up  his  stakes  in  the  southern  part  of  the  township 
in  1830.  Soon  thereafter  came  Peter  Maynard,  who  located  in  the  district  in 
1831.  In  1832  came  James  Harker,  John  G.  Bohanan,  a  ^^Ir.  Buck  and  Thomas 
Phillips.  The  latter  settled  on  section  2.  In  the  winter  of  1833-34  Henry  Heaton 
and  John  T.  Runkle  added  to  the  small  colony,  and  in  1834  Simon  Reeves  ar- 
rived in  the  township  and  located  on  section  34.  There  were  quite  a  number  came 
in  1835,  among  whom  can  be  remembered  John  \'an  Arsdall,  Thomas  P.  Smith, 
Robert  Kinney,  Richard  Bourne  and  George  Sturgess.  It  might  be  here  men- 
tioned that  Robert  Reeves,  father  of  Simon  Reeves,  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
this  section  of  Illinois,  coming  to  Peoria  county  from  New  York  in  1816.  He 
did  not  remain,  however,  but  returned  to  his  home  in  Plattsburg,  New  Y^ork, 
and  eventually  immigrated  to  Fulton  county,  this  state,  in  1824.  It  is  said  that 
Simon  Reeves  brought  the  first  stove  to  this  neighborhood  in  1844.  Frank  Libby 
is  given  credit  for  introducing  in  1850.  the  first  threshing  machine  in  Logan  town- 
ship;  Alfred  Reeves  and  J.  E!.  Miller,  the  first  reaper,  John  Milligan,  who  had 
been  a  sailor,  settled  on  section  35,  and  in  all  likelihood,  was  the  first  "cobbler" 
in  this  section. 

The  first  white  child  born  in  the  township  was  Plenry  Smith,  a  son  of  Thomas 
Smith.     The  birth  occurred  in  1834. 

The  first  marriage  was  that  of  James  Harker,  Ir.,  to  Susan  Van  Patten,  in 

1834. 

The  first  church  organized  was  that  of  the  Presbyterian  denomination,  at 
Smithville.    This  occurred  in  1836. 

The  first  school  was  taught  in  the  winter  of  1836  in  a  log  cabin  on  section  36. 
The  pedagogue  was  John  L.  Clark.  Dr.  Clark  afterward  taught  a  private  school 
in  his  own  house  on  section  22. 

Logan  township's  schools  have  always  kept  to  a  high  standard  and  equal  to 
those  of  other  townships  maintaining  a  high  mark  for  efficiency.  There  are  now 
nine  districts,  in  each  of  which  is  a  modern  country  schoolhouse. 

SMITHVILLE 

Smithville  is  in  the  central  part  of  the  township  and  is  one  of  the  oldest 
towns  in  the  county.  It  was  sought  by  those  who  settled  there,  mainly  because 
of  the  timber,  rich  soil  and  abundance  of  water,  all  requisites  to  the  pioneer. 
It  took  its  name  from  its  founder,  Thomas  P.  Smith,  who  laid  out  and  platted 
the  village  on  section  22.  Here  the  first  postoffice  was  kept  by  Thomas  P.  Smith, 
who  had  been  at  one  time  a  county  commissioner.  Early  in  its  history  William 
H.  Brooks  presided  over  the  village  smithy,  and  John  D.  Smith  proclaimed  on 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  ;S09 

a  rudely  i)ainteti  sign  his  vocation  as  that  of  a  chair  and  cabinet  maker.  'J'he 
tirm  of  Nesbitt  &  Smith  were  the  pioneer  merchants  of  Smithville,  displaying 
their  wares  for  the  first  time  in  the  year  1847.  The  town  has  not  grown  with 
leaps  and  bounds.  On  the  contrary  it  has  taken  a  slow,  plodding  pace,  and 
notwithstanding  its  years,  has  only  to  its  credit  a  population  of  about  380  souls. 

There  are  other  small  towns  in  this  communit}-,  such  as  lianna  City,  which 
was  laid  out  in  1882  on  part  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  11,  by  Robert 
G.  McC'ullough  ;  and  Eden,  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  8,  laid  out  in 
1883,  by  Alilo  M.  Long. 

CHURCHES 

The  first  church  to  be  organized  in  this  district  and  one  of  the  Tirst  in  the 
county,  was  that  of  the  United  Presbyterian,  first  known  and  designated  as  the 
Associate  Reformed.  It  was  called  the  Church  of  Harmony  and  came  into  being 
in  183(1.  Rev.  John  Wallace  was  sent  to  this  town  by  the  Presbytery  of  this 
society.  Thomas  Smith  and  Thomas  P.  Smith  were  ordained  as  ruling  elders. 
Rev.  Andrew  Fulton  became  the  first  pastor.  The  first  place  of  worship  belong- 
ing to  the  society  was  built  in  the  timber  in  1840  and  occupied  until  1852,  when 
it  was  replaced  by  a  brick  edifice  erected  in  Smithville,  at  a  cost  of  about  $2,500. 

The  United  Presbyterian  church,  of  Bethel,  not  far  from  Hanna  City,  was 
organized  June  3,  1853,  by  Rev.  William  E.  Erskine.  James  Pinkerton  and 
John  AlcCullough  were  chosen  as  ruling  elders.  The  first  church  building  was 
a  frame  structure  erected  in  1854.  The  present  one  was  built  in  1874  at  a  cost  of 
something  over  $3,000.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  Philip  A.  Prennan,  who 
served  two  years  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Elijah  ^IcCoy.  His  successor  was 
Rev.  T.  P.  Proudfit,  whose  pastorate  extended  from  1867  to  1871.  The  services 
of  this  church  were  conducted  in  connection  with  the  church  of  Harmony. 

The  Salem  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  May  9,  1849,  by  Rev.  Samuel 
C.  McKune  and  \\'illiam  McCandish,  with  nine  members.  \Villiam  Stewart  and 
James  H.  Patterson  were  the  first  elders.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  J.  C.  Hanna, 
and  it  was  under  his  ministry  that  the  first  church  building  was  erected.  In  1892 
the  meeting  place  was  at  Hanna  City,  wdiere  a  house  for  religious  services  was 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $2,500.    There  is  now  a  jiarsonage  which  cost  $1,500. 

I'RL\'CE\TLI.F  T(  )WNSHIP 

Princeville  lies  in  the  nortliern  tier  of  townships  and  has  for  its  nortiicrn 
boundary  Stark  county.  (Jn  the  west  of  it  is  Millbrook  township,  on  the  south 
Jubilee  and  on  the  east  .\kron  township.  It  was  organized  in  1850  and  had  at  tiiat 
time  a  population  of  100.  At  the  first  election  were  returned  for  supervisor, 
Leonard  IS.  Cornwell ;  clerk,  Jonathan  Nixon;  collector,  William  C.  Stevens; 
assessor,  Seth  Fulton;  justices  of  the  peace,  Solomon  S.  Cornwell  and  William 
C.  Stevens;  constables,  John  Fulton  and  John  E.  -Seery ;  commissioners  of  high- 
ways, William  P.  lilanchard,  Ira  Moody  and  William  P.  Smith. 

The  first  to  settle  here  was  Daniel  Prince,  and  no  better  relation  of  this 
pioneer  can  be  presented  to  the  readers  of  this  work  than  that  appearing  in  Mc- 
Culloch's  historv.  written  by  Edward  ^Vuten.  What  that  interesting  writer  had 
to  say  of  Daniel  Prince  is  here  reproduced:  "Seeking  a  free  and  open  country, 
Daniel  Prince  came  from  Indiana,  and  in  1822  was  the  first  white  man  to  live 
among  the  Indians  in  what  three  years  later  was  the  northern  part  of  Peoria 
county.  In  a  few  vears  other  white  men,  some  of  them  friends  or  employees  of 
Mr.  Prince,  gathered  around  the  attractive  timber  and  the  settlement  became 
known  as  Prince's  Grove.  Mr.  Prince,  as  he  drove  into  Peoria  market  in  the 
winter  of  1832-33,  is  thus  described  by  John  Z.  Slane,  then  a  small  boy  living  in 
Peoria:  'The  men  shouted  that  Prince  was  coming  and  he  was  a  nabob.  Clad 
in  a  homespun  and  homewove  blue-jeans,  overcoat  reaching  to  his  ankles,  with 


310  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

an  old  felt  hat,  a  comforter  over  his  hat,  Ijrought  down  over  his  ears  and  tied  in 
front,  w^ith  long,  large  whiskers,  and  chewing  tobacco.  Prince  came  up  with  his 
three-yoke  team  of  oxen.  His  load  was  hogs,  dressed.  Mounting  his  wagon,  he 
slung  off,  first  the  hay  for  the  cattle,  then  quilt  after  quilt,  and  then  hurried  the 
unloading  of  the  meat.  After  feeding  his  oxen  in  the  rail  fence  enclosure  and 
perhaps  eating  his  own  lunch  there,  and  perhaps  lying  on  the  floor  at  the  Indian 
store  over  night,  Mr.  Prince  returned  to  his  home.'  Mr.  Prince  is  described  as  a 
modest  man,  tall,  but  stooping,  with  brown  curly  hair,  red  cheeks  and  light  eyes, 
probably  blue.  At  home  he  was  more  easy  going  than  when  seen  in  the  Peoria 
market.  He  was  a  farmer  on  a  large  scale,  furnishing  employment  to  all  \\ho 
needed  it,  and  very  generous.  Different  men,  who  were  then  boys,  tell  of  his 
butchering  a  steer  or  a  hog  and  giving  a  quarter  here  and  a  cjuarter  there.  If 
any  neighbor  needed  something  to  eat  and  had  nothing  Mr.  Prince  furnished 
it;  pavment  was  to  be  made  whenever  that  neighbor  found  it  convenient,  and  if 
it  was  never  made,  Mr.  Prince  did  not  complain.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  it  was 
for  Daniel  Prince  that  Princeville  township  and  Princeville  village  were  later 
named.  His  brother,  Myron  Prince,  was  an  early  settler  a  few  miles  to  the  north- 
west, later  keeping  a  hotel  in  Princeville,  and  Myron  Prince's  son,  George  W. 
Prince,  is  now  congressman  from  the  Galesburg  district. 

"Mr.  Prince's  log  cabin  was  on  section  24,  a  few  rods  west  of  Sylvester  and 
Elizabeth  Slane's  present  residence  (1902).  This  was  on  the  'edge  of  the  timber,' 
and  the  next  three  cabins,  remembered  at  this  time,  were  'along  the  hollow'  to 
the  north  of  Prince's.  One  was  very  near  Higbee's  present  coal  shaft,  on  Mrs. 
Jacob  Fast's  land;  one  double  cabin  was  at  a  fork  in  the  ravine  a  few  rods  south, 
and  another  a  few  rods  east  of  that.  All  these  cabins — and  in  fact  the  entire 
west  half  of  section  24 — belonged  to  Mr.  Prince.  The  cabin  near  Higbee's  coal 
shaft  was  occupied  by  Dr.  Oscar  Fitzalen  Mott,  of  the  old  'Thomsonian'  school. 
The  double  cabin  had  an  ox  mill  in  one  end  of  it  for  grinding  corn. 

"This  was  the  country  in  the  early  day,  up  to  about  1835  or  1836.  The  In- 
dians had  left  immediately  after  the  Black  Hawk  war  of  1832.  The  prairies 
grew  prairie  grass,  rosin  weed,  'red  root'  and  'shoe  string.'  Near  the  timber  and 
in  the  timber  were  often  patches  of  hazel  brush,  sumach,  blackberry  bushes,  and 
gooseberry  bushes.  Now  and  then  eight,  ten,  or  a  dozen  deer  could  be  seen  in 
the  edge  of  the  hills.  Along  Spoon  river,  tradition  says,  there  were  droves  of  deer 
with  sometimes  as  many  as  one  hundred  and  fifty  head  together.  There  were 
also  wild  cats  'as  large  as  lynxes,'  and  plenty  of  wolves,  both  the  coyotes  or 
prairie  wolves  and  the  gray  timber  wolves.  The  timber  was  of  large  growth  and 
had  very  few  small  trees.  Daniel  Prince  appreciated  the  timber  and  took  means 
to  preserve  it.  He  plowed  two  sets  of  furrows  and  burned  the  grass  between 
them  around  both  the  "North  Grove"  and  the  "South  Grove'  to  protect  from 
prairie  fires. 

"By  1830  the  country  was  too  thickly  settled  to  suit  Mr.  Prince.  His  cattle, 
roaming  around,  found  neighljor's  hay  stacks  to  hook.  The  neighbors,  in  turn, 
'sicked  the  dogs'  on  Prince's  cattle  and  he  would  have  no  more  of  it.  He  moved 
in  that  year,  1839,  or  1840,  to  Missouri,  where  the  country  was  free." 

The  first  settler,  however,  to  come  into  the  township  and  locate  with  his 
family  was  Stephen  French,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  who  first  settled  in  Sanga- 
mon county  in  the  '20s.  In  1828  he  came  to  Peoria  county  and  for  a  while  lived 
near  Peoria  but  soon  afterward  located  in  Princeville.  becoming  the  first  post- 
master and  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  community.  His  son,  Dimmick  French, 
was  the  first  white  child  born  in  the  county.  In  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
township  along  the  Spoon  river,  which  was  bordered  with  a  fine  grove  of  timber, 
settlements  were  made  almost  as  early  as  at  Prince's  Grove.  Those  who  were 
in  this  locality  as  early  as  1832,  now  remembered,  were  Hugh  White  and  Chris- 
tian .Miller  and  sons,  Christian,  Henry,  Daniel,  James  and  John,  Ira  Moody  and 
Robert  Caldwell  were  also  here  about  that  time  or  not  much  later.  James  Morrow 
is  known  to  have  gone  from  Prince's  Grove  to  Spoon  river  in   1832  but  soon 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  311 

returned  whence  lie  came,  through  fear  of  the  Indians.  Walter  and  Rachel 
Payne  settled  on  section  7  in  1842  and  previous  to  this,  John  Miller  located  on 
section  16,  south  of  whom  were  at  this  period  B.  S.  Scott,  IJoling  Hare,  John 
Dukes,  James  Debord  and  Oliver  ?iIoody.  In  the  central  and  southwest  parts  of 
the  township  early  in  its  history  lived  \\'illiam  P.  Blanchard,  Solomon  S.  Corn- 
uell,  \\'illiam  Parnell,  John  McKune,  John  Hill,  Joseph  Lindell,  William  Cum- 
mins. John  Nelson,  Lawrence  Seery.  William  Lynch,  John  O'lirien,  Reuben  Beal 
and  Roger  Cook. 

The  tirst  land  allotted  for  the  burial  of  the  dead  in  Prince's  Grove  was  on 
section  25.  There  still  remains  traces  of  these  graves  by  sunken  places  in  the 
earth.     In  ^^'hite's  Grove  district  a  burial  jilace  was  located  on  section  8. 

Strange  to  relate,  it  was  not  until  several  years  after  the  township  had  been 
settled  that  coal  was  discovered,  and  not  even  then  were  its  virtues  realized.  The 
first  of  this  fuel  to  be  utilized  was  about  1847.  It  was  mined  from  the  James  Mor- 
row farm  on  section  18.  Sometime  later  Charles  Plunimer  took  coal  from  a 
bank  on  the  same  farm  and  William  Hughes  opened  a  mine  on  section  7.  It  was 
quite  the  usual  practice  in  those  days  for  the  settlers  to  go  to  the  banks  and  mine 
their  own  coal.  In  later  years,  however,  modern  shafts  were  sunk  in  various 
parts  of  the  township.  There  are  now  in  operation  mines  on  sections  18,  10,  11 
and  24,  near  the  village  of  Princeville.  Thev  employ  tjuite  a  body  of  men.  By 
1840  the  township  was  pretty  well  settled. 

Tjiat  locality,  now  the  site  of  Princeville,  appealed  to  the  admiration  of  Wil- 
liam C.  Stevens,  who  happened  in  the  neighborhood  in  the  early  '30s,  and  about 
1838  he  purchased  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  13,  near  which,  on  section 
24,  a  tract  of  land  was  owned  by  Benjamin  Clark  and  Jesse  M.  McCutcheon, 
land  dealers.  Together  with  Clark  and  McCutcheon,  Air.  Stevens  platted  the 
original  town  site  of  Princeville,  which  plat  was  tiled  for  record  June  22,  1837. 
About  1841  there  were  nine  families  in  the  town  as  follows:  Benjamin  Slane. 
William  Coburn,  Peter  Auten,  George  McMillan,  Samuel  Alexander,  Jonathan 
.\'i.\on,  Moses  R.  Sherman,  Seth  Fulton  and  William  C.  Stevens.  There  had 
been  others  here  who  had  left  the  place:  Daniel  Prince,  Lawrence  McKown, 
John  F.  Garrison  and  Elisha  Morrow.  Just  northwest  of  the  village  lived  Stephen 
French.  Thomas  Morrow,  who  settled  in  the  township  in  1831,  lived  southeast 
of  the  village,  and  George  I.  McGinnis,  who  had  settled  in  the  township  in  1833, 
had  located  northeast  of  the  village. 

The  first  schoolhouse  had  been  built  on  the  northwest  corner  of  section  19  in 
.Vkron  township.  Here  a  school  was  taught  by  Miss  Esther  Stoddard,  her  pujiils 
coming  from  all  directions  as  far  as  Spoon  river  to  the  northwest.  This  primi- 
tive educational  institution  gained  considerable  fame  in  those  early  days.  Among 
the  successors  of  Aliss  Stoddard  may  be  mentioned  Miss  Phoebe  Stoddard,  Mrs. 
Olive  L.  Cutter,  Jane  Hull,  Theodore  F.  Hurd,  Peter  Auten,  S.  S.  Cornwell,  a 
•Mr.  Newell,  B.  F.  Hilliard,  Daniel  B.  Allen  and  Isaac  Moss.  The  little  log  school- 
house  was  used  not  only  for  pupils  and  teacher  but  for  public  meetings,  elections 
and  religious  services.  It  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1849.  In  the  fall  of  1847, 
however,  the  attendance  becoming  so  large,  the  pupils  were  transferred  to  a  stone 
building  which  had  been  erected  for  the  purpose  on  lot  5,  block  13,  Canton  street. 
This  schoolhouse  was  erected  through  public  donations  of  material  used  and  what 
little  money  was  needed.  B.  F.  Slane  was  the  first  to  teach  in  this  stone  school- 
house.  His  successor  was  John  M.  Henry.  Women  taught  in  the  summer  months. 
The  building  was  used  for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century,  when  it  was  abandoned 
for  one  that  had  been  completed  in  1874 — a  brick  structure.  At  the  time  of  the 
building  of  the  stone  schoolhouse  there  were  three  school  districts  in  the  town- 
ship but  by  1871  there  were  nine  districts — the  present  number.  The  first  school 
in  Akron  township  was  one  of  three  or  four  others  su]j]5ortcd  by  subscriptions. 
Another  school  was  located  near  William  P.  Blanchard's,  now  on  section  22 ; 
another  on  section  16;  one  on  section  3;  and  one  on  section  8.  These  schools 
were  held  in  the  homes  of  the  settlers. 


312  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

The  schools  of  Princeville  have  kept  pace  with  the  demands  of  the  time. 
A  high-school  course,  including  Latin  and  twelfth  grade  work  is  in  vogue.  Four 
large  assembly  rooms  of  the  brick  building  are  taxed  by  the  ten  upper  grades 
and  the  primary  grades  occupy  Edward  Auten's  academy  building. 

PRINCEVILLE  ACADEMY 

The  demand  for  higher  education  prompted  Milton  S.  Kimball  in  1856  to 
start  a  school  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  which  later  developed  into  the  first 
Princeville  Academy.  Later  a  two-story  frame  building  was  erected  on  the  south 
side  of  Main  street,  just  east  of  the  present  public-school  square.  The  academy 
flourished  with  a  large  attendance  until  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  when  the 
institution  dwindled  into  insignificance.  Others  of  the  principals  were:  Revs. 
William  Cunningham  and  Jared  M.  Stone.  Finally  the  school  was  discontinued 
entirely,  the  building  was  sold  and  moved  to  Canton  street  and  occupied  for  many 
years  by  E.  C.  Fuller,  who  carried  on  a  mercantile  concern.  Later  J.  L.  Searls" 
grocery  became  its  tenant. 

Another  Princeville  academy  was  started  in  1887  through  the  eitorts  of 
some  of  the  old  pupils  of  the  former.  Classes  were  taught  the  first  year  in  the 
old  Seventh  Day  Adventist  church ;  the  ne.xt  two  years  in  the  chapel  rooms  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  from  i8go  to  the  present  time  in  the  old  Second  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church  building,  purchased  by  Edward  Auten  for  the  purpose. 
In  this  academy  many  young  men  and  women  have  been  fitted  for  schools  of 
greater  facilities.  Among  the  principals  may  be  mentioned  James  Stevens,  C.  F. 
Brusie,  B.  M.  Southgate,  Edwin  B.  Cushing,  H.  W.  Eckley,  T.  H.  Rhodes,  Ernest 
\V.  Cushing,  Royal  B.  Cushing,  and  J.  E.  Armstrong. 

The  public  square,  now  covered  with  growing  trees  and  familiarly  called  a 
park,  was  given  to  the  village  by  its  founder,  Mr.  Stevens.  In  1874  the  officials 
attempted  to  erect  on  this  square  a  village  hall  and  lock-up.  This  did  not  meet 
the  views  of  certain  of  the  citizens  and  injunction  proceedings  were  started  by 
Peter  Auten,  Mr.  Stevens  and  others.  On  the  testimony  of  the  donor  that  he 
had  given  the  square  to  be  an  open  space,  park  or  square  "for  light  and  air,  and 
to  be  for  the  beauty  of  the  village  and  the  health  of  its  inhabitants,"  a  perpetual 
injunction  was  granted  and  the  tract  remained  and  was  retained  for  the  purpose 
for  which  it  was  intended. 

The  founder  of  Princeville  was  a  very  generous  man  and  donated  land  both 
for  church  and  school  purposes.  The  lot  on  which  the  stone  schoolhouse  stood 
was  donated  bv  him. 

"Taking  the  Civil  war  as  a  dividing  line  between  early  and  present  Princeville 
history,  no  question  of  greater  import — even  Princeville's  welfare  today — could 
be  raised  than  the  personal  character  for  godliness,  integrity  and  learning  of  the 
quiet,  determined  teachers.  They  came  from  time  to  time,  studied  and  taught, 
labored  and  made  homes,  and  left  their  impress  on  the  young  in  this  now  thriv- 
ing town.  Among  these  teachers  there  are  still  remembered  the  names  of 
Andrews,  Aldrich,  Allen,  Auten,  Breese,  Burnham,  Carlisle,  Clussman,  Cooper, 
Cunningham,  Cutter,  Cutler,  Egbert,  Foster,  Farwell,  Goodale,  Hinman,  Kimball, 
:\Teans,  Munson,  Noves,  Page,  Julia  Rogers,  Ann  Rogers,  Stanley,  Stone,  White, 
Wright  and  many  others.  Private  schools  were  conducted  at  different  times  by 
Mrs.  Hannah  Breese,  first  in  a  little  building  in  block  9,  said  to  have  been  the 
first  frame  building  in  Princeville  and  near  the  west  end  of  the  large  Hitchcock 
building,  and  later  in  her  home,  which  became  the  property  of  Mrs.  William 
Bennett,'  on  the  township  line  about  eighty  rods  north  of  Canton  street,  by  Miss 
Lydia  Auten  at  her  home.  Miss  Julia  Rogers  in  the  little  house  occupied  by  Guy 
Bouton  on  North  street,  Mrs.  Ann  Rogers  at  the  home  of  her  brother-in-law, 
Peter  Auten,  Miss  Lizzie  Farwell,  at  the  home  of  William  C.  Stevens."  ^ 

West  Princeville  sprung  up  at  about  the  time  of  the  building  of  the  O'Brien 
wagon  and  blacksmith  shops  in   1857.     These  shops  were  located  on  the  south 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  313 

side  of  the  road  between  sections  19  and  30,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  east  of 
the  Millbrook  line.  They  were  built  by  John  O'Brien  and  his  sons,  James, 
losepli  and  "liilly,"  for  the  manufacture  of  wagons,  cultivators  and  harrows. 
"Billy"  O'Brien  invented  and  got  a  patent  on  a  three  wing  iron  harrow,  which 
the  Hrm  manufactured  and  shipped  in  large  quantities  far  and  wide.  Eventually 
the  O'Briens  sold  out  to  Jesse  Carey  and  removed  to  Kewanee,  and  later  to  Tiffin, 
Ohio.  A  grocery  store  was  kept  in  a  small  building  by  William  P.  Hawver.  He 
also  made  and  repaired  boots  and  shoes.  The  pioneer  blacksmith  of  this  section 
was  Robert  Lovett. 

The  Mount  Zion  Episcopal  church  was  organized  in  this  neighborhood  m 
1858,  the  first  meetings  being  held  in  the  Nelson  schoolhouse.  The  society 
built  a  church  on  the  southwest  corner  of  section  20,  a  little  east  of  West  Prince- 
ville,  in  1867.    It  was  a  frame  structure,  32x45  feet  and  cost  about  $2,000. 

The  starting  of  Cornwell,  now  known  as  Monica,  on  the  Chicago,  Burlington 
&  Ouincy  railroad,  settled  the  fate  of  West  Princeville.  Most  all  of  the  build- 
ings, including  the  church,  were  moved  to  the  new  town. 

In  the  '50s,  on  section  2"/,  southeast  of  West  Princeville,  was  located  an  oil 
factory  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Joseph  E.  Hill.  It  consisted  of  a  refinery 
and  six  or  eight  retorts.  The  company  had  a  house  dignihed  by  the  name  hotel, 
and  office  and  store  comljined,  and  a  number  of  small  buildings.  Here  was 
manufactured  from  cannel  coal  an  oil  which  was  designated  as  kerosene.  Bar- 
relled and  hauled  by  wagon  to  Chillicothe.  the  product  brought  from  $1  to  $1.10 
per  gallon,  but  the  discovery  of  oil  at  Pennsylvania  was  a  death  blow  to  the 
industry.  The  buildings  were  torn  down  and  removed.  At  one  time,  however, 
there  were  from  forty  to  fifty  men  employed. 

Stone  quarries  were  opened  early  in  the  history  of  the  township.  Among  the 
first  were  those  of  B.  !•".  and  J.  Z.  Slane,  on  the  southeast  ciuarter  of  section  24; 
Austin  and  T.  P.  I)OUton,  on  section  25.    The  Slane  brothers  also  made  lime. 

Market  points  for  the  people  of  Princeville  and  vicinity  of  the  early  days 
were  Peoria,  Lacon  and  Chillicothe.  Often,  however,  trips  were  made  even  by 
ox  teams  to  Chicago,  where  wheat  was  taken  to  the  market,  the  proceeds  of  which 
would  often  be  invested  in  lumber,  salt,  clothing  and  other  necessaries.  The 
windows,  doors  and  casings  of  Dr.  Charles  Cutter's  house  were  secured  this 
way  from  Chicago,  also  the  shingles  for  the  First  Presbyterian  church.  Lumber 
was  also  obtained  from  sawmills  on  Spoon  river  and  Kickapoo  creek.  There 
were  other  mills  familiar  to  the  pioneers,  such  as  Cox  mill  and  the  Rochester 
mill  on  Spoon  river;  Evans'  mill  in  Radnor  township ;  Aliles'  mill  at  Southport, 
['"Imwood  township ;  and  the  Spring  Valley  mill.  There  were  other  mills  closer 
than  these  just  mentioned.  There  was  "Jimmie"  Jackson's  "whip-saw"  mill, 
also  Erastus  and  Thomas  Peet's  sawmill,  James  Harrison's  saw  and  grist  mill  and 
Hawn's  mill,  all  in  Akron  township,  and  Hawn's  mill  within  the  village  limits. 
In  1867  or  1868  the  firm  of  Hitchcock,  Vorhees  &  Seed  put  up  a  grist  mill  in  the 
northwest  corner  of  section  19,  Akron  township.  It  was  burned  about  1884. 
In  the  triangular  piece  of  ground  east  of  the  property,  John  Bowman  operated  a 
mill  for  several  years. 

FIRST    STORE 

Elisha  Morrow  kept  the  lirst  store  in  Princeville  in  a  little  frame  building 
which  stood  either  on  block  8  or  9.  The  structure  was  the  first  frame  one  to  be 
erected  in  the  village  and  the  siding  was  made  from  logs  secured  in  the  vicinity. 
Air.  Morrow  was  a  brother  of  the  wife  of  Amos  Stevens.  His  first  competitor 
in  business  was  William  Coburn.  who  had  a  small  building  in  block  2.  He  sold 
out  to  a  Mr.  Ellsworth,  who  in  turn  disposed  of  his  stock  to  W.  C.  Stevens.  Mr. 
Stevens  "kept  store"  in  the  front  room  of  his  residence.  He  was  wont  to  take 
orders  for  various  articles  of  merchandise  which  he  would  purchase  in  Peoria. 
Soon  other  merchants  came,  among  them  being  Greenleaf  Woodbury,  Rowley  & 


314  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

Hitchcock.  Myron  I'rince  and  J.  W.  Cue.  The  latter  died  from  cholera  in  1852, 
the  only  death  known  to  have  occurred  from  that  disease  in  Princeville.  His  wife, 
Jerusha  T.  Gue,  continued  the  business  in  a  store  room  in  block  18,  recently 
occupied  by  Blanchard  &  Sons.  In  the  summer  of  1851  Elbridge  &  Parker  built 
what  is  known  as  an  up  and  down  board  store  building  in  block  17,  where  the 
Park  hotel  is  now  situated,  and  the  same  year  a  man  by  the  name  of  Gray  opened 
a  grocery  and  notion  store  but  soon  closed  it  for  want  of  sufficient  patronage. 
In  the  next  thirty  years  the  following  merchants  were  located  at  this  place :  A.  G. 
Henry,  D.  W.  Herron,  John  T.  Lindsay,  Thomas  AKvood,  George  W.  Emery, 
Hiel  Bronson,  John  H.  Russell,  Charles  and  Joseph  German,  Bohrer  &  Fergu- 
son, A.  G.  Persons,  G.  W.  Hitchcock,  John  Alter,  Day  &  Hitchcock,  William 
Simpson,  A.  D.  Sloan,  Cecil  JMoss,  William  De  Bolt,  Solomon  Godfrey,  Webber 
&  Bochtold,  Henry  Clussman.  J.  L.  Blanchard  and  John  E.  Henseler. 

FIRST  HOTEL 

Seth  Fulton's  tavern  was  a  log  building  that  stood  in  block  9  and  was  built  in 
the  early  '30s.  He  is  credited  with  having  been  the  first  boniface  in  Peoria  and 
came  from  there  to  Princeville.  His  house  of  entertainment,  the  "Traveler's 
Home,"  was  a  two-room  log  house,  one  room  above  the  other,  with  a  lean  to,  also 
constructed  of  logs.  The  next  hostelry  was  "The  Rising  Sun,"  built  by  William 
Coburn  in  1840.  Later  on  Rowley  &  Hitchcock  erected  quite  an  addition  to  the 
building,  with  a  hall  above.  Among  those  who  have  entertained  the  traveling 
public  may  be  mentioned  Myron  French,  G.  Woodbury,  Cyrus  Beach,  Thomas 
Myers,  John  Moore,  Ashford  Nixon  and  Rowley  &  Hitchcock.  The  Arlington 
House  has  been  used  for  hotel  purposes  since  1848.  Captain  John  Williams 
kept  hotel  in  the  E.  Russell  house  from  1848  to  1855,  and  in  the  latter  year  Wil- 
liam Owens  bought  the  entire  south  half  of  the  block  and  built  a  larger  hotel. 
After  conducting  the  hostelry  for  eight  years  he  sold  to  John  Baldwin  in  1863. 
James  Rice  took  charge  in  1865  and  continued  until  1889,  with  the  exception  of 
the  interims  when  he  leased  to  John  G.  Corbet,  Lucius  Wilkington,  Thomas 
Painter  and  James  Rice,  Jr.  In  1889  Rice  sold  to  A.  C.  Washburn.  There  have 
been  other  hotels  in  the  town.  Chief  among  them  was  the  Eureka  House,  run  by 
W.  G.  Selby,  and  which  was  continued  under  the  management  of  IMrs.  Selby, 
changing  the  name  of  the  place  to  the  Park  House,  over  which  she  presided  until 
1902,  when  the  building  was  leased  to  Mrs.  Kate  Schneider. 

The  first  physicians  to  practice  in  Princeville  were  Drs.  Alorrow,  Waters 
and  Mott.  Mott  and  Morrow,  however,  were  hardly  entitled  to  the  title  as  defined 
in  these  later  days  when  all  who  practice  the  healing  art  must  first  have  obtained 
a  license  from  the  state.  Dr.  Moss  was  the  first  regular  physician  and  Dr.  Charles 
Cutter  next.  Others  to  follow  him  were  Israel  G.  Harlan,  George  W.  Emery, 
Robert  F.  Henry,  L.  M.  Andrews,  M.  S.  Marcy,  T.  E.  Alyea,  Watkins  Warren, 
W.  J.  Price  and  C.  H.  Wilcox. 

FIRST    BANK 

George  W.  Alter  and  Peter  Auten  in  1872  established  a  private  bank  under 
the  firm  name  of  Auten  &  Alter.  Mr.  Alter  died  the  same  year  and  Edwin  Auten 
becoming  a  partner,  the  firm  name  was  changed  to  Auten  &  Auten,  which  con- 
tinues up  to  the  present  time.  Peter  Auten  lived  to  be  past  ninety  years  old  and 
was  at  the  time  of  his  death  the  oldest  resident  of  the  township.  There  was 
another  bank  in  the  village  which  was  conducted  by  W.  B.  Kaiser  and  R.  C. 
Henry  from  1892  to  1893,  when  it  ceased  to  e.xist. 

PRINCEVILLE    INCORPORATED 

The  village  of  Princeville  was  incorporated  under  a  special  charter,  April  15, 
1869,  as  the  town  of  Princeville,  and  on  March  24,  1874,  under  the  general  law 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  315 

it  was  incorporated  as  the  village  of  Princeville.  The  principal  advantage  in 
separating  from  the  township  was  to  meet  the  desires  of  the  majority  then  living 
in  the  vicinity  who  were  radically  opposed  to  the  liquor  traffic.  The  anti-saloon 
license  party  carried  the  first  election  but  were  unsuccessful  from  1870  to  1878, 
when  they  again  wiped  out  the  saloons.  The  license  party  was  in  the  ascendant 
from  1880  to  1883  and  the  "drys"  from  1883  to  1885.  From  that  time  on  until 
1895  it  was  almost  anybody's  fight.  Since  1895  the  saloon  has  been  out  of  exist- 
ence in  Princeville,  and  during  that  period  there  have  been  many  public  improve- 
ments in  the  way  of  substantial  streets  and  cement  and  brick  sidewalks.  In  1891 
a  brick  city  hall  was  erected,  with  rooms  set  apart  for  the  council,  fire  department 
and  lock-up.    The  cost  was  about  $5,000. 

TR.\NSPORTATION 

Princeville  before  the  advent  of  the  railroads  was  a  stopping  place  on  the 
stage  routes  running  from  Peoria  and  Chillicothe  through  Southampton  to  Prince- 
ville and  to  the  west  and  northwest.  The  stage  carrying  both  passengers  and 
mail  stopped  at  first  once  a  week,  then  twice  a  week  and  later  three  times  a 
week.     Its  headc|uarters  were  at  Bliss  ^McMillan's  hotel. 

The  first  railroad  to  be  built  through  the  township  was  the  Peoria  &  Rock 
Island,  now  Rock  Island  &  Peoria.  In  1870  the  railroad  company  was  given 
assistance  by  the  township  to  the  extent  of  $50,000.  A  short  time  previous  to 
this,  however,  the  Buda  branch  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Ouincy  was  com- 
pleted but  received  no  bonus  from  the  township.  The  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa 
Fe  railroad  was  constructed  and  entered  the  township  on  the  east  in  1887,  mak- 
ing a  junction  with  the  Rock  Island  &  Peoria  at  Princeville,  and  with  the  Chi- 
cago. I  Turlington  &  Ouincy  at  Monica. 

MONICA 

.As  has  heretofore  been  related,  Monica  was  first  called  Cornv^'ell  in  honor 
of  Solomon  S.  Cornwell.  It  is  located  on  section  21  between  Spoon  river  and 
Kickapoo  creek  and  was  founded  about  two  years  after  the  completion  of  the 
Burlington  road.  The  first  store  was  built  and  started  by  Andrew  D.  Rogers. 
The  building  was  burned  in  1890  and  the  second  in  1896.  The  third  structure 
to  be  erected  in  the  town  was  a  large  store  building  of  Mrs.  Wilts'.  By 
1897  there  were  three  grain  elevators  but  that  year  one  of  them  burned  to  the 
ground.  The  place  is  (|uite  a  little  business  village,  is  a  good  grain  and  stock 
market  and  has  good  schools.     The  population  is  about  250. 

CHURCHES 

The  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  August  16,  1834,  as  Prince's  Grove 
church,  and  was  the  first  to  have  a  house  of  worship,  which  was  a  log  school- 
house.  In  1844  a  frame  structure  was  built  on  the  southeast  corner  of  block 
12,  at  a  great  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  the  founders  of  the  village,  Mr.  Stevens, 
Thomas  Morrow,  Erastus  Peet  and  others.  Morrow,  Peet,  and  William  Cluss- 
man  each  hauled  a  load  of  lumber  for  the  building  from  Chicago.  This  house 
was  used  until  September  6,  1866,  when  the  main  part  of  the  present  church  was 
dedicated.  The  chapel  rooms  were  added  in  1888  and  $1,000,  bequeathed  by  Miss 
Mary  C.  Clussman,  was  expended  for  installing  seats,  furnaces  and  repairs  in 
1899.  Those  who  have  ministered  to  the  wants  of  this  charge  are  Calvin  W.  Bab- 
bitt, 1835-38:  George  C.  Sill.  1838;  Robert  F.  Breese,  the  first  regular  pastor, 
1843-51':' Robert  Cameron,  1851-57;  George  Cairns,  1857-58;  Jared  M.  Stone, 
1858-64;  William  Cunningham,  1864-71;  .Arthur  Rose.  1871-77;  Samuel  R.  Bel- 
ville,  1877-86;  Charles  M.  Tavlor.  1887-95;  D.  K.  Preston.  1896-97;  Charles  T. 
Phillips,  1897-. 


316  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

Rt.  Rev.  I'liilandcr  Chase,  Episcopal  l)ishop  of  Illinois,  upon  occasions 
preaclicd  in  the  stone  schoolhouse.  A  Congregational  church  existed  for  a  short 
time,  with  Rev.  B.  F.  Worrell  as  pastor.  This  was  in  the  '50s.  The  Christian 
church  was  in  existence  here  in  the  '50s  and  had  a  house  of  worship  on  Canton 
street,  just  east  of  the  present  public-school  square.  The  building  was  later 
removed  and  used  for  city  hall  purposes.  Early  in  the  '60s  the  membership  was 
mostly  merged  into  the  Seventh  Day  Adventist  church.  The  latter  society  pur- 
chased the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  building  in  1866  and  used  it  until  1888. 

For  history  of  the  Catholic  and  INIethodist  churches  see  articles  devoted  to 
that  subject  under  those  titles. 

FR.\TERN.\L  ORDERS 

The  fraternal  organizations  and  other  societies  of  Princeville  are  as  follows: 
T.  F.  French  Post,  No.  153,  G.  A.  R. ;  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  Prince- 
ville Camp,  No.  1304;  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  Princeville  Lodge,  No.  360;  Order  of  the 
Eastern  Star,  Union  Grove  Chapter,  No.  229;  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, Diligence  Lodge,  No.  120;  Daughters  of  Rebekah,  Princeville  Lodge  No. 
351  ;  Fraternal  Army  of  America,  Princeville  Post,  No.  96. 

MILLBROOK  TOWNSHIP 

THE   PIONEERS   AND  THEIR  TIMES 

Seventy-eight  years  have  elapsed  since  the  first  white  settlement  was  com- 
menced in  what  is  now  the  organized  territory  of  Millbrook  township.  The  first 
pioneers  found  the  country  a  wilderness  of  grass,  with  trees  along  the  streams 
in  the  ravines,  on  the  hillsides  here  and  there  a  clump — occasionally,  scattered 
ti-ees— nothing  like  the  timber  of  the  eastern  states.  Deer,  wolves,  raccoons, 
opossums,  foxes,  rabbits,  squirrels,  prairie  chickens,  ducks,  geese,  wild  pigeons, 
quails,  jacksnipes,  sandhill  cranes  and  wild  turkeys  were  plentiful.  Wild  pigeons 
and  prairie  chickens  were  trapped  by  the  thousands.  Geese  and  ducks  were 
harder  to  get. 

There  have  been  more  wolves  killed  during  this  winter  than  for  several  years 
previous  (February  8,  1912). 

In  January,  1855,  I  counted  thirty-two  deer  in  one  herd  on  section  three  m 
this  township'  At  one  time  the  wild  pigeons  were  so  numerous  as  to  darken  the 
sun  in  their  flight  from  the  roosting  place  to  the  fading  ground.  I  have  seen 
forty  rods  of  rail  fence  literally  covered  with  prairie  chickens  at  one  time. 

The  streams  were  well  stocked  with  red  and  white  suckers,  croppies,  black 
bass  and  pike.  After  the  county  became  somewhat  populated,  a  few  nearby 
neighijors  would  join  in  the  ownership  of  a  seine  and  on  a  Saturday  afternoon 
would  go  to  the  river  and  make  a  few  hauls  that  supplied  all  the  families  with 
fresh  fish  for  Saturday's  supper  and  over  Sunday ;  and  not  a  detested  fish  warden 
within  a  thousand  miles. 

There  was  no  road,  school,  church,  mill,  market,  buzz-wagon,  telegraph, 
telephone,  railroad  or  cultivated  field. 

.After  the  frost  killed  the  prairie  grass  in  the  fall,  the  pioneers  were  terrorized 
by  the  thought  of  a  prairie  fire  with  its  concomitant  train  of  desolation.  The 
country  was  frightful  in  the  silence  of  its  own  solitude.  To  add  to  the  horrors 
of  the'  situation,  in  the  warm  summer  months,  it  was  infested  with  loathsome 
and  venomous  reptiles. 

Wild  plums,  crab  apples,  elderberries  and  grapes  grew  on  the  low  ground 
near  the  streams;  gooseberries,  blackberries  and  raspberries  on  the  hillsides; 
strawberries  on  the  second  Ijottoms  ;  samiel  berries  and  mulberries  on  the  sides 
of  the  bluffs. 

The  geographical  designation  of  this  township  for  all  legal  purposes  is: 
Township  Eleven,  north  of  the  base  line.  Range  five  east  of  the  Fourth  Principal 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  317 

Meridian.  The  exterior  or  township  lines  were  surveyed  in  1815.  The  interior 
or  sectional  Hnes  were  run  in  1816.  The  held  notes  and  plats  were  not  filed  in 
the  general  land  office  until  the  early  part  of  1817.  James  D.  Thomas  was  the 
surveyor.  This  is  the  first  record  we  have  of  the  presence  of  a  white  man  in 
Millbrook  Township. 

It  appears  from  correspondence  on  file  in  the  war  department  that  the  sur- 
veyors were  harassed  by  Indians  belonging  to  the  Sac  and  Fox  or  Winnebago 
tribes.  It  appears  of  record  on  the  15th  day  of  October,  1817,  warrant  561  was 
issued  to  Peter  Bleson.  Private  Smith's  ,v^th,  for  the  southeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion thirty-two. 

The  south  two-thirds  is  a  rich  prairie  soil,  raising  abundant  crops  of  all  kinds 
of  grain.  The  north  ]5art  along  Spoon  river,  being  an  argillaceous  loam,  pro- 
duces tlie  finest  of  blue  grass,  owing  to  the  presence  of  (|uantities  of  lime  and 
iron  in  the  soil.  The  pastures  impart  a  strength,  elasticity  and  firmness  to  horses 
rivaling  the  celebrated  stock  of  Kentucky.  Underneath  the  surface  is  a  porous 
subsoil,  varying  in  de])th  from  one  to  several  feet,  which  is  succeeded  by  the 
glacial  drift  and  beneath  this  the  coal  measures  Vein  number  six,  usually  about 
four  feet  in  thickness,  and  occupies  an  area  equal  to  twelve  sections,  while  num- 
ber three  probably  underlies  the  whole  township.  The  first  is  reached  by  drift 
and  shaft  along  and  near  Plum  Hollow,  the  latter  by  a  shaft  (now  abandoned) 
on  section  six. 

i''ine  beds  of  gravel,  suitable  for  road  making  and  concrete  work,  are  found 
in  the  blufl:"s  of  Spoon  river.  Thick  beds  of  shale,  belonging  to  the  same  geologi- 
cal horizon  as  that  at  the  Purington  works  near  Galesburg,  occur  in  a  number 
of  places  and  will  in  all  probability  one  day  be  utilized  for  brickmaking. 

While  it  is  true  that  the  early  settlers  were  without  newspapers,  telephones, 
telegraphy,  etc.,  they  did  not  by  any  means  lead  a  hermit  life  like  an  anchorite 
"far  out  in  a  desert  drear.''  There  were  variotis  aventies  of  communication  with 
the  outside  world.  At  the  gatherings  to  raise  a  log  cabin,  the  local  hapi)enings 
would  be  related.  The  traveling  preachers,  like  the  palmers  and  pilgrims  of 
crusader  days,  brought  the  news  from  farther  away.  As  a  matter  of  course  it 
was  rather  prosaic.  The  land  hunters  were  the  most  prolific  dispensers  of  news. 
They  were  prospective  settlers  in  search  of  an  "eighth"  or  "quarter"  that  was 
not  already  entered,  and  would  ride  about  over  the  country  in  quest  of  what  they 
wanted.  When  evening  came  they  were  at  the  nearest  house  applying  for  a 
niglit's  lodging,  which  was'  granted  with  alacrity.  The  saddle,  bridle,  and  saddle 
bags  were  carried  in  the  house,  and  the  horse  stabled  and  cared  for.  After 
sup]ier,  if  the  weather  was  cold,  the  stranger  and  the  family  gathered  around 
the  fire]ilace.  As  a  general  thing  the  land  seeker  was  from  some  eastern  state 
and  would  be  able  to  give  an  outline  of  the  prominent  events  of  the  nation  or 
the  world  at  large.  He  often  proved  to  be  an  old  neighbor  from  the  home  "seat." 
If  so,  a  thousand  questions  were  asked  and  answered.  Perhaps,  the  next  man 
that  came  along  would  be  a  capital  storyteller  and  would  keep  the  host  and  his 
family  in  a  roar  of  laughter  from  start  to  finish.  Neither  Clay,  Webster  nor 
Ingersoll  ever  had  a  more  appreciative  audience  than  the  wayfarer  in  the  humble 
log  cabins  of  the  frontiersman. 

The  township  is  rich  in  the  evidence  of  the  dwellings  of  a  prehistoric  race. 
At  the  confluence  of  Walnut  creek  and  Spoon  river,  there  appears  to  have  been 
a  large  village,  which  is  shown  by  the  finding  of  all  kinds  of  flint  and  stone 
implements  that  enter  into  the  domestic  economy  of  savage  life;  kitchen  Micens 
of  varying  dimensions,  burial  mounds,  one  containing  some  thirty  or  forty  skele- 
tons, piled  in  a  heap  with  the  long  ones  at  the  bottom  and  the  short  ones  on  top. 

On  the  ranch  of  Robert  L.  Clark,  between  the  two  streams,  are  traces  of  an 
old  fort,  octagonal  in  form,  the  outlines  of  which  are  nearly  obliterated  by  the 
ravages  of  time.  In  the  northwest  angle  is  an  oblong  elevation,  sixty-four  by 
forty-seven  feet  and  six  feet  in  height.  An  exploration  to  the  base  of  the  ttiniuli 
disclosed  the  presence  of  small  pieces  of  galena,  copper  beads  and  awls,  leaf- 


318  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

shaped  flint  iniijlements,  red  ochre,  charcoal  ashes  and  faint  traces  of  human 
hones,  the  lime  only.  Twenty  rods  west  of  this  is  a  low  mound,  sixty-two  feet 
in  length  from  east  to  west,  nineteen  feet  wide  and  one  foot  in  height.  Just 
west  of  this  is  a  small  round  mound.  On  section  four  on  land  owned  by  M.  Rile 
is  an  important  group  of  mounds.  The  first  is  a  small  round  mound,  from  the 
center  of  which  to  the  center  of  the  second  is  a  distance  of  thirty-nine  feet ; 
thence  to  the  center  of  the  third  thirty  feet;  thence  to  the  south  end  of  the 
fourth  is  fifty  feet ;  the  fourth  measures  eighty  feet  from  south  to  north,  with  a 
cross  at  the  center,  thirty-three  by  twelve  feet,  and  two  feet  high.  There  is  also 
a  fire  place,  with  burnt  stones,  charcoal  and  ashes,  at  the  center  of  this  mound. 
From  the  west  end  of  this  one  to  the  center  is  one  hundred  and  twenty-three 
feet.  This  is  a  common  round  mound,  forty  feet  in  diameter  and  three  feet  high  ; 
thence  to  number  six  is  fifty-eight  feet.  This  one  is  ninety-eight  by  eighteen  feet 
and  is  two  feet  high.  Thence  in  a  northwesterly  direction  it  is  seventy-five  feet 
to  still  another  one  hundred  and  four  feet  by  eighteen  feet,  and  two  and  a  half 
feet  high.  From  the  north  end  of  this,  it  is  one  hundred  feet  to  the  south  end 
of  the  last  of  the  group.  This  mound  is  one  hundred  and  forty  feet  from  south 
to  north,  is  twenty  feet  wide  and  three  feet  high.  An  immense  number  of  flint 
or  hourstone  chips  are  scattered  through  the  material  from  which  this  mound 
is  constructed,  the  nearest  known  out-cropping  of  which  is  at  Burlington,  Iowa. 
This  group  commences  in  the  valley  just  above  high  water  mark  and  extends 
northwesterly  terminating  on  a  blult  sixty  feet  above  high  water. 

An  exploration  of  the  small  mounds  disclosed  the  presence  of  a  human  body 
in  a  sitting  posture. 

Nowhere  is  there  the  slightest  evidence  of  a  contemporary  occupancy  of 
any  of  the  village  sites  by  the  Aryan  and  Indian  races.  The  little  flint  chips 
scattered  over  the  hillsides  are  the  monuments  of  a  vanished  race,  their  com- 
merce and  handicraft. 

William  Metcalf  was  the  first  white  settler  in  Milllirook  township.  In  the 
spring  of  1833,  with  his  wife  and  two  small  children  and  a  boy  named  Amos 
McRill  he  came  by  wagon  from  Richland  county,  Ohio,  arriving  at  French 
Grove.  That  fall  he  built  a  humble  log  cabin  and  fenced  a  small  field  on  the 
southeast  quarter  of  section  nine  and  in  the  spring  of  1834,  moved  onto  the  land. 
The  first  son  born  to  him  after  he  came  to  Illinois  was  killed  in  the  battle  of 
Shiloh  in  1862. 

John  Sutherland,  a  native  of  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  came  to  Peoria  in  the 
year  1834,  and  bought  the  lots  on  which  the  National  hotel  once  stood  and  was 
one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  known  as  the  Lowry 
church.  In  August,  1835,  he  located  on  section  thirty-two,  in  Millbrook  town- 
ship, and  built  a  comfortable  log  cabin.  He  was  a  man  of  high  moral  prin- 
ciples, of  unquestioned  probity  and  business  integrity,  and  inflexible  in  his 
determination  to  do  right.  His  son,  E.  J.,  informed  me  that  his  father  frequently 
walked  from  his  home  in  Millbrook  to  Peoria  to  attend  church.  He,  of  course, 
sided  with  Lowry  in  his  controversy  with  the  adverse  party.  He  died  September 
5,  1845.     None  of  his  descendants  reside  in  this  part  of  the  country. 

Tolin  Sutherland  and  family  formed  the  nucleus  at  French  Grove  around 
which  others  of  like  moral  and  religious  sentiments  gathered.  Among  others, 
who  by  precept  and  example  added  to  the  reputation  of  the  settlement  for  enter- 
prise, thrift  and  intelligence,  were  Daniel  McCoy,  John  A.  McCoy,  \\'illiam  Reed 
and  John  McConnel.     They  were  ideal  citizens. 

In  October,  1845,  John  Smith,  Sr.,  John  Smith,  Jr.,  Therragood  Smith  and 
families,  accompanied  by  John  White  and  another  hired  man,  landed  on  what  is 
now  the  site  of  the  village  of  Rochester.  John  Smith,  Sr.,  located  on  section 
seven  and  built  a  good  sized  log  cabin,  John  Smith.  Jr.,  on  section  eighteen,  and 
Therragood  on  section  nineteen.  They  made  the  journey  from  Richland  county, 
Ohio,  in  wagons.  The  following  year,  John  Carter  and  Elias  Wycof¥,  Sr.,  came 
from   the   same   county   and   located    in   the   township.      The    fall   of   this  year 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  319 

John  Slocuni  and  family  and  the  Simonds  family  located  at  French  Grove.  About 
1840  John  Bodine  and  Joseph  Warne  came  from  New  Jersey  and  located  on 
section  sixteen.  John  AIcKune,  of  Scotland,  at  the  same  time  located  on  Scot- 
land Prairie.  In  May,  1840,  James  Cation,  his  father  and  brothers  and  Thomas 
Thompson,  came  from  Scotland  and  built  and  lived  in  sod  houses  on  Scotland 
Prairie. 

Alexander  McDonald,  a  native  of  Ireland,  made  .Scotland  Prairie  his  home 
from  about  1839  to  the  time  of  his  death. 

About  this  time,  the  Slocum  family  came  from  York  state  and  settled  at  the 
head  of  French  Grove.     Mr.  Slocum  was  a  blacksmith. 

After  this  the  county  settled  up  rapidly  with  people  from  Ohio,  Pennsylvania. 
\'irginia,  Scotland  and  Ireland  who,  as  a  rule,  were  industrious,  enterprising  and 
amliitious  to  secure  homes  for  themselves,  and  a  heritage  for  their  children. 
Morality  and  respectability  were  dominating  characteristics  of  their  lives. 

The  first  child  born  in  the  township  was  a  son  to  Clark  W.  Stanton,  July  6, 
1836.  It  lived  only  twelve  days.  This  was  the  first  interment  in  what  is  now 
Glendale  cemetery  and  the  first  in  the  township. 

The  first  marriage  in  the  township  took  place  at  the  house  of  Clark  W.  Stan- 
ton, December  15,  1837,  the  contracting  parties  being  T.  Greeley,  a  native  of 
Salisbury,  New  Hampshire,  and  Miss  Chloe  A.  Barnes,  a  native  of  New  York. 

The  beautiful  Glendale  cemetery  is  the  oldest  and  largest  cemetery  in  the 
township  and  is  located  on  a  gentle  knoll  near  the  village  of  Rochester.  The 
interments  here  are  made  from  a  wide  territory.  There  is  a  well  kept  cemetery 
in  connection  with  the  Presbyterian  church  at  French  Grove. 

The  Campbell  cemetery  is  near  the  southwest  corner  of  section  thirteen.  Ijut 
is  being  gradually  abandoned.  There  is  an  old  Indian  burial  ground  near  the 
north  line  of  section  seven. 

The  site  of  Rochester  was  chosen  for  its  excellent  water  power  furnished  by 
Spoon  river. 

It  was  surveyed  on  the  15th  of  July,  1836,  by  George  C.  McFadden,  deputy 
under  Thomas  Phillips,  county  surveyor.  On  the  2qth  of  the  same  month,  the 
plat  was  acknowledged  by  John  Smith,  Jr.,  before  James  P.  Harkness,  Jr.,  and 
recorded  in  the  recorder's  office.  About  this  time  Clark  W.  Stanton,  a  carpenter 
from  Rochester,  New  York,  arrived  and  bought  a  half  interest  in  the  town  site 
and  mill  seat,  and  in  the  spring  bought  Smith's  entire  interest  for  the  sum  of 
thirty-two  hundred  dollars. 

The  first  store  to  be  opened  was  that  of  Thomas  J.  Hurd,  of  Peoria,  who  in 
the  summer  of  1836  brought  a  small  stock  of  goods  to  the  place  and  opened  out 
in  a  small  log  cabin  on  the  river  bank.  He  was  succeeded  in  a  few  months  In' 
Stacy  &  Holmes. 

In  the  winter  of  1836-37,  John  Smith,  Jr.,  opened  a  stock  of  goods,  but  the 
ensuing  spring  sold  out  to  Hon.  David  Markly,  of  Canton,  Fulton  county,  then  a 
prominent  politician  of  the  state.  This  stock  of  goods  was  finallv  moved  to 
Massilon. 

The  first  blacksmith  was  Jacob  Boland,  who  came  in  1836  and  was  succeeded 
by  C.  M.  D.  Lyon,  who  retired  to  a  farm  in  Stark  countv. 

The  first  physician  was  Jolm  L.  Fifield,  a  native  of  Salisbury,  New  Hampshire, 
who  came  to  Peoria  in  1838  and  soon  after  located  at  Rochester.  Here  he 
remained  practicing  his  profession  until  1845,  when  he  removed  to  Victoria. 
He  was  an  eminent  physician,  a  gentleman  of  the  courtly  manners  of  the  olden 
times.    Years  ago  he  answered  the  last  call. 

During  the  forties,  Therragood  Smith  engaged  in  an  extensive  business  of 
selling  dry  goods  and  groceries.  In  connection  with  this,  he  conducted  quite  a 
pork  packing  establishment.  At  one  time  he  sent  two  hundred  steers  to  the 
Chicago  market.  He  was  the  first  postmaster  (the  office  was  named  Elmore), 
and  was  appointe<l  in  1845.  The  business  perislied  with  his  sudden  death  in 
November,  1849. 


320  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

At  this  time,  there  is  one  store,  one  blacksmith  shop,  two  carpenters,  one 
harness  maker,  one  shop  and  mill,  one  painter,  two  justices  of  the  peace,  one 
notary  public,  one  mason. 

On  account  of  its  desirability  as  a  site  for  mills,  Rochester,  at  an  early  day, 
attracted  the  attention  of  immigrants  and  soon  gave  promise  of  becoming  an 
important  business  point.  At  one  time  it  was  the  liveliest  business  place  in  central 
Illinois.  From  a  sanitary  standpoint  there  is  no  more  admirable  location  for  a 
town.  The  surrounding  country  is  naturally  beautiful.  The  winding  river  with 
its  fringe  of  umbrageous  trees ;  the  landscape  to  the  east,  north  and  west,  with 
its  vista  of  rolling  hills  and  dales,  stretching  far  away  in  autumn  tints  of  emerald, 
ruby,  and  gold,  is  a  scene  of  unsurpassed  and  indescribable  beautv. 

As  might  have  been  anticipated,  the  utilizing  of  the  water  power  of  Spoon 
river  was  one  of  the  enterprises  first  to  attract  the  attention  of  early  settlers. 
In  those  days  the  owner  of  a  mill,  if  a  good  one,  had  a  bonanza.  Flour  and 
lumber  were  two  of  the  essentials  of  frontier  life  and  people  would  travel  many 
miles  and  await  their  turn  in  patience  to  get  a  supply  of  either.  It  was  in  the 
fall  of  1836,  after  the  enterprising  Clark  W.  Stanton  had  purchased  one-half 
interest  of  John  Smith,  Jr.  in  the  mill  seat,  that  they  in  company  erected  the  first 
saw  mill,  and  so  great  was  the  demand  for  lumber  that  the  mill  was  kept  running 
day  and  night.  After  Stanton  had  purchased  Smith's  remaining  interest,  he 
erected  a  grist  mill,  which  began  to  grind  some  time  in  the  summer  of  1837. 
People  came  to  it  from  Prince's  Grove,  Slack  Water,  Massilon,  Lafayette,  Scot- 
land Prairie,  French  Creek,  etc.  By  adding  improvement  from  time  to  time,  it 
became  one  of  the  most  complete  and  best  equipped  flouring  mills  in  central 
Illinois.  The  late  Benjamin  Huber,  who  at  one  time  had  an  interest  in  it,  stated 
that  late  in  the  fifties,  the  mill  would  grind  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hun- 
dred bushels  of  wheat  per  day  and  one  hundred  bushels  of  chopped  corn,  and 
that  it  was  crowded  with  business.  But  the  march  of  improvements  with  the  com- 
ing of  railroads  to  other  points,  deprived  it  of  its  activities  and  a  stone  pier  is  the 
only  monument  that  marks  the  site  of  its  former  greatness. 

About  1839,  Gilbert  .Arnold  built  a  sawmill  on  section  six,  on  the  bank  of 
Walnut  creek;  but  this,  too,  has  long  since  gone  out  of  sight. 

In  1856,  John  Carter,  a  wealthy  farmer  residing  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
township,  undertook  the  erection  of  a  grist  mill  on  Spoon  river,  on  section  three : 
but,  being  unskilled  in  mechanical  engineering,  he  was  at  the  mercy  of  any  char- 
latan that  came  along  calling  himself  a  millwright.  Through  floods,  lawsuits 
and  ignorance  he  was  ruined  financially.  The  mill,  however,  was  finally  finished 
and  did  a  fair  business  for  a  few  years,  but  has  long  since  been  utilized  for  other 
purposes. 

The  village  of  Paura  is  located  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  twenty-two.  It  was  laid  out  in  1888  by  James  M.  Keller,  who 
was  the  first  postmaster.  John  Shaw  brought  the  first  stock  of  goods  to  the  town. 
There  are  now  two  dry  goods  and  grocery  stores,  one  bank,  one  hardware  and 
implement  store,  a  blacksmith  shop,  a  chop  mill,  two  elevators,  a  lumber  yard, 
one  hotel,  one  wagon  shop,  one  dressmaker,  one  physician,  one  livery  stable,  a 
fine  commodious  and  well  equipped  public  school  Iniilding,  a  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  The  inhabitants  are  a  religious  and  church-going  people.  The  popula- 
tion numbers  about  two  hundred. 

Constituted  as  the  early  communities  were,  it  could  not  be  supposed  otherwise 
than  that  the  promotion  of  religion  wotild  be  their  first  and  chief  concern. 

Accordingly  we  find  that  in  the  fall  of  1836,  Rev.  George  G.  Sill,  a  missionary, 
preached  the  first  Presbvterian  sermon  in  the  house  of  John  Sutherland. 

A  church  of  that  denomination  was  organized  at  Rochester  in  the  summer 
of  1 838  with  sixteen  members.  John  Warne  was  ruling  elder  The  church  was 
taken  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  in  Octolier  of  the  same  year.  Rev.  Robert 
K.  Dobbin  succeeded  Rev.  Sill,  but  how  long  he  preached  does  not  appear. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  321 

In  1845,  Rev.  Robert  ]•".  lireese  was  installed  pastor  of  the  churches  of  Roch- 
ester and  French  Grove,  which  he  continued  to  serve  until  his  death,  September  2, 
1851. 

The  Rochester  church  was  dissolved  by  presbytery  sitting  at  Brimfield.  Sep- 
tember 20,  1854,  in  consequence  of  the  division  between  the  old  and  new  schools, 
the  new  school  members  had  withdrawn  and  formed  another  church  in  Stark 
county. 

The  French  Grove  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  October  20,  1851,  by 
Addison  Coffey,  Rev.  William  Candlish  and  Ruling  Elder  jtihn  Reynolds,  a 
committee  previously  appointed  by  presbytery.  There  were  fifteen  members  and 
William  Reed  and  George  S.  Kurselle  were  ordained  and  installed  the  first  ruling 
elders.  Rev.  John  C.  Hanna,  a  licentiate,  was  appointed  to  supply  the  church 
one-half  his  time  and  the  church  at  Rochester  as  often  as  consistent  with  his 
other  engagements.     The  church  is  now  without  a  pastor  or  Sunday  school. 

Rev.  William  C.  Cumming,  a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Ejaiscopal  -Iiurch, 
preached  the  first  sermon  in  the  townshiji  in  the  house  of  John  Smith.  Sr.,  on 
section  seven  in  the  early  part  of  June,  1836.  The  original  members  were  John 
Smith,  Sr.  and  wife,  Therragood  Smith  and  wife,  and  an  unmarried  daughter  of 
John  Smith  (probably  Lucretia),  who  died  September  7th  of  that  year,  and 
V\'illmm  JMetcalf.  John  Smith,  Sr.  was  appointed  class  leader.  A  house  of  wor- 
ship was  commenced  in  1858  on  section  sixteen,  which  was  blown  to  fragments 
by  a  cyclone  on  May  8th  of  that  year.  Through  removal  and  death,  the  church 
at  one  lime  became  almost  e.xtinct ;  but  there  are  now  houses  of  worship  at 
Rochester  and  Laura,  the  former  being  the  legitimate  successor  of  the  first 
church  nnd  worshipjiing  in  a  building  formerly  jjelonging  to  the  Congregation- 
alists.  Rev.  Earl  Fahnestock  is  now  minister  of  this  church,  which  is  in  a  fairly 
prosperous  condition,  having  a  good  Sunday  school,  of  which  J.  P.  McCaulcy  is 
superintendent.  In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  John  Carter,  Mr.  Herst,  Charles 
Yocum,  Thomas  Palmer,  Thomas  Lambertson,  Thomas  Andrew,  E.  P.  Lambert- 
son  and  William  Bates  were  prominently  identified  with  early  Methodism  in  the 
township. 

The  Methodist  church  of  Laura  was  built  in  the  summer  of  1889,  at  a  cost 
of  thirteen  hundred  dollars,  and  furnished  at  a  further  cost  of  two  hundred 
dollars.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  D.  D.  McComen.  The  present  is  Rev.  W^ard. 
The  church  is  connected  with  the  ^lonica  charge,  its  members  numbering  nbout 
sixty.     There  is  a  flourishing  Sunday  school  in  connection. 

The  Christian  church  at  Rochester  was  organized  December  18,  1844,  by 
John  Underwood,  with  four  members  of  the  first  meeting  of  seven  persons, 
having  been  held  in  the  old  school  house  in  November  and  conducted  by  Milton 
King.  They  began  building  a  house  of  worship  in  1858,  but  it  was  l)lown  down 
by  the  cyclone  of  May  8th  of  that  year.  In  the  summer  of  1864,  they  erected 
another,  which  cost  between  three  thousand  and  four  thousand  dollars.  In 
course  of  time,  in  conse(|uence  of  deaths  and  removals,  the  membership  became 
too  feeble  to  maintain  an  organization  and  a  few  years  since,  Jonathan  Pratz, 
the  only  remaining  trustee,  deeded  the  church  property  to  the  directors  of  the 
Glendale  Cemetery  association,  by  whom  the  building  was  repaired,  repainted 
and  placed  in  good  condition.  It  is  now  used  by  the  Woodmen  of  America  as  a 
lodge  room,  and  for  moral  and  religious  entertainments. 

The  Congregational  church  was  organized  June  20.  1841,  at  the  house  of  Elias 

Wvcofif  in  Stark  county,  with  nine  menil)ers,  the  ministers  being  Rev.  S.  S.  Miles 

and  Rev.  S.  G.  Wright.     After  entering  into  covenant,  Messrs.  William  Webster 

and   N.   Wycoff  were  duly  elected  and   installed   ruling  elders  and  Rev.   S.    S. 

Wright  designated  as  moderator  of  the  session.     In  1854,  the  meetings  were  held 

at  Rochester,  at  which  time  Rev.  Charles  B.  Donaldson  was  acting  pastor  and  at  a 

meeting  held  April  4th  of  that  year,  the  name  was  changed  from  Spoon  River 

Congregational  church  to  Elmore  Congregational  church  of  Rochester.     During 

the  smnmer  and  fall  of   1866,  was  erected  a  house  of  worship,  costinsr  twentv- 

three  hundred  dollars,  which  was  dedicated  January  22.   1867.     The  dedication 
Vol.  I— ;i 


322  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  W.  G.  Pierce,  of  Elmwood,  assisted  by  Rev.  James 
Wycolif  and  Rev.  B.  F.  Hackins.  The  last  named  was  pastor  twelve  years. 
From  a  variety  of  causes,  the  society  ceased  to  maintain  its  organization  and 
the  church  edihce  is  now  owned  and  used  as  a  place  of  worship  by  the  Methodist 
I'piscopal  church  of  Elmore. 

The  church  of  the  New  Jerusalem  (Swedenborgian)  once  had  an  organization 
at  Rochester,  the  meetings  having  been  held  in  the  house  of  John  Smith,  Jr.,  on 
section  eighteen.  At  this  meetmg  Rev.  John  B.  Hibbard,  a  cultured  and  eminent 
divine  of  Chicago,  made  an  address.  The  society  consisted  of  John  Smith,  Jr. 
and  wife,  Gilbert  Arnold,  Caleb  North,  G.  P.  Wycoiif,  the  Adams  and  Pnesipher 
families  of  Southport,  and  Philander  Arnold  of  West  Jersey,  Stark  county. 

The  first  Sunday  school  was  organized  in  the  spring  of  1841,  iNIrs.  Breese, 
wife  of  Rev.  Robert  Breese,  being  the  first  superintendent.  She  was  a  woman  of 
fine  moral  and  religious  sentiments  and  great  force  of  character  and  made  the 
school  a  success  in  every  respect.  Of  those  who  attended  this  school,  the  fol- 
lowing survive :  Mrs.  Alahala  Hurd,  nee  Bodine,  West  Jersey,  Stark  county ; 
Mrs.  Acenath  Neal,  nee  ]\Iatheus,  Mossville,  Illinois. 

The  first  school  in  the  township  was  taught  in  the  winter  of  1836-37  by  Caleb 
North,  in  a  small  log  cabin  on  the  southwest  corner  of  the  northwest  quarter  of 
section  twenty,  for  which  he  received  the  munificent  salary  of  ten  dollars  per 
month  and  boarded  around  with  the  scholars.  There  is  not  a  known  pupil  of 
that  school  now  living. 

The  first  school  house  in  the  village  of  Rochester  was  built  by  Dr.  Fifield, 
Russell  Stanton  and  Jonah  Lewis,  without  the  assistance  of  public  funds.  It 
remained  until  1867,  when  it  was  replaced  by  a  large  and  commodious  brick 
structure  which  still   remains. 

The  township  is  now  divided  into  eight  full  and  two  fractional  union  districts 
ill  all  of  which  public  schools  are  regularly  taught.  The  zealous  interest  taken 
by  the  people  in  the  cause  of  popular  education  is  manifested  by  the  flourishing 
condition  of  these  schools  and  the  liberal  taxes  voluntarily  imposed  upon  them- 
selves by  the  lax  payers  for  their  support.  The  school  houses  are,  as  a  rule,  of 
the  most  improved  pattern  and  furnished  with  all  modern  appliances  to  secure 
the  comfort,  health  and  advancement  in  study  of  the  pupil,  the  cost  varying  from 
one  thousand  to  five  thousand  dollars.  They  compare  favorably  with  those  of 
other  localities.    IVIany  of  them  are  equipped  with  fine  school  libraries. 

In  the  year  1845.  Rev.  Robert  Breese  and  his  accomplished  wife,  who  was  a 
graduate  of  the  celebrated  Holyoke  seminary,  established  a  school  of  high  grade, 
called  the  "Breese  Seminary."'  Airs.  Breese  was  the  real  principal,  her  husband 
devoting  his  time  mainly  to  ministerial  work.  This  school  was  liberally  pation- 
ized  by  the  wealthy  and  influential  families  of  the  surrounding  country.  Mrs. 
Breese  remained  as  principal  of  this  school  until  about  1850.  when  she  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Miss  Elizabeth  Goodell. 

The  only  persons  who  attended  Aliss  Goodell's  school  as  pupils  and  now 
known  to  be  Hving  are  Erastus  Stanton,  of  Republic  county.  Kansas,  and  Mrs. 
S.  I.  Adams,  nee  Anthony,  of  Peoria  county.  The  "Seminary"  building  has  long 
since  disappeared  and  on  its  site  is  a  cottage  of  the  village  blacksmith. 

From  1836  to  1856,  Peoria  was  the  market  for  the  agricultural  products  of 
Millbrook  township.  The  wheat,  oats,  corn,  and  dressed  hogs  were  hauled  there 
in  wagons  and  in  a  while,  dressed  hogs  were  marketed  at  Lacon.  Cattle  were 
driven  to  Chicago.  After  1856,  Elmwood  and  Oak  Hill,  on  the  Peoria  &  Oquawka 
railroad  became  its  principal  shipping  points.  After  the  building  of  the  Buda 
branch  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &•  Quincy  railroad,  the  village  of  ^Monica  lie- 
came  a  market  for  the  eastern  part,  and  Brimfield  for  a  part  of  the  south  side  of 
the  township. 

The  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  railroad  was  l)uilt  across  the  township  in 
1887.  In  the  following  vear  an  elevator  was  erected  at  the  village  of  Laura  on 
the  line  of  that  road.  There  are  now  two  large  and  well  equipped  elevators  at 
that  place,  besides  cribs  of  ten  thousand  bushels  capacity. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  328 

ll  was  no  gay  "outing"  to  drive  to  Peoria  or  Lacon  across  the  bleak,  treeless 
windswept  prairies,  with  the  mercury  below  zero  and  to  be  pelted  at  almost  every 
step  with  Hying  snowilakes  and  eat  a  frozen  dinner  at  noon  time.  It  re(]uired  lots 
of  that  commodity,  commonly   called   "sand,"  to   ''face  the  music." 

When  it  comes  to  the  marketing  of  grain,  contrast  the  past,  when  it  took 
two  whole  days  to  haul  a  load  of  thirty-tive  or  forty  bushels  of  wheat  or  corn 
to  Peoria,  and  the  present.  Xow  one  team  will  deliver  anywhere  from  two  to 
seven  loads,  of  from  fifty  to  sixty  bushels,  to  the  elevator  in  one  day. 

During  the  month  of  January.  1912,  the  Davis  Grain  Co.,  of  Laura,  received 
twenty-five  thousand  bushels  of  corn  and  six  thousand  two  hundred  twenty-eight 
bushels  of  oats,  and  were  seriously  handicapped  by  want  of  transportation. 

The  roads  in  an  early  day  followed  the  lines  of  the  least  resistance  and  wound 
about  over  the  country  "every  which  way,"  to  avoid  the  steep  hills  and  deep  miry 
sloughs,  having  for  their  objective  a  convenient  and  shallow  ford  across  the 
larger  streams.  About  1840  a  state  road  was  laid  out  from  Peoria  to  Rochestund 
via  Brimfield,  French  Grove  and  Rochester,  here  crossing  Spoon  river.  There 
was  an  immense  amount  of  traffic  on  this  road  in  1849-50-51-52  and  53.  People 
were  moving  to  Iowa,  Oregon  and  California,  and  the  wagon  makers,  blacksmiths 
and  hotels  located  at  Rochester  did  a  flourishing  business.  All  the  time  the  pay 
was  spot  cash  for  their  work. 

A  road  led  in  a  northeasterl)-  course  from  Rochester  to  Hickory  Point  in 
Stark  county.  There  was  a  road  across  the  east  side  of  the  township,  crossing 
the  river  at  the  Carter  Ford,  thence  south  and  connecting  with  the  Knoxville 
road  at  Brimfield.  There  was  and  is  a  road  leading  south  and  north  across  the 
west  side  of  the  township  that  connected  Rochester  with  Xewliery,  Farmington 
and  other  towns  in  that  direction.  There  was  an  east  and  west  road  on  the  half 
sectional  line  of  the  second  south  tier  of  sections,  named  the  old  Acme  road. 
There  was  a  heavy  travel  over  this  highway  at  one  time,  but  it  is  now  vacated. 
1  am  of  the  opinion  this  was  at  one  time  an  Indian  trail  (  from  the  finding  of  stone 
and  flint  implements  along  its  course),  and  probably  connected  the  farms  on  the 
Illinois  river  with  those  on  Spoon  river. 

At  the  present  time  there  is  a  laid  out  highway  on  nearly  all  the  sectional 
lines  in  the  township.  The  high  places  have  been  cut  down,  the  low  ground 
filled  up  and  some  of  the  more  important  roads  gravelled  in  a  good  and  sub- 
stantial manner.  The  makeshift  wooden  bridges  have  been  displaced  by  sub- 
stantial structures  of  iron  and  steel,  with  massive  piers  or  abutments  of  concrete. 
The  log  and  plank  culverts  have  been  replaced  by  iron  and  steel  pipes. 

There  were  six  or  eight  inches  of  snow  on  the  ground  on  the  morning  of  De- 
cember 20,  1856,  with  a  warm,  gentle  wind  blowing  from  the  south.  As  the  day 
advanced,  the  warmth  and  wind  increased.  The  snow  became  a  soft  slush, 
with  rivulets  everywhere.  Between  two  and  three  o'clock  a  fearful  roar  was 
heard  in  the  northwest.  A  glance  disclosed  the  presence  of  an  oncoming  cloud 
of  dark  and  portentious  mien.  In  a  moment  the  air  was  filled  with  fine  hail  and 
snow,  accompanied  by  a  wind  of  fearful  velocity  and  arctic  temperature.  In  a 
few  minutes  the  ground  was  a  sheet  of  solid  ice.  Many  pigs  and  poultrv  not 
under  shelter  froze  fast  in  their  tracks.  John  Sutherland  and  his  son,  Elisha, 
were  about  a  mile  northeast  of  where  Monica  now  is,  when  the  blizzard  struck 
them.    They  nearly  perished  before  reaching  the  home  of  Capt.  Williams. 

Therragood  Smith  was  the  first  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  territory  now 
embraced  in  the  township  of  Millbrook  and  was  elected  at  a  precinct  election. 

Pursuant  to  a  previous  notice  given  by  the  county  clerk  of  Peoria  countv,  the 
first  annual  town  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  the  town  of  Millbrook  was  held  at 
the  house  of  Joseph  Warne,  Esq.,  on  Tuesdav,  April  2,  1S50.  Qnarles  Yocum 
was  appointed  moderator  and  .Augustus  A.  Dunn,  clerk  of  the  meeting.  The 
moderator  and  clerk  sworn  by  "Justice"'  Warne,  'sundry  rules  and  regulations 
were  enacted,  relative  to  fences  and  live  stock,  at  this  meeting. 


324  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

Erastus  A.  Lewis  was  elected  iwuiid  master  for  Rochester  and  Samuel  Hart 
for  the  other  parts  of  the  town,  hy  holding  up  of  hands.  Sixty-eight  votes  were 
cast  and  the  following  officers  were  elected : 

William  Cuniming,  John  K.  Wolever,  N.  X.  Davis  and  J.  S.  Hirst  were  elected 
overseers  of  highways  in  their  respective  districts.  The  following  is  the  result 
of  the  election  for  town  officers:  C.  W.  Stanton  was  elected  supervisor;  R.  C. 
Hart,  assessor ;  G.  P.  Wycoff,  collector ;  Charles  Yocum,  overseer  of  poor ;  Alex- 
ander McDonald,  E.  J-  Sutherland  and  A.  A.  Dunn,  commissioners  of  highways; 
William  Hakes  and  Samuel  A.  Smith,  constables;  M.  F.  Greeley  and  Joseph 
Warne,  justices  of  the  peace;  C.  R.  Young,  town  clerk.  The  town  meeting  was 
voted  to  be  held  at  Rochester. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

VILLAGE  OF  PEORL\  INCORPORATED  IN    183I FIRST  OFFICIALS VARIOUS  INDUSTRIES 

AND    MERCANTILE    CONCERNS    OF    THAT    TIME EARLY    CHURCHES,    PREACHERS, 

NEWSPAPERS  AND  DIRECTORIES PEORIA  INCORPORATED  AS  A  CITY  IN   WINTER  OF 

1844 FIRST   OFFICIALS    FOR    WHICH    ONE    HUNDRED    AND    NINETY-SEVEN    VOTES 

WERE    CAST FIRST   AND    PRESENT    PUBLIC    BUILDINGS UTILITIES    AND    GOVERN- 
MENT OF  THE  CITY THE  POSTOFFICE. 

The  history  of  the  city  of  Peoria  practically  begins  with  that  of  the  county, 
for  on  the  7th  day  of  January,  1825,  it  was  ordered  by  the  county  commissioners' 
court  that  William  Plolland  be  authorized  to  employ  a  suitable  person  to  survey 
into  lots  the  fractional  quarter  section  of  land  by  the  legislature  for  the  county 
seat,  the  dimensions  of  the  lots  to  be  eighty  feet  wide  and  one  hundred  feet  in 
length,  including  eight  feet  to  be  deducted  from  each  for  an  alley,  the  street 
on  the  shore  of  Lake  Peoria  to  be  one  hundred  and  ten  feet  in  width. 

An  order  was  made  upon  the  petition  of  William  Holland,  at  the  September 
term  following,  that  a  town  be  laid  out  as  the  county  seat  of  i'eoria  county.  In 
this  order  provisions  were  made  for  the  streets  to  run  following  the  cardinal 
points  of  the  compass,  that  the  public  squares  should  be  three  hundred  and  sixty 
feet  on  each  parallel,  containing  five  lots  each  of  seventy-two  feet  frontage ; 
that  there  should  be  a  puljlic  square  containing  four  square  blocks;  that  Water 
street  should  be  one  hundred  and  ten  feet  wide,  and  to  commence  on  the  edge 
or  break  of  the  bank  of  the  lake  and  extend  back  the  one  hundred  and  ten  feet 
required.  At  the  same  term  William  Holland  received  an  order  for  four  dollars 
in  specie,  or  its  ec|uivalent  in  state  bank  paper,  which  was  about  two  dollars,  for 
running  or  causing  to  be  run,  the  exterior  lines  of  the  town  of  Peoria  and  making 
a  plat  of  the  same. 

A  street  was  laid  out  commencing  at  the  quarter  section  corner  near  the  inter- 
section of  Bridge  and  Adams  streets,  running  thence  north  along  the  west  line 
of  the  quarter  between  the  old  town  and  what  is  now  Monson  &  Sanford's  Ad- 
dition, thirty-one  feet  east  of  the  present  east  line  of  Franklin  street,  to  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  quarter  located  on  the  premises  now  occupied  by  Dr. 
Miller  ;  also  a  street  along  the  north  line  of  said  (|uarter  to  the  northeast  corner 
between  Adams  and  Jefferson  streets  near  Eaton,  in  the  lot  recently  selected  for 
the  Assembly  Hall.  This  exterior  street  stopped  at  that  point  probably  in  anticipa- 
tion of  a  street  being  laid  out  on  the  adjoining  fractional  (juarter  section  now 
known  as  Mill's  Addition,  running  thence  south  to  the  river.  All  the  interior 
streets  were  laid  out  parallel  with  these  streets,  the  same  as  in  Monson  &  San- 
ford's and  other  additions  in  the  west  part  of  the  city. 

The  action  of  the  commissioners'  court  noted  above  was  taken,  notwith- 
standing the  difficulty  in  securing  from  the  government  a  grant  to  the  land  and 
claims  set  up  by  those  alleging  to  have  an  equity  in  the  property.  At  the  March 
(1826)  term  the  court,  having  the  situation  in  mind,  ordered,  that  whenever  the 
said  land  should  be  entered  by  the  county,  the  damages  sustained  by  such  per- 
sons should  be  ascertained  to  the  extent  of  the  cost  of  improvements  made  by 
the  claimants,  and  the  amount  to  be  deducted  out  of  the  price  of  any  lots  they 
may  purchase. 

325 


326  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

A  sale  of  lots  was  ordered  at  the  May  term,  to  take  place  on  the  tenth  of 
July  following,  the  terms  of  sale  to  be  ten  per  cent  cash,  the  balance  on  six, 
twelve  and  eighteen  months'  credit.  Another  order  at  this  term  was  for  a  re- 
survey  of  the  town  and  the  streets  to  be  run  parallel  with  the  river,  and  William 
Holland  was  employed  to  see  that  the  work  was  done. 

On  the  loth  day  of  July,  1826,  an  order  was  entered  by  the  commissioners' 
court,  in  which  Joseph  Smith  was  authorized  to  employ  an  auctioneer  for  the 
sale  of  lots  and  to  furnish  whiskey  for  the  occasion ;  also  that  the  clerk  deliver 
the  plat  for  recording.  The  survey  commenced  at  the  foot  of  Fayette  street, 
running  thence  to  Liberty  street,  thence  to  Madison  street,  thence  to  Fayette 
street,  thence  to  Water.  There  were  three  other  blocks,  not  divided  into  lots, 
between  Madison  and  Monroe  streets,  shown  on  the  plat,  and  this  was  the  first 
plat  recorded  as  a  permanent  survey  of  the  town  of  Peoria. 

As  to  the  naming  of  the  streets.  Judge  McCulloch  contril)utes  the  following: 

"The  street  next  the  river  was  called  Water  street,  and  those  running  parallel 
with  it  were  named  after  the  presidents  of  the  United  States  in  the  order  of 
their  succession,  except  the  then  incumbent  of  that  office,  for  whom  there  was 
no  street  to  name,  and,  if  there  had  been,  it  could  not  have  been  done  without 
duplication.  No  record  is  left  of  any  reason  why  the  other  streets  were  named 
as  they  were,  but  it  will  readily  appear  why  Main  street  received  its  name,  it 
being  the  longest  street  on  the  plat  except  Adams,  and  the  one  most  eligible  for 
business  purposes.  Fulton  street  may  have  been  named  after  one  of  the  Fultons, 
who  were  among  the  earliest  settlers,  one  of  them,  Samuel  Fulton,  being  then 
sheriff  of  the  county.  The  name  of  Liberty  street  is  wholly  arbitrary.  Hamilton 
may  have  been  named  after  the  surveyor,  William  S.  Hamilton,  but  more  prob- 
ably after  his  father,  the  distinguished  Alexander  Hamilton.  Fayette  was  doubt- 
less named  after  the  Marquis  de  LaFayette,  who  had  recently  visited  this  country 
and  whose  name  was  on  everybody's  lips." 

William  Clark  had  been  secured  as  auctioneer  and  the  court,  on  July  nth, 
allowed  him  three  dollars  for  crying  the  sale  of  lots  and  on  the  following  day, 
William  Holland  received  an  order  on  the  county  treasurer  for  $10.50,  for  serv- 
ices rendered  and  cash  paid  by  him  in  surveying  the  town  of  Peoria.  It  was  also 
ordered  by  the  court  that  William  S.  Hamilton  be  paid  the  sum  of  $58.75,  in  full 
payment  for  surveying  the  town  of  Peoria.  It  appears  that  Hamilton  had  agreed 
to  and  received  two  lots  in  lieu  of  the  cash.  The  book  kept  to  record  that  first 
public  sale  of  Peoria  lots  contains  the  following  names  and  notations  of  pur- 
chases : 

Isaac  Funk  purchased  lots  No.  6  in  block  No.  2,  price  $100:  No.  8  in  block 
No.  2,  at  $66.50;  No.  10  in  block  No.  2,  $55;  No.  i  in  block  No.  7,  $38;  No.  8 
in  block  No.  3,  at  $■/■/  ;  and  No.  i  in  block  No.  3,  at  $52. 

Hiram  Fads  bought  lots  No.  5  in  block  No.  2,  at  $52 ;  and  No.  4  in  block 
No.  10,  at  $34.50. 

John  Hamlin,  lots  No.  10  in  block  No.  3,  at  $85 ;  and  No.  9  in  block  No.  3, 
at  $52.50. 

Samuel  Fulton,  lot  No.  4  in  block  No.  2,  at  $35. 

Eli  Redman,  lot  No.  7  in  block  No.  7,  at  $31. 

George  Sharp,  lot  No.  6  in  block  No.  7,  at  $42. 

Nicholas  Hansen,  lots  No.  i  in  block  No.  6,  and  No.  2  in  block  No.  6,  at  $85. 

William  Holland,  lot  No.  3  in  block  No.  2,  at  $29. 

Henry  Neely,  lot  No.  7  in  block  No.  2,  at  $67. 

James  Latham,  lots  No.  7  in  block  No.  3,  at  $79.75 ;  and  No.  6  in  block  No.  3, 
at  $62. 

Joseph  Ogee,  lots  No.  6  and  7  in  block  No.  i,  at  $96.25. 

William  Wright,  lot  No.  5  in  block  No.  9,  at  $25. 

William  S.  Hamilton,  lots  8  and  9  in  block  No.  i,  at  $58.75  (his  fee  for 
survey). 

Joseph  Smith,  lots  No.  i  and  2  in  block  No.  2,  at  $51. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  327 

Hiram  Curry,  lot  No.  9  in  block  No.  2,  at  $51. 

James  Scott,  lot  No.  5  in  block  No.  10,  at  $50.62^4. 

River.s  Cormack,  lot  No.  10  in  block  No.  4,  at  $85. 

A  second  sale  of  lots  was  ordered  to  be  advertised  by  the  commissioners' 
court  on  the  5th  day  of  September.  1826,  to  take  place  on  the  tirst  Monday  of 
November  following  and  another  order  of  like  purport  was  entered  at  a  special 
term  of  the  court  in  July,  1832,  and  from  that  on  several  sales  of  lots  were  or- 
dered until  all  had  been  disposed  of. 

On  July  3d,  1832,  it  was  ordered  that  the  public  ground  in  front  of  Water 
street  should  remain  as  such  without  being  built  upon  until  the  town  of  Peoria 
should  become  incorporated. 

Charles  Ballance,  county  surveyor,  was  ordered  on  the  5th  day  of  March, 
1834,  to  establish  the  exterior  lines  of  Peoria  town-fraction;  also  to  lay  off  in 
blocks  and  lots  the  remainder  of  said  fraction.  As  surveyor,  Ballance  made  a 
re-survey  of  the  town  plat,  and  laid  oft'  the  whole  quarter  section  into  lots  and 
blocks,  making  all  the  streets  one  hundred  feet  in  width.  In  the  following  July 
Mr.  r.allance  re-platted  that  portion  of  the  town  northeast  of  Fayette  street, 
making  the  streets  running  from  the  river  towards  the  bluft',  eighty  feet  wide, 
and  obtained  a  tract  of  ground  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  quarter  section, 
which  was  designated  as  a  part  of  "State  Square." 

PEORIA    INCORPQR.\TED   AS    A   VILLAGE 

The  legislature  passed  an  act  on  the  ist  day  of  March,  1831,  providing  for 
the  incorporation  of  towns  and  cities.  Under  authority  of  this  measure  an  elec- 
tion was  held  on  March  nth,  1835,  at  which  time  the  following  board  of  trus- 
tees was  chosen  by  the  electors :  Dr.  Rudolphus  Rouse,  Chester  Hamlin,  Rufus 
P.  Burlingame,  Charles  W.  McClallan  and  Isaac  Evans.  Dr.  Rouse  was  elected 
president  of  the  board,  which  met  at  the  store  of  Rufus  P.  Burlingame,  and 
elected  Cyrus  Leland,  clerk,  and  Mr.  Burlingame,  treasurer.  At  this  meeting 
the  board  passed  a  resolution  that  the  village  should  embrace  an  area  of  one 
square  mile,  having  its  center  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Main  and  Madison 
streets. 

On  the  day  preceding  the  election  of  the  board  of  trustees  Abram  S.  Buxton 
and  Henry  Wolford  founded  the  first  newspaper  in  Peoria  and  called  it  the 
"Illinois  Champion  and  Peoria  Herald."  From  its  pages  the  reader  learns  that 
the  firm  of  Pettengill  &  Gale  were  in  the  mercantile  business  in  a  building  for- 
merly occupied  by  P.  G.  Deal  and  kept  a  general  assortment  of  hardware,  tin 
and  woodenware,  window  glass,  hollowware,  fire  dogs,  card  boxes,  sheet  iron 
backs,  tin  plate  and  cooking  stoves,  stove-pipe,  plain  and  fine  harness,  boots  and 
shoes,  socks  and  stockings.  Aquilla  Wren  desired  his  patrons  to  know  that  he 
had  on  sale  Kanawha  and  Conemaugh  salt,  fresh  raisins.  Cognac  brandy,  white 
Malaga  wine,  Madeira  and  port  wine,  London  Particular  Teneriffe,  claret  wine, 
Muscat  wine,  brown  sugar,  burr  millstones  and  other  things.  I.  M.  &  J.  Crisman 
&  Company  had  a  line  of  spring  and  summer  goods  and  other  things.  There 
were  two  public  houses  advertised,  one  kept  by  William  Eads  near  the  old  fort 
and  the  "Peoria  House  and  General  Stage  Office,"  corner  Main  and  Washington 
streets,  presided  over  by  O.  A.  Garrett.  The  "Champion  and  Herald"  also  shows 
that  in  1834  there  was  a  tailor  in  the  second  story  of  a  building  belonging  to 
Aquilla  Wren,  on  Water  street,  by  the  name  of  P.  A.  Westervelt.  The  following 
physicians  were  here  at  that  time :  Dr.  Joseph  C.  Frye,  who  lived  at  the  residence 
of  Mr.  Buxton,  on  Adams  street,  now  occupied  by  the  Bryan  block ;  Dr.  J.  M. 
Russell,  Dr.  Kellogg  and  Dr.  Augustus  Langworthy.  The  cards  of  only  two  law- 
yers were  published  in  the  paper.  These  were  Charles  Ballance,  at  the  time 
county  surveyor,  and  John  L.  Bogardus.  It  appears,  however,  that  there  was 
another  attorney  here  when  the  "Champion  and  Herald"  was  founded,  in  the 
person  of  Lewis  Bigelow. 


328  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

In  the  issue  of  the  "Illinois  Champion  and  Herald"  of  date  December  6,  1834, 
a  card  of  thanks  was  published,  signed  by  fifteen  persons,  in  which  Captain  O. 
H.  Kellogg,  who  had  just  made  a  successful  trip  from  St.  Louis  to  Peoria,  with 
the  Winnebago,  was  extolled  for  his  skill  and  perseverance,  as  well  as  kindness 
and  hospitality  shown  them  on  their  voyage  with  him.  In  another  column  of 
the  paper  was  a  card  of  Captain  Kellogg,  giving  notice  that  his  boat  would  be 
fitted  up  to  run  between  Peoria  and  St.  Louis  the  next  season. 

Among  other  notices,  published  in  this  premier  paper  of  the  county  may  be 
mentioned  the  following :  Preaching  at  the  schoolhouse  by  Rev.  Leander  Walker ; 
desire  of  William  Eads  to  sell  an  unfinished  house  on  Liberty  street,  and  other 
property  ;  the  offer  of  a  reward  by  Seth  Fulton  for  the  return  of  two  stray 
horses ;  notice  of  Isaac  Waters,  clerk  of  the  county  commissioners'  court,  to 
persons,  whose  notes  given  for  town  lots  were  due,  to  make  payment;  also  that 
on  December  26th  a  contract  would  be  let  to  the  lowest  bidder  for  the  building 
of  a  county  jail ;  there  was  also  a  notice  for  a  meeting  to  form  a  lyceum. 

About  the  year  1838,  a  publication  entitled  "A  Gazetteer  of  Illinois,"  issued 
by  Dr.  J.  M.  Peck,  describes  Peoria  at  that  time  in  the  following  words : 

"Peoria  now  has  twenty-five  stores,  two  wholesale  and  five  retail  groceries, 
two  drug  stores,  two  hotels  and  several  boarding  houses,  two  free  schools  and 
an  incorporated  academy,  two  Presbyterian  houses  of  worship  and  congrega- 
tions, one  Methodist,  one  Baptist,  one  Unitarian  and  one  Episcopal  congregation, 
six  lawyers,  eight  or  ten  physicians,  one  brewery,  two  steam  sawmills,  the  usual 
proportion  of  mechanics,  a  court  house  and  a  jail  and  a  population  of  from  fif- 
teen to  eighteen  hundred,  which  is  rapidly  increasing.  The  'Peoria  Register  and 
Northwestern  Gazetteer'  is  issued  weekly  by  S.  M.  Davis,  Esq.  The  religious 
people  of  this  place  have  contributed  no  less  than  about  $23,000  the  past  year 
for  philanthropic  purposes." 

In  the  "Peoria  Register  and  Gazetteer,''  established  on  the  7th  of  April, 
1837,  by  Samuel  M.  Davis,  is  published  the  notice  of  a  meeting  of  the  lyceum, 
of  which  Charles  M.  Reynolds  was  secretary.  Also  a  notice  that  the  Rev.  Mr. 
French  would  preach  in  the  court  house  on  Sunday,  and  notices  by  Rev.  Isaac 
Keller,  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church,  and  Rev.  John  Spaulding,  pastor 
of  the  Main  Street  Presbyterian  church,  who  would  hold  services  on  Sunday. 

The  provision  market  was  quoted  as  follows :  Flour,  $2.50  to  $3.00  per  one 
hundred  pounds ;  beef,  4  to  6  cents  per  pound ;  pork,  6  to  7  cents ;  mutton,  scarce 
at  8  cents:  lard,  none;  butter,  16  to  20  cents;  white  beans,  $1.00  to  $1.25  per 
bushel ;  corn  meal,  75  to  873/  cents ;  oats,  25  to  30  cents  a  bushel ;  corn,  62  to  75 
cents;  potatoes  37  to  50  cents;  onions,  50  to  63  cents;  eggs,  10  to  12  cents  per 
dozen  ;  chickens,  $1.50  to  $1.75  per  dozen. 

The  following  professional  cards  appear  in  the  paper :  Lawyers,  Powell  & 
Knowlton,  office  in  the  court  house ;  Charles  Ballance ;  James  H.  Sanford,  in 
the  rear  room  over  the  store  of  Alter  &  Howell,  Main  street;  George  B.  Parker, 
probate  justice,  office  in  the  court  house;  Peters  &  Gale,  attorneys,  office  in  the 
court  house ;  Frisby  &  Metcalf ,  attorneys,  office  in  the  court  house.  The  busi- 
ness cards  were:  T.  L.  Mayne,  watchmaker  and  jeweler,  Washington  street;  A. 
Meyers,  groceries,  liquors,  wines,  cigars,  etc..  Water  street ;  J.  C.  Armstrong, 
wholesale  grocer,  forwarding  and  commission  merchant ;  A.  G.  Curtenius,  re- 
ceiving, forwarding  and  commission  merchant.  Water  and  Liberty  street.  This 
was  at  the  place  now  occupied  by  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  &  Pacific  passenger 
and  freight  depot.  Farrell  &  Lippincott,  wholesale  druggists.  Main  street; 
Forsythe  &  Company,  consisting  of  R.  J.  Forsythe,  of  Wheeling,  Virginia,  and 
Andrew  Gray,  Peoria,  general  agents,  receiving,  forwarding  and  commission 
merchants ;  John  A.  McCoy,  dealer  in  leather  of  all  kinds,  boots,  shoes  and  hats, 
corner  of  Fulton  and  Water  streets ;  I.  &  J.  Tapping,  fashionable  tailors,  suc- 
cessors to  y.  G.  Lineback. 


OLD   PUBLIC  HALL,  MADISOX  AND   L|]!E1!TV   STREETS 


THE   FIRST   JEFFERSON   HOTEL— STOOD   OX   THE   SITE   OF   THE    XEW   HOTEL 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  329 

PEORIA    INCORPORATED   AS  A   CITY 

In  the  winter  of  1844-5  the  state  legishuure  passed  a  measure  entitled  "An 
Act  to  Incorporate  the  City  of  Peoria,"  and  providing  therein  that  the  charter 
should  be  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  people.  Pursuant  thereto  an  election  was 
held  at  the  court  house  on  April  21,  1845,  which  resulted  in  a  large  majority 
vote  in  favor  of  the  adoption  of  the  charter.  There  were  197  votes  cast  at  that 
election  and  only  35  of  them  were  against  the  proposition.  On  Monday,  the 
28th  of  April,  an  election  was  held  for  officials  to  govern  the  newly  made  city, 
at  which  time  William  Hale  was  elected  mayor  and  Jesse  L.  Knowlton,  Peter 
Sweat,  Charles  Kettelle,  Clark  Cleveland,  John  Hamlin,  Chester  Hamlin  and 
Hervey  Lightner  were  elected  aldermen.  Jacob  Gale  and  Amos  P.  Bartlett  each 
received  168  votes.  This  made  a  tie.  On  May  5th  William  Hale  was  sworn 
in  and  the  aldermen  with  him,  who,  upon  their  first  meeting,  passed  an  ordinance 
providing  that  in  case  of  a  tie  vote  for  alderman  the  lot  should  be  cast  by  the 
mayor.  The  mayor,  acting  under  this  authority,  cast  his  vote  in  favor  of  Aiuos 
P.  Bartlett.    At  the  same  titrie  Jesse  L.  Knowlton  was  elected  city  clerk. 

From  time  to  time  after  the  incorporation  of  Peoria  as  a  city,  the  limits  of 
the  numicipality  were  extended  by  various  means.  On  February  12,  1863,  the 
entire  township  was  taken  in,  and  in  1869  the  boundaries  were  further  extended. 
Then  in  recent  years  South  Peoria  and  \\'est  Peoria  have  been  annexed  and  by 
the  ac(|uisition  of  North  Peoria  there  was  added  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  cor- 
poration the  north  half  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  4,  township  8  north, 
range  8  east;  the  south  half  of  section  33;  the  south  half  of  the  north  half  of 
section  33;  the  southwest  quarter  and  the  south  half  of  the  northwest  quarter; 
and  so  much  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  34,  township  9  north,  range  8 
east,  as  lies  west  of  the  road  to  Springdale  cemetery. 

At  the  time  Peoria  became  a  city,  according  to  a  census  taken  in  January, 
1844,  the  population  numbered  1,619.  During  the  following  decade  this  number 
had  increased  to  11,858 — a  remarkable  growth. 

It  is  not  exactly  known  when  Drown  issued  his  first  directory,  but  in  March, 
185 1,  his  second  "Directory  and  Historical  View  of  Peoria,"  was  published,  but 
dated  as  the  year  1850.  These  directories  of  Drown's  were  published  for  sev- 
eral years.    Omi  E.  Root  began  the  publication  of  his  annual  directories  in  1856. 

At  various  times  the  original  city  charter  has  been  revised  and  the  time  for 
holding  city  elections  changed.  In  1861  the  annual  election  was  changed  to  the 
second  Tuesday  in  March;  in  1863,  to  the  second  Monday  in  April;  in  1867,  the 
time  for  holding  the  annual  election  was  fixed  for  the  same  day  as  the  township 
election;  in  1869,  the  entire  charter  was  revised,  which  fixed  the  time  for  the 
annual  election  for  the  first  Tuesday  after  the  first  Monday  in  November,  officers 
elected  to  take  their  seats  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  January,  ensuing.  This  con- 
tinued until  the  adoption  of  the  general  incorporation  law,  since  which  time  the 
elections  have  been  held  on  the  third  Tuesday  in  April. 

The  chief  executives  of  the  village  and  city  of  Peoria,  since  their  incorpora- 
tion to  the  present  time,  are  named  below : 

VILLAGE    OF    PEORIA 

1835-36 — Rudolphus  Rouse,  1836-37 — George  B.  Parker,  1837-41 — Rudolphus 
Rouse,  1841-42 — Peter  Sweat,  1842-43 — Lewis  Howell,  1843-44 — John  King, 
1844-45 — Halsey  O.  Merriman. 

CITY  OF   PEORIA 

1845— William  Hale,  1846— Charles  T.  Stearns.  1847-48— William  Mitchell, 
1849 — Jacob  Gale,  1850 — Dennis  I51akely,  185 1 — George  C.  Bestor,  1852 — Jona- 
than K.  Cooper,  1853-54 — George  C.  Bestor,  1855 — Charles  C.  Ballance,  1856-57 


330  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

— Gardner  T.  Barker,  1858-59 — William.  R.  Hamilton,  i860 — John  D.  Arnold, 
1861— William  A.  Willard,  1862— Gardner  T.  Barker.  1863— Mathew  W.  Mc- 
Reynolds,  1864 — Jacob  Gale,  1865-66 — Henry  T.  Baldwin,  1867 — Philip  Bender, 
1868-70 — Peter  R.  K.  Brotherson,  1870-72 — Gardner  T.  Barker,  1872-74 — Peter 
R.  K.  Brotherson,  1874-76 — John  Warner,  1876-78 — Leslie  Robison,  1878-82 — 
John  Warner,  1882-84— Frank  Hitchcock,  1884-86— John  Warner,  1886-88— 
"Samuel  A.  Kinsey,  1888-90 — John  Warner,  1890-93 — Charles  C.  Clarke  and  John 
Warner,  1893-95 — Philo  B.  Miles,  1895-97— William  M.  Allen,  1897-99— John 
Warner,  1899-1901 — Henry  W.  Lynch,  1901-03 — William  F.  Bryan,  1903-05 — 
E.  N.  Woodruff,  1905-07 — A.  B.  Tolson,  1907-09 — Thomas  O'Connor,  1909 — 
E.  N.  Woodruff. 

GROWTH   IN  POPULATION 

In  1838,  four  years  after  the  village  of  Peoria  had  been  incorporated,  a  pub- 
lication styled  "A  Gazetteer  of  Illinois."  made  its  appearance  in  Peoria  and  its 
editor.  Dr.  J.  M.  Peck,  in  an  interesting  "local"  appearing  in  his  paper  estimated 
the  population  of  Peoria  at  that  time  as  being  in  the  neighborhood  of  from  1,200 
to  1,600.  But  there  could  not  have  been  that  many,  or  else  the  increase  was 
slow  for  the  next  ten  years,  for  the  reason  that  in  January,  1844,  when  Peoria 
was  given  its  city  charter,  there  were  only  1,619  inhabitants  of  the  place.  How- 
ever, the  next  decade  indicates  the  rapid  progress  of  the  embryo  city.  In  June, 
1855,  the  census  showed  a  sevenfold  increase,  or  11,858,  and  from  thence  on  the 
growth  in  population  presaged  the  future  important  city  of  Illinois,  each  census 
showing  an  increase,  as  follows  :  i860 — 14,045,  an  increase  of  8,950  in  ten  years  ; 
1870 — 22,849,  an  increase  for  the  decade  of  8.804;  1880 — 29,259,  an  increase 
of  6.410;  1890 — 41.024,  an  increase  of  11,765;  1900 — 56,100.  an  increase  of 
15,076;  and  in  1910 — 66,950,  an  increase  of   10,850. 

BUSINESS    PROGRESS 

From  Drown's  and  Root's  directories,  the  "Peoria  Transcript"  and  other  pub- 
lications of  the  early  days,  much  valuable  information  has  been  obtained  in  rela- 
tion to  the  progress  in  building,  business  and  wealth  of  the  new  city  of  Peoria. 
N.  C.  Geer.  publisher  of  the  "Peoria  Transcript,"  in  1859  issued  a  thirty-two  page 
pamphlet,  in  which  was  given  a  descriptive  account  of  the  city,  its  manufactories 
and  other  industries.  The  city  even  at  that  date  had  begun  to  attract  manufac- 
tories. In  1844  they  were  making  here  daguerreotypes,  threshing  machines, 
horse  powers,  corn  threshers  and  cleaners,  reaping  machines,  leather,  copper 
and  tinware,  plows,  wagons,  carriages  and  brass  and  iron  foundry  products. 
There  were  also  wholesale  concerns  dealing  in  groceries,  leather  goods,  hard- 
ware and  drugs.  By  1854  there  were  three  financial  concerns — the  Central  Bank, 
Robert  A.  Smith,  cashier,  located  on  the  corner  of  Alain  and  W^ater  streets ;  N. 
B.  Curtiss  &  Company,  on  an  opposite  corner;  and  J.  P.  Hotchkiss  &  Company, 
at  Xo.  13  Main  street.  The  sale  of  merchandise  for  the  year  was  estimated  at 
$1,855,562;  the  exports  and  imports  at  $3,127,000.  y  In  1856  the  value  of  the 
manufactories  were  estimated  to  be:  Distilleries,  $540,000;  breweries.  $25,000; 
flouring  mills,  $500,000;  foundries.  $128,000;  planing  mills.  $297,000;  agricul- 
tural implements,  $150,000;  plow  factories,  $85,000;  carriages  and  wagons, 
$125,000;  cooperage,  $138,000;  lightning  rods,  $120,000;  marble  and  stone  cut- 
ting, $36,000;  cabinet  furniture,  $75,000;  saddle  and  harness.  $36,000;  tin,  copper, 
brass,  etc.,  $28,000:  fish.  $85,000;  boatbuilding.  $40,000;  candle  and  soap  fac- 
tories. $26.600 ;  stone  and  earthenware.  $7.300 ;  and  others  not  mentioned,  bring- 
ing the  total  up  to  $3,251,000.  Real  estate  was  quoted  at  $150  to  $300  per 
front  foot  for  first  class  business  property ;  desirable  residence  lots  from  $400 
to  $3,000  each.  The  exports  and  imports  for  the  years  1856  and  1857,  amounted 
to  $9,831,000,  and  consisted  of  the  following  articles:  barley,  beer,  beeves,  broom 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  331 

corn  seed,  coal,  corn,  corn  meal,  hominy,  slarcli,  liides,  flaxseed,  clover,  timothy, 
flour,  hogs,  lumber  of  all  kinds,  millet,  oats,  jilows,  rye,  shorts,  dressed  sheep  and 
cahes,   wheat  and   whiskey. 

LOr,  BUILDINGS  DISAPPKAR 

l!y  the  year  1856  practically  every  log  building  had  disappeared  and  given 
way  to  frame  and  brick  structures.  There  were  at  that  time  about  two  thousand 
frame  and  one  thousand  brick  buildings  in  the  city.  In  1854  the  Arm  of  Walker 
&  Kellogg,  dealers  in  grain,  pork  and  other  produce,  erected  one  of  the  largest 
packing  and  grain  houses  in  the  Illinois  valley.  It  was  fjo  feet  wide  and  extended 
back  on  Elm  street  250  feet  from  the  river  bank.  It  was  one  and  a  half  stories 
liigh,  with  basement.  The  latter  was  constructed  of  brick  and  the  superstructure 
was  frame.  It  was  also  at  this  i^eriod  that  the  Peoria  Gas  Light  &  Coke  Company 
established  its  plant  at  the  foot  of  Persimmon  street,  and  had  then  about  four 
miles  of  [npe  laid  in  the  streets.  Mention  is  also  made  of  the  erection  of  a  large 
flouring  mill  by  the  firm  of  William  and  Isaac  Moore,  on  North  Fayette  street; 
also  that  Walker  &  Kellogg  had  built  a  fine  brick  structure  for  a  warehouse  just 
above  the  building  they  had  erected  the  previous  year.  It  is  also  noted  that  the 
Peoria  &  Bureau  \'alley  railroad  had  built  its  freight  depot,  engine  house,  black- 
smith shop,  machine  shop  and  round  house  at  the  foot  of  Evans  street,  where 
they  are  to  this  day.  The  two  warehouses  of  \\'alker  &  Kellogg  and  Crier  & 
McClure,  during  the  year,  handled  648,847  bushels  of  wheat;  1,475,000  Inishels 
of  corn;  340,000  bushels  of  oats;  26,625  bushels  of  rye;  26,527  bushels  of  barley, 
or  in  all,  2,517,000  bushels. 

CITV  nUII.DINGS 

The  "Mark^Liimi^e,"  which  was  situated  in  the  middle  of  Washington  street, 
between  ilain  ■and  Hamilton,  was  probably  Peoria's  first  public  building,  but 
when  it  was  erected  has  not  been  definitely  ascertained  by  a  search  of  the  records 
or  by  inquiry  among  those  who  might  have  "facts  and  figgers"  stored  away  in 
their  memories.  It  was  a  modest  structure,  however,  and  served  more  than  the 
pur|jose  for  which  it  was  originally  intended.  For  many  years  it  gave  shelter  to 
the  fire  engines  and  might  well  be  designated  as  the  first  engine  house. 

The  records  in  the  office  of  the  city  clerk  show  that  on  March  21,  1848,  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  purchase  for  $300  lot  No.  3  in  block  6,  for  a  city 
hall  and  engine  house.  That  committee  consisted  of  Dennis  Blakely,  Lewis 
Howell  and  Charles  W.  McClallan.  The  building — a  two-story  structure — was 
erected,  and  as  a  matter  of  course  the  first  floor  was  devoted  to  the  fire  company, 
and  the  cellar  was  used  as  a  calaboose.  In  the  second  story  were  the  council 
room,  police  magistrate's,  city  clerk's  and  other  offices.  In  1858  lots  were  pur- 
chased on  Madison  avenue  and  Fulton  street,  144  feet  on  the  former  and  171  on 
the  latter,  and  in  1859  a  new  city  hall  was  erected  thereon,  at  a  cost  of  $10,000. 
This  was  a  brick  structure,  with  stone  trimmings,  two  stories  in  height,  and  a 
tower  for  the  bell  60  feet  in  height.  The  engine  room  was  located  on  the  ground 
floor,  also  the  mayor's  and  police  offices,  and  in  the  rear  the  city  prison.  The 
council,  clerk,  city  engineer  and  other  city  officials  were  assigned  to  rooms  on  the 
second  story.  In  1859  a  market  house  was  built  adjoining  the  city  hall,  at  a 
cost  of  $10,000,  but  was  never  patronized  to  any  considerable  extent.  It  was 
torn  down  with  the  other  old  building  to  make  way  for  the  new  city  hall. 

PRESENT  CITY    II.\LL 

In  1898  the  present  city  hall  was  completed,  at  a  cost  of  $234,592,  and  is  one 
of  the  finest  structures  in  the  city.  It  is  four  stories  high  and  built  of  rough 
brown  stone.  A  tower  extends  up  from  the  roof,  in  which  is  hung  the  old  alarm 
bell,  formerly  used  in  the  tower  of  the  old  city  hall,  simply  for  preservation,  as 


332  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

the  telephone  and  electrical  appliances  of  the  present  day  have  superseded  the 
fire  bell  for  all  time.  On  Fulton  street,  adjoining  the  city  hall,  is  the  city  prison, 
which  was  erected  at  the  same  time. 

THE   COLISEUM 

Another  monument  to  the  progressive  ideas  of  the  citizens  of  Peoria  is  the 
magnificent  mammoth  building  at  the  corner  of  Adams  and  Hancock  streets, 
wdiich  was  completed  in  May,  1901,  and  named  The  Coliseum.  To  provide  a 
site  for  the  building  the  city  in  the  year  190x3  purchased  the  lots  for  $12,000. 
As  Peoria  became  a  popular  convention  city,  the  need  for  such  a  structure  became 
apparent  and  the  city  authorities  took  the  initiative  in  erecting  an  auditorium  suit- 
able for  the  accommodation  of  large  public  meetings,  conventions  and  other  as- 
semblages. The  Coliseum  was  inaugurated  by  the  holding  of  a  musical  festival, 
which  lasted  several  days.  As  one  enters  the  vast  interior,  which  consists  of  one 
main  audience  room,  he  sees  before  him  a  large  stage,  to  which  are  attached 
dressing  and  ante  rooms.  Along  the  main  street  wall  and  side  walls  are  gal- 
leries. The  seating  capacity  is  about  4,000.  Cost,  $59,761.65,  which  was  paid 
by  the  Peoria  Street  Railway  Company,  under  a  clause  in  its  franchise. 

THE    WORKHOUSE 

In  1878  the  city  council  and  the  county  board  of  supervisors  held  a  meeting 
and  entered  into  an  agreement  for  the  erection  of  a  workhouse,  the  cost  of 
which  was  to  be  paid  by  the  city  and  county,  jointly.  A  committee  of  six,  con- 
sisting of  three  members  from  each  body,  was  appointed  to  purchase  grounds 
and  erect  the  building.  This  joint  committee  selected  a  tract  of  land  adjoining 
the  waterworks,  consisting  of  six  and  one-fourth  acres,  upon  which  a  brick 
building,  two  stories  high,  was  erected,  and  with  the  grounds  cos.t  about  $18,000, 
of  which  the  county  paid  $8,000.  The  Imilding  and  grounds  were  occupied  on 
the  9th  day  of  April,  1879,  and  Alexander  Furst  was  placed  in  charge  as  warden. 
The  inmates  are  composed  of  that  class  of  offenders  against  the  law  found  guilty 
of  the  violation  of  the  ordinances  of  the  city,  and  other  misdemeanors.  They  are 
compelled  to  work  during  the  period  of  their  sentence  at  occupations  that  can  be 
carried  on  upon  the  grounds. 

W.-\TERWORKS 

The  water  first  used  for  culinary  purposes  by  the  settlers  of  Peoria  was  ob- 
tained from  springs  and  wooden  cisterns.  For  other  uses  the  Illinois  river  was 
depended  upon.  The  construction  of  these  wooden  cisterns  was  an  important 
adjunct  to  the  cooper's  trade,  as  can  be  seen  by  a  glance  at  the  advertisements 
in  the  newspapers  of  the  day.  They  were  made  somewhat  similar  to  a  common 
railroad  water  tank,  hooped  with  iron  and  set  into  the  ground.  To  render  the 
water  palataljle,  ice  was  used,  which  was  handled  by  the  merchants.  In  1833 
Stephen  Stillnian  devised  a  plan  to  utilize  a  spring  of  water,  which  bubbled  forth 
from  a  spot  in  front  of  what  is  now  St.  Francis  Hospital,  by  conveying  it  in 
wooden  pipes  to  the  public  square,  and  as  a  new  court  house  was  in  contemplation 
and  no  adequate  supply  of  water  nearer  than  the  river,  the  county  commissioners 
entered  into  a  contract  with  Stillnian,  granting  him  the  exclusive  right  to  conduct 
the  water  to  the  square.  The  pipes  were  made  of  logs,  bored  through  from  end 
to  end  by  hand,  which  was  the  usual  way  of  making  pump  stocks  at  that  time. 
After  the  court  house  was  completed  a  public  well  was  sunk  at  the  west  corner 
of  the  sf|uare  by  Dr.  Rudolphus  Rouse,  who  had  been  employed  by  the  county 
commissioners  for  that  purpose  and  this  well  was  in  use  for  many  years.  An 
act  of  the  legislature,  February  i,  1843,  empowered  the  "Peoria  Water  Com- 
pany" to  improve  any  spring  within  two  miles  of  the  corporate  limits.     In  the 


J. 

o    H 


tM     -r 
23       -'- 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  333 

spring  of  that  year  the  company  excavated  about  the  spring  in  the  northeast 
corner  of  section  8,  near  Spencer  street,  and  strens^nhcned  the  well  with  a  sub- 
stantial wall.  They  conducted  the  water  through  leaden  pipes  into  the  residence 
portion  of  the  city  and  business  houses  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  public  square. 
They  also  extended  the  pipes  as  far  as  Hancock  street,  between  Madison  and 
Monroe. 

At  a  session  of  the  town  trustees  in  1S44  k  was  resolved  that  a  meeting  of 
the  citizens  be  called  to  assemble  at  the  court  house  for  the  purpose  of  devising 
means  to  protect  property  from  tire.  But  no  substantial  results  transpired  from 
that  meeting,  but  by  an  act  of  the  legislature,  March  3,  1845,  the  trustees  of 
the  town  were  authorized  to  construct  a  general  system  of  waterworks  with  the 
power  to  take  any  springs  within  two  miles  of  the  corporate  limits.  Nothing, 
however,  seems  to  have  been  done  under  this  act.  At  the  March  term,  1846,  of 
the  county  commissioners'  court  William  H.  Fessenden,  Peter  Sweat  and  A.  P. 
Bartlett  were  aiipointed  a  committee  for  the  construction  of  two  cisterns  in  the 
public  square  for  tire  purposes. 

In  1857  another  offer  was  made  to  provide  the  city  with  a  sufficient  supply 
of  water.  The  "Peoria  City  Hydraulic  Company,"  with  a  capital  of  $250,000, 
was  authorized  to  construct  waterworks,  its  franchise  to  run  fifty  years.  The 
company  was  privileged  to  conduct  the  water  from  the  Illinois  river  within  two 
miles  of  the  corporate  limits  through  leaden,  iron  or  other  aqueducts  and  to  dis- 
pose of  the  water  to  con.sumers  upon  equal)le  terms;  and  that  the  profits  should 
not  exceed  fifty  per  cent  of  the  capital  stock  paid  in.  Under  the  charter  the 
property  of  the  company  was  to  be  free  from  taxation  by  the  city,  in  considera- 
tion of  which  the  city  and  the  fire  companies  were  to  have  the  water  free  of 
charge.  It  was  also  provided  that  the  city  should  have  the  right  to  purchase  the 
works  by  paying  cost  and  interest  on  the  money  expended  at  not  to  exceed 
twelve  per  cent  per  annum.  The  city  was  empowered  by  another  act  of  the 
legislature  to  issue  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $100,000  in  aid  of  the  waterworks 
company.  Tliis  movement  for  a  public  water  supply  also  came  to  naught. 
In  the  meantime  there  had  been  disastrous  fires,  the  losses  from  which  could 
not  be  prevented  for  the  lack  of  water,  so  that  protection  from  fire  became  so 
imperative  that  the  city  council  was  prompted  to  take  the  matter  into  its  own 
hands,  and  on  January  19,  1864.  a  resolution  was  adopted  by  that  body  that  a 
committee  of  three  in  connection  with  the  city  engineer  and  surveyor  be  appointed 
by  the  mayor  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  erecting  waterworks  for  the  citv, 
to  report  plans  and  probable  cost.  Pursuant  thereto  a  committee  was  selected, 
consisting  of  .Mdermen  Frederick  P.ohl,  P.  R.  K.  Brotherson  and  Patrick  W. 
Dunne,  but  before  it  had  finished  its  duties  the  city  engineer,  Mr.  Russell,  and 
.\lderman  Dunne  had  retired,  and  Isaac  Underbill  and  Michael  B.  Loughlin  sub- 
stituted as  members.  On  June  21st,  1864,  the  committee  reported  a  plan  with 
estimates  and  cost  and  recommended  that  an  amendment  of  the  city  charter 
be  procured  so  as  to  authorize  an  issue  of  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $300,000. 
An  act  to  that  effect  was  passed  by  the  legislature  and  at  an  election  held  on  the 
loth  day  of  April,  1865,  the  proposition  of  issuing  that  amount  of  bonds  was 
defeated  by  a  vast  majority.  Out  of  an  entire  vote  of  2,300,  only  203  votes  were 
cast  in  the  affirmative.  The  matter  was  again  taken  up  at  the  meeting  of  the 
council,  Feliruary  4,  i8fi8,  at  which  time  a  resolution  was  adopted  under  which 
the  mayor  appointed  a  committee  consisting  of  John  H.  Francis,  Enoch 
Emery  and  Michael  B.  Loughlin,  with  instructions  to  employ  a  suitable  engineer 
to  make  plans,  surveys  and  estimates  for  the  work  and  authority  to  visit  such 
places  as  they  might  deem  necessary  to  procure  requisite  information.  This 
committee  after  visiting  several  places,  including  Chicago  and  St.  Louis,  reported 
to  the  council  and  urged  that  body  to  pass  an  ordinance  establishing  a  system 
of  waterworks  in  the  city  of  Peoria.  The  committee's  report  and  suggestion 
were  adopted  and  an  ordinance  passed.  At  the  same  time  an  ordinance  was 
passed  creating  a   department  of  the  city  government  to  be  called  the   water- 


334  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

works  department,  which  was  to  be  under  the  direction  and  management  of  a 
committee  of  the  city  council,  to  be  composed  of  five  members  and  appointed 
by  the  mayor.  Under  the  ordinance  the  mayor  appointed  for  the  waterworks 
committee  John  H.  Francis,  Enoch  Emery,  Gardner  T.  liarker,  Samuel  A.  Kinsey 
and  Larkin  B.  Day.  Soon  thereafter  an  ordinance  was  passed  authorizing  the 
mayor  and  clerk  to  issue  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $300,000,  and  on  April  11  the 
mayor  was  authorized  to  borrow  the  money  necessary  for  the  construction  of 
the  proposed  waterworks. 

The  waterworks  committee  reported  on  May  25th  that  it  had  engaged  Joseph 
A.  Locke,  assistant  engineer  of  the  waterworks  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  to  make 
preliminarv  surveys  and  estimated  costs  of  the  undertaking,  and  that  the  en- 
gineer had  determined  that  the  cost,  exclusive  of  the  grounds,  would  amount  to 
$310,000.  This  included  a  reservoir  to  cost  $52,250,  the  same  to  be  located  on 
the  bluff  at  an  elevation  of  200  feet  from  the  river. 

After  investigating  various  systems  used  in  different  cities  the  Holly  system 
was  adopted,  not  only  for  the  reason  that  it  met  the  best  judgment  of  the  com- 
mittee, but  also  that  it  would  save  the  city  about  $100,000  in  expense.  Under  an 
ordinance  dated  July  21,  1868,  the  waterworks  were  erected  on  a  tract  of  land 
containing  eleven  acres  on  the  river  bank  at  the  foot  of  what  is  now  Grant  street, 
which  belonged  to  John  Rirket,  The  land  was  purchased  for  $2,200,  the  offer 
of  the  city,  after  some  quilibling  \vith  the  owner.  The  contract  for  the  erection 
of  buildings  was  given  to  Valentine  Jobst,  and  for  laying  the  pipes  to  Patrick 
Harmon. 

On  the  15th  of  April,  1869,  the  works  were  completed,  25^^  miles  of  water 
pipes  had  been  laid  and  200  double  fire  hydrants  set  up,  at  a  total  cost  of  $431,790. 
The  amount  realized  from  the  sale  of  bonds  was  $453,020.65.  In  1880  the  Holly 
machinery  was  discarded  and  sold  for  $1,750,  its  first  cost  having  been  about 
$40,000.  In  place  of  the  Holly  pumps  and  machinery,  Worthington  pumps 
were  substituted  at  a  cost  of  $15,130. 

Under  an  amended  and  perfected  ordinance  passed  August  5,  1890,  the  en- 
tire system  of  waterworks  belonging  to  the  citv  was  sold  to  a  company  consisting 
of  John  T.  Moffatt,  Henry  C.  Hodgkins,  John  V.  Clark  and  Charles  T.  ]\Ioffatt, 
and  as  part  of  the  consideration  the  purchasers  agreed  for  themselves  and  their 
assigns  to  take  up  and  pay  outstanding  waterworks  bonds  issued  by  the  city. 
They  then  turned  the  waterworks  over  to  the  Peoria  Water  Company,  Incor- 
porated, which  reconstructed  the  system  by  the  erection  of  new  pumping  works 
near  the  upper  bridge  and  a  reservoir  situated  on  the  bluff  three  miles  from  the 
court  house.  The  water  is  obtained  from  a  series  of  wells  sunk  near  the  river, 
is  pure,  sparkling  and  inexhaustible  in  supply.  At  the  pumping  station  are 
pumps,  whose  capacity  is  21,000,000  gallons  per  day.  The  reservoir's  capacity 
is  19,000,000  gallons. 

The  first  water  supply  from  the  new  station  was  on  December  i,  1890,  and 
the  new  company  completed  its  improvements  in  May,  1891.  Financial  com- 
plications soon  overtook  the  waterworks  company,  however,  and  to  prevent  fur- 
ther loss  a  receiver  was  appointed  January  9,  1894.  who  operated  the  plant  until 
1898,  when  it  was  purchased  by  a  syndicate  of  bondholders,  by  whom  a  new 
company  was  organized,  styled  the  "Peoria  \\'ater  Works  Company,"  which  has 
operated  the  waterworks  up  to  the  present.  Its  officers  are:  President,  Howard 
Knowles ;  vice  president,  Edwin  R.  Lancaster ;  secretary,  C.  E.  Davenport ;  treas- 
urer, D.  T.  Forbes ;  manager,  Henry  B.  Morgan ;  chief  engineer,  Robert  R.  Mar- 
tin. 

FIRE    DEP.VRTMENT 

In  the  beginning  when  things  in  the  village  of  Peoria  began  to  assume  the 
appearance  of  being  under  organized  rule,  every  man  who  controlled  a  home  or 
had  a  place  of  business,  was  required  to  have  at  hand  at  least  two  leather  fire 


u.  s.  weaiiii:k  i;i  ui-.ai    maiih.n 


1U;E    DKl'Alir.MK.N  1.   iniE    TIIlfK 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  335 

buckets.  The  inhabitants  of  the  village  were  apprised  of  a  fire  when  a  bell  was 
rung  from  one  of  the  prominent  Iniildings,  which  notified  the  "bucket  brigade" 
to  turn  out  and  subdue  the  tlanies.  The  method  of  procedure  was  for  two  lines 
of  men  with  buckets,  who  were  often  joined  by  women,  to  be  formed,  extending 
from  the  liurning  Iniilding  to  the  river.  Along  one  line  the  buckets  filled  with 
water  would  be  passed  from  one  person  to  the  other  and  when  emptied  on  the 
flames  would  again  reach  the  river  by  being  passed  down  the  other  line. 

No  regularly  organized  fire  company  was  in  existence  in  the  town  of  Peoria 
until  in  the  fall  of  1846,  when  Mayor  Charles  McClallan  and  Lewis  Howell,  as  a 
committee  of  the  council,  bought  two  fire  engines  and  hose,  at  a  cost  of  $1,200, 
which  were  shipped  to  Peoria  from  Boston,  by  way  of  New  Orleans  and  from 
the  latter  city  by  water.  These  engines  were  kept  in  the  market  house  on  Wash- 
ington street,  and  it  may  be  said  that  this  was  the  beginning  of  the  present  fire 
flepartment  of  the  city  of   Peoria. 

There  is  no  record  at  hand  from  which  it  can  be  determined  when  the  first  fire 
company  was  organized  but  it  is  known  that  the  engines  first  purchased  were 
worked  mostly  by  men  who  volunteered  their  services  and  those  called  upon  by 
the  marshal,  who  had  no  choice  in  the  matter,  and  upon  refusal  to  do  their  duty 
as  citizens  were  liable  to  be  fined.  Engine  I'ire  Company  No.  i  was  organized, 
liowever,  about  the  time  that  the  first  fire  engine  was  purchased  and  it  was  not 
until  two  years  later,  on  March  21,  1848,  that  provisions  were  made  for  a  per- 
manent engine  house,  at  which  time  lot  3  in  block  6  was  secured  for  $300,  upon 
which  an  engine  house  and  city  hall  was  built.  Here  Company  No.  i.  having 
been  reorganized,  took  up  its  quarters  and  occupied  the  first  floor  of  the  building 
until  the  completion  of  the  new  city  hall  in  1859. 

Neptune  Fire  Company  No.  2  was  organized  early  in  1847  as  Illinois  Engine 
Company  No.  2,  with  thirty-four  members.  In  1852  the  company  moved  its  en- 
gine from  the  old  market  house  to  what  was  known  as  the  Central  City  hose 
house  on  Adams  street,  lietween  Hamilton  and  Fayette.  The  company  received 
a  new  engine  in  1854,  reorganized  and  assumed  the  name  of  the  Neptune  Fire 
Company  No.  2.  The  Neptune  disbanded  in  1858  but  in  the  same  year  Young 
America  Fire  Company  No.  4,  with  sixty-six  members,  was  organized  and  given 
old  engine  No.  i.  In  the  fall  of  1858  the  council  turned  over  to  the  new  organ- 
ization old  Neptune  engine,  at  which  time  the  company's  name  was  changed  to 
Young  America  No.  2  and  moved  into  the  hall  formerly  occupied  by  the  Nep- 
tune. Young  America  No.  2  remained  in  existence  until  October  12,  1865.  In 
the  meantime  it  had  carried  off  honors  from  more  than  one  firemen's  tournament 
held  in  other  cities  of  the  country. 

Germania  Fire  Company  No.  3  came  into  existence  in  1853,  fia-ving  been 
chartered  by  the  legislature  and  received  a  charter  from  the  legislature  February 
4,  1855.  Their  first  engine  was  a  "Kufferle,"  made  in  St.  Louis,  and  the  second, 
secured  in  i860,  was  used  until  1867,  when  the  company  donated  it  to  the  city 
and  purchased  a  steam  fire  engine,  part  of  which  was  paid  for  by  the  city.  This 
company  kept  their  first  engine  in  an  old  blacksmith  shop  on  Washington  street 
until  1854,  when  they  moved  into  an  engine  house  built  by  the  city  on  the  south 
corner  of  the  alley  on  Liberty  street,  between  Adams  and  Washington  streets. 
The  upper  floor  of  this  building  was  used  for  a  long  time  by  the  Germans  as  a 
public  meeting  place.  August  Schultz  taught  a  school  in  this  upper  room  in  the 
day  time,  while  German  singing  societies  held  forth  there  at  night.  The  Germania 
also  won  a  number  of  prizes  in  tournaments. 

The  Phoenix  Hook  &  Ladder  Company  No.  i  was  organized  February  10, 
1856,  and  had  its  headf|uarters  in  a  house  on  the  alley  between  Washington  and 
Adams  streets,  near  Main. 

New  Peoria  Fire  Company  No.  4  was  organized  October  26,  1858,  with 
seventeen  members,  of  which  James  Shock  was  the  foreman.  Until  1865  they 
used  old  engine  No.  i  and  then  came  into  possession  of  the  engine  used  by  Young 
America  No.  2.    This  company  was  chartered  February  18,  1861.    The  company 


336  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

still  survives  and  still  has  the  old  hand  engine  which  on  occasion  is  shown  to 
the  public  in  parades. 

By  1867  steam  tire  engines  came  into  general  use,  when  Joseph  J.  Thomas 
was  made  chief  of  the  fire  department.  The  steamer  Central  City  was  placed 
in  the  service  May  21st  of  that  year  and  by  1874  the  department  was  pretty  well 
established.  At  that  time  the  department  was  using  the  fire  alarm  telegraph  and 
was  composed  of  Central  City  Hose  Company,  organized  in  1870;  the  Holly  Hose 
Company,  organized  in  1872 ;  a  hook  and  ladder  company ;  and  the  Germania 
Company  No.  4.  That  year  a  new  building  was  erected  in  block  9,  North  Adams 
street,  which  with  the  lot  cost  $3,490.  There  was  also  a  new  hose  house  on  the 
bluf¥,  which  with  the  lot  cost  $2,432. 

On  March  g,  1875,  the  paid  fire  department  came  into  existence  under  an 
ordinance  which  had  been  adopted  and  O.  H.  Norton  was  elected  chief.  Under 
his  administration  a  chemical  engine  was  added  to  the  department  at  a  cost  of 
$2,6cx).  The  Bluff  Hose  Company  was  organized  and  eiiuipped  with  hose  car- 
riages, horses  and  harness  at  a  cost  of  about  $i,CK)o.  Another  chemical  engine 
was  purchased  in  1876,  costing  $2,000,  and  in  1877  Chemical  Engine  Company 
No.  2  was  formed.  A  building  was  erected  for  its  use  on  a  lot  which  cost 
$1,000  and  the  building  cost  $2,162.  Horses  and  harness  brought  the  expense 
up  to  $387  more. 

The  first  members  of  Central  City  Hose  Company  were  lesse  Hammett, 
James  Smith  and  Adam  Schneider ;  Holly  Hose  Company,  Maurice  Lynch, 
Xavier  Stultzman  and  Henry  Schearer ;  Blutif  Hose  Company,  H.  J.  Clauson, 
H.  F.  Johnson  and  James  Wasson ;  Chemical  Engine  Company  No.  i,  David 
Dick,  John  Waugh,  F.  M.  Phillips ;  Engine  Company  No.  2,  ^Maurice  Lynch, 
Charles  Upton  and  Adam   Schneider. 

The  headquarters  of  Central  City  Company  was  in  a  two-story  brick  on  the 
north  side  of  Adams,  between  Hamilton  and  Fayette  streets ;  Holly  Hose  Com- 
pany in  a  two-story  brick,  west  side  of  Sanford,  between  South  Jefferson  and 
First  streets ;  Blufl:  Hose  Company  in  a  two-story  brick,  south  side  of  Main, 
between  Elizabeth  and  Douglas  streets ;  Chemical  No.  i  in  the  same  building 
with  Central  City ;  Chemical  No.  2  in  a  two-story  brick,  north  side  of  Adams, 
between  Lindell  street  and  Plank  road;  Germania  No.  4,  in  a  two-story  brick 
on  Gallatin,  between  Cedar  and  Pecan  streets. 

In  1881  a  new  hose  house  was  built  and  horses,  truck  and  harness  purchased 
at  an  aggregate  cost  of  over  $3,000.  A  new  hook  and  ladder  truck  was  added 
to  the  outfit.  In  1883  a  lot  was  purchased  near  South  street,  upon  which  a  two- 
story  brick  building  was  erected  and  an  .\hrend's  steam  fire  engine  with  horses 
was  installed.  Another  two-story  engine  house  was  erected  on  North  Adams 
street,  and  a  four-wheeled  hose  carriage  installed.  The  cost  of  the  new  engine, 
hose  carriage,  houses  and  lots  was  $10,000. 

There  was  added  to  the  department  in  1884,  a  second  size  Clapp  &  Jones' 
fire  engine,  horses  and  harness,  costing  $4,973.  There  was  also  erected  at  this 
time  a  two-story  brick  building  adjoining  the  hook  and  ladder  house,  costing 
$2,000.  In  1886  a  new  fire  engine  house  was  constructed  at  the  corner  of  San- 
ford and  West  Jefferson  streets.  As  a  large  part  of  the  work  on  this  building 
was  done  by  mechanics  of  the  department,  the  city  saved  some  money  and  for 
that  reason  the  amount  paid  in  cash  was  only  $4,120. 

In  1888  the  city  completed  what  at  the  time  was  considered  one  of  the  best 
fire  stations  in  the  country.  It  was  erected  on  Jackson  street,  between  Adams  and 
Jetferson  streets,  at  a  cost  of  $12,000,  and  was  intended  to  accommodate  a  steam 
fire  engine,  chemical  engine  and  hose  cart.  At  about  this  time  also  a  first  class 
Button  steam  fire  engine  was  placed  in  the  hose  house  on  Jefiferson  street. 

After  the  transfer  of  the  waterworks  from  the  city  to  a  private  corporation, 
some  changes  took  place  in  the  fire  department.  The  old  mains  of  the  com- 
pany had  been  discontinued  and  in  191 2  the  department  consisted  of  the  follow- 
ing:   Hose   Company    No.    i,   203    Jackson   street;    Hose   Company    No.    2.   300 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  ;J37 

Prairie  avenue;  Hose  Company  No.  3,  one  combination  automobile  apparatus, 
and  one  combination  automobile  pump  and  hose  apparatus,  151 5  Main  street; 
Hose  Company  Xo.  4,  1521  South  Adams  street;  Hose  Company  No.  5,  1324 
North  Adams  street;  Hose  Company  No.  6,  2108  South  Adams  street;  Hose 
Company  No.  7,  620  Knoxville  avenue ;  Hose  Company  No.  8,  Smith  and  Webster 
streets;  Chemical  Company  No.  i,  Wisconsin  and  Kansas  avenues;  Combination 
Company  No.  i,  Starr  and  Chandler  streets;  Combination  Company  No.  2, 
Jackson  street;  Hook  and  Ladder  Company  No.  i,  205  Jackson  street;  Hook 
and  Ladder  Company  No.  2,  300  Prairie  avenue;  Hook  and  Ladder  Company 
No.  3,  1523  South  Adams  street;  Steamer  Company  No.  i,  620  Knoxville  avenue; 
Steamer  Company  No.  2,  300  Prairie  avenue.  There  are  at  the  present  writing, 
in  the  service,  two  second  size  steam  fire  engines,  two  combination  chemical  and 
hose  wagons,  two  city  service  hook  and  ladder  trucks,  one  eighty-five  foot  aerial 
extension  truck,  one  doui)le  eighty-gallon  chemical  engine,  eight  two-horse  hose 
wagons,  twelve  portable  hand  chemicals  and  two  portable  hand  pumps,  com- 
bination hand  engine,  two-wheeled  hand  hose  cart  and  four-wheeled  hand  hose 
carriage.  In  reserve  the  department  has  one  first  class  Button  steam  fire  engine, 
two  two-horse  hose  carriages,  one  city  service  hook  and  ladder  truck,  one  chief's 
wagon  and  buggies  for  the  chief  and  his  assistants.  There  are  forty  horses  and 
two  automobile  fire  apparatuses. 

The  fire  marshal's  salary  is  $1,800  per  year;  first  assistant,  $1,440;  second 
assistant.  $1,350;  secretary,  $300;  captains.  $990;  engineers,  $1,080;  pipemen. 
hosemen.  tillermen,  truckmen,  $900;  nine  relief  men.  $900;  four  relief  men, 
first  year,  $840.  The  force  of  the  department  at  the  jiresent  time  numbers 
eighty-two  men. 

O.  H.  Lawton  was  the  first  chief  of  the  fire  department  and  the  present  one 
is  Thomas  N.   ^^'orm. 

THE    POLICE   DEPARTMENT 

In  igii.  under  the  direction  of  the  superintendent  of  police,  William  W. 
Rhoades,  a  beautifully  illustrated  history  of  the  police  department  was  published. 
Howard  P>artling  compiled  the  data  and  his  work  was  well  done,  as  is  shown 
in  liis  article,  reproduced  here  by  permission. 

It  has  been  almost  impossible  to  obtain  any  record  of  the  names  of  those 
brave  and  fearless  men  who  enforced  law  and  order  in  the  days  of  the  early 
settlement  in  Peoria,  but  there  are  numerous  incidents  handed  down  from  father 
to  son  telling  of  the  courageous  deeds  of  our  pioneer  police  in  the  days  of  old 
Fort    Clark. 

\n  those  periods  a  jail  for  the  incarceration  of  criminals  was  not  thought  of. 
In  the  first  place  the  vengeance  of  the  law  was  swift  and  sure.  No  tedious  de- 
lays, such  as  are  now  afforded  by  our  modern  methods  of  law,  then  clogged  the 
wheels  of  justice.  The  trials  were  short,  for  our  forefathers  were  usually  sure 
of  tlicir  man  before  arresting  him  and  he  was  not  fed  for  months  at  the  expense 
of  the  community,  but  was  adjudged  .guilty,  if  so,  and  speedily  punished.  It 
must  lie  conceded  that  criminals  were  not  as  numerous  in  those  days  as  they  are 
at  the  present  time.  This  can  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that  the  settlements  were 
not  thicklv  jiopulated  and  were  composed  of  sturdy  and  honest  men  with  tiieir 
families. 

The  trials  and  tribulations  of  the  settlers  were  Indians,  and  it  was  not  until 
1834  that  the  town  marshal  advised  the  people  crime  had  increased  to  such  an 
alarming  extent  that  a  jail  was  imperative.  Peoria  had  been  rapidly  increasing 
in  population  and  naturally  the  criminal  was  attracted. 

The  jail  was  built  of  squared  logs  and  was  situated  in  the  alley  between 
Hamilton,  Perry,  Monroe  and  ^lain  streets.  It  was  sixteen  feet  square,  seven- 
teen  feet  high,   with   walls  of   three   rows   of  logs,  each   twenty-four   inches   in 

diameter.     There  was  a  hole  in  the  top,  covered  by  a  trap  door.     Ingress  was 
Vol.  1—22 


338  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

obtained  by  hoisting  the  criminal  to  the  hole  and  gently  dropping  him  to  the 
bottom  of  the  interior,  where  he  usually  remained,  blinking  in  an  alarming 
and  surprising  manner  at  the  twenty-four  inch  thick  layer  of  logs,  vainly  es- 
timating the  time  it  would  require  to  chew  his  way  out  and  silently  cursing 
his  fate  that  he  had  not  been  born  a  "wood-pecker." 

Only  one  man  ever  escaped  from  this  oak  bastile  and  he  evidently  was  made 
of  India  rubber,  for,  by  some  elastic  method  he  reached  the  sills  of  the  chucking 
hole  overhead  and  bounced  joyously  over  terra  firma  to  liberty.  The  peculiar 
circumstances  attached  to  this  affair  was  the  fact  that  the  jailer  failed  to  buckle 
down  the  trap  door  over  the  hole,  and  the  wise  old  citizens  of  those  days  silently 
rubbed  their  forefingers  against  the  side  of  their  noses,  gravely  figuring  how  big 
a  majority  they  would  pile  up  against  the  jailer  providing  he  again  ran  for  office. 
]\Iany,  however,  took  issue  with  the  anti-jailer  crowd,  offering  evidence  of  the 
escaped  man's  resourcefulness  by  pointing  to  his  crime.  It  appears  he  was  ar- 
rested for  purloining  an  entire  blacksmith  shop — not  exactly  the  entire  shop, 
however,  because  he  had  carried  aw^ay  the  hammers,  anvils,  and  everything  ex- 
cepting the  forge,  which  was  extremely  unfortunate,  for  the  reason  that  he  was 
arrested  when  he  had  returned  to  make  a  clean  sweep,  preparatory  to  putting 
the  place  in  shape  for  a  "For  Rent"  placard. 

That  escape  had  an  excellent  effect  on  all  "keepers  of  the  oak  bastile,"  for 
never  again  was  it  repeated. 

The  town  was  rapidly  assuming  dignity  and  the  fact  that  it  was  the  county 
seat  of  Peoria  county  made  it  necessary  to  have  a  more  pretentious  structure  for 
housing  criminals,  so  it  was  decided  to  build  a  commodious  building  which  could 
be  used  by  both  the  town  and  county  and  in  1849  they  erected  the  building  stand- 
ing on  Eaton  and  Washington  streets  and  now  occupied  by  a  pickle  concern.  A 
two-story  brick  dwelling  was  built  in  front  of  the  jail  and  was  known  as  the 
"Sheriff's  Mansion"  of  Peoria  county,  which  for  style  and  elegance  far  surpassed 
any  similar  structure  in  the  state.  It  stands  today  in  the  heart  of  the  lurid  hued 
district  and  is  occupied  by  negroes. 

The  jail  was  used  for  many  years  until  the  city  of  Peoria  built  its  first  city 
hall  on  Fulton  street,  between  Jeff'erson  and  Madison,  on  the  corner  of  the  alley 
where  it  now  stands. 

The  jail  then  was  immediately  in  the  rear,  just  about  where  it  is  at  the  present 
time,  and  the  police  court  in  those  days  was  located  on  the  second  floor  of  a  build- 
ing across  the  alley.  There  was  a  bridge  built  across  the  alley  on  the  second  floor 
of  the  jail,  connecting  the  city  hall  and  the  police  court  and  every  morning  the 
prisoners  were  marched  over  this  "bridge  of  sighs"  to  tremblingly  face  the 
honorable  head  of  the  police  court.  This  building  was  used  until  1897,  when, 
during  the  administration  of  John  Warner,  the  present  city  hall  was  erected. 
The  present  jail,  police  court  headquarters,  and,  in  fact,  the  entire  department  is 
practically  under  one  cover,  as  is  proper,  and  there  is  not  another  city  the  same 
size  of  Peoria,  that  can  boast  of  a  more  modern  jail. 

The  first  murder  trial  which  ever  took  place  in  Peoria,  occurred  on  the  14th 
day  of  November,  1825,  before  the  first  circuit  court  ever  held  in  the  county. 
The  accused  was  an  Indian  named  Nomaque,  who  was  tried  for  the  murder  of 
a  Frenchman.  He  was  found  guilty  and  sentenced  to  suft'er  death  but  in  some 
manner  the  supreme  court  reversed  the  finding  of  the  lower  court  and  granted 
him  a  new  trial.  At  that  time  the  Peorians  had  no  jail  and  as  the  guarding  and 
feeding  of  the  murderer  was  too  tiresome  and  expensive  they  held  a  consultation 
and  decided  that  they  would  punish  the  fellow  by  forming  a  double  line  of  the 
citizens  and  start  the  Indian  "down  the  line."  As  he  passed,  each  citizen  was  to 
have  the  privilege  of  bestowing  an  effectual  "boot"  upon  that  section  of  the 
Indian's  anatomy  which  it  seems  was  created  for  that  particular  purpose.  Pointed 
toes  were  not  then  in  vogue,  but  it  is  recorded  that  the  highly  incensed  citizens 
took  other  measures  which  were  as  keenly  felt.  One  remarkable  feature  of  the 
Indian's  trial  was  the  fact  that  he  was  represented  by  a  son  of  the  celebrated 
Alexander  Hamilton. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  339 

The  next  murder  which  created  a  great  deal  of  excitement  was  that  of  a 
drunken  man  who  was  shot  by  a  sentinel  employed  by  a  citizen  named  Bogardus. 
Bogardus,  when  in  his  customary  drunken  condition,  always  labored  under  the 
hallucination  that  any  one  who  approached  his  home,  did  so  for  the  purjjose  of 
either  killing  or  robbing  him,  therefore  he  employed  an  army  deserter  named 
Seeds,  to  act  in  the  capacity  of  "sentinel"  or  "guard."  Bogardus  gave  this  man 
explicit  instructions  to  shoot  any  person  who  approached  his  house  and  failed 
to  give  the  necessary  "countersign."  The  unfortunate  man  while  under  the  influ- 
ence of  early  Peoria  Rye,  staggered  in  close  proximity  to  the  guard  and  in  a 
condition  which  prevented  him  from  being  able  to  distinguish  "countersigns" 
from  any  other  particular  signs,  he  maudlingly  related  his  ignorance  to  the  senti- 
nel, who  promptly  followed  the  instructions  given  by  his  lord  and  master,'  by 
neatly  boring  the  unfortunate  "tres])asser."  This  occurred  before  the  town  pos- 
sessed a  jail  and  again  another  murderer  escaped  paying  the  penalty  of  his  act. 
Bogardus'  reputation  was  unsavory,  as  he  had  a  record  for  being  somewhat  of 
a  tighter,  troublemaker  and  inciter  of  wrangles. 

There  were  numerous  town  marshals  in  Peoria,  but  it  was  in  1837  that  we 
find  the  first  record  of  a  "town  chief"  being  selected.  This  was  John  B.  Lishk, 
who  was  appointed  in  that  year  by  George  F.  Parker,  who  was  president  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  town  of  Peoria.  Chief  Lishk's  experience  was  for  a 
brief  duration  of  one  year. 

The  following  men  afterwards  served  and  were  appointed  by  the  mayors, 
whose  names  are  also  given : 

1838 — Edward  F.  Nowland,  appointed  by  President  Rudolphus  Rouse. 

1839 — Edward  F.  Nowland,  reappointed  by  President  Rouse. 

1840 — Jacob  Silzell,  appointed  by  President  Rouse. 

1841 — George  Divelbiss,  appointed  by  President  Peter  Sweat. 

1842 — George  Divelbiss,  reappointed  by  President  Sweat. 

1843 — Thomas  Bryant,  appointed  by  President  John  King. 

1844 — John  Brown  appointed  by  President  Halsey  O.  ^lerriman. 

In  1845  Peoria  selected  its  first  mayor,  who  immediately  appointed  an  oflicial 
known  as  chief  of  police. 

1845 — Daniel  E.  Oakley,  appointed  by  Mayor  William  Hale. 

1846 — Daniel  E.  Oakley,  reappointed  by  Mayor  Charles  T.  Stearns. 

1847 — Daniel  E.  Oakley,  again  reappointed  by  Mayor  William  Mitchell. 

1848 — John  E.  Carter,  apjiointed  by  Mayor  William  Mitchell. 

1849 — Henry  Hahn,  ajiijointed  by  Mayor  Jacob  Gale. 

1850 — Henry  Hahn,  reappointed  by  Alayor  Dennis  Blakely. 

185 1 — Wallace  Law,  appointed  by  Mayor  George  C.  Bestor. 

1852 — Dennis  Hays,  appointed  by  Mayor  Jonathan  K.  Cooper. 

1853 — Dennis  Hays,  reappointed  by  Mayor  George  C.  Bestor,  who  was  again 
elected. 

1854 — John  C.  Heyle.  appointed  by  Mayor  George  C.  Bestor. 

1855 — Alfred  R.  Kidwell,  apjiointed  by  Mayor  Charles  Ballance. 

1856 — Andrew  Bowman,  appointed  by  Mayor  Gardner  T.   Barker. 

1857 — Andrew  Bowman,  reappointed  by  Mayor  Barker. 

185S — Stephen  \V.  Roszell.  appointed  by  Mayor  William  R.  Hamilton. 

1859 — John  W'etzel,  appointed  by  Mayor  Hamilton. 

i860 — George  W.  Campbell,  appointed  by  Mayor  John  D.  .Arnold. 

1861 — George  W.  Campbell,  reappointed  by  Mayor  William  A.  Willard. 

1862 — Hiram  H.   Pierce,  appointed  by  Mayor  Gardner  T.  Barker. 

1863 — Hiram  H.  Pierce,  reappointed  by  Mayor  Matthew  W^  McRevnolds. 

1865 — Frank  J.  A^onachen,  apj)ointed  by  Mayor  Henry  T.  Baldwin. 

1866— Frank  J.  \'onachen,  reajipointed  by  ^^ayor  Baldwin. 

1867 — Theopholus  .Schaerer.  ap|)ointed  bv  flavor  Philij)  Bender. 

1868 — Theopholus  Schaerer.  reappointed  by  ]\Iayor  Peter  R.  K.  Brotherson. 

1869 — Thomas  Lynch,  appointed  by  Mayor  Brotherson. 


340  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

In  1870,  the  first  superintendent  of  police  was  created  in  the  person  of  John 
^^.  Guill.     He  was  succeeded  in  1873  by  Samuel  L.  Gill. 

Peoria  had  spread  considerably  in  area  in  the  direction  of  north  and  south 
by  this  i)eriod,  and  when  John  W.  Kimsey  was  made  superintendent  of  police 
in  1876,  he  caused  the  old  N'o.  4  engine  house  on  Meyer  avenue  to  be  converted 
into  a  sub-station  to  take  care  of  the  southern  portion  of  the  town.  There  were 
no  telephones  in  use  then,  nor  did  the  city  possess  a  patrol  wagon.  If  one  of  the 
officers  was  fortunate  in  making  an  arrest  and  the  offender  was  in  a  condition 
which  prevented  him  walking  to  the  police  station,  the  officer,  under  the  law, 
had  authority  to  press  any  convenient  wagon  into  service  for  the  purpose  of 
hauling  the  prisoner  to  the  nearest  station.  The  city  was  required  to  pay  the 
expressman  fifty  cents  for  each  and  every  prisoner  hauled.  It  is  rumored  that 
a  certain  expressman  invariably  drove  behind  one  of  the  policemen  whenever  he 
walked  his  beat  so  that  he  would  be  pressed  into  service  in  the  event  an  arrest 
was  made.  There  is  no  record  that  the  expressman  ever  became  enormously 
wealthy  from  his  efforts  to  always  be  on  the  "job." 

Superintendent  Kimsey  officially  named  the  engine  house  "Lower  Station" 
and  placed  a  night  captain  in  charge  from  6  P.  ]\1.  until  6  A.  ;\1.  and  an  assistant 
from  6  A.  AI.  until  6  P.  M.  His  captain  in  charge  of  the  lower  station  was 
Charles  Camp,  and  the  night  captain  at  police  headquarters  was  H.  C.  Lincoln. 
Superintendent  Kimsey  also  introduced  crossing  policemen  in  the  persons  of 
Henry  Pringle,  Leonard  Sommers  and  James  H.  ]\Iurphy. 

In  1878.  Alayor  John  Warner  appointed  Alartin  C.  Dailey  superintendent  of 
police  and  made  Elijah  C.  McWhirter  night  captain.  These  men  continued  to 
handle  the  department  until  1882,  when  Mayor  Frank  Hitchcock  was  elected. 
He  appointed  John  Minor  (the  father  of  our  present  sheriff),  superintendent, 
w^ith  John  Hill  night  captain. 

1884  and  18S5  again  saw  John  \\'arner  at  the  head  of  the  municipality  and 
he  immediately  discharged  Hitchcock's  selections  and  reappointed  his  old  friend 
Martin  Dailey,  with  McWhirter  again  as  night  captain. 

During  Mayor  Kinsey's  administration  the  horse  patrol  wagon  was  intro- 
duced. It  was  drawn  by  one  horse  and  was  without  a  cover  or  screen  to  hide  the 
occupant  from  the  view  of  a  curious  public.  Despite  the  criticisms,  it  con- 
tinued to  be  "an  open  affair"  until  John  King's  remonstrance  was  heeded  in  1896. 
when  a  closed  wagon  was  put  into  use. 

Mayor  Kinsey's  election  in  1886  caused  new  faces  to  adorn  police  headc|uarters 
and  new  rules  and  equipments.  His  selection  for  superintendent  of  police  was 
Henry  C.  Lincoln,  who  had  served  as  night  captain  under  former  superintendent 
Kimsey  in  1876.     William  F.  Selby  was  appointed  night  captain. 

The  police  patrol  box  was  also  introduced  during  that  administration,  which 
caused  the  good  people  to  believe  that  the  highest  pinnacle  of  progress  had  been 
attained. 

In  1888  the  irrepressible  John  Warner  again  became  mayor.  Since  it  was 
out  of  his  province  to  again  appoint  Martin  Dailey  superintendent  of  police,  he 
selected  in  his  stead,  Thomas  N.  Gorman,  with  .Andrew  J.  Mooney  night  captain. 
Gorman  is  now  a  member  of  the  state  legislature  and  a  power  in  Illinois  politics. 

Charles  C.  Clarke  was  elected  mayor  in  1891  and  his  choice  for  head  of  the 
department  was  Charles  F.  Flynn.  Flynn's  night  captain  was  Charles  A.  W. 
Fash,  who  afterward  became  chief.  Mrs.  Albina  Barrett  is  the  first  matron  of 
whom  we  can  find  a  record.     She  served  under  Chief  Flynn. 

When  Mayor  Clarke  was  reelected  in  i8q2,  he  appointed  Thomas  P.  Hawden 
superintendent;  John  A.  .Arnold,  night  cantain  :  .Andrew  J.  Alooney,  chief  of  de- 
tectives ;  Charles  P.  Sloan,  sergeant  and  Mrs.  Emma  P.  Wonder,  matron. 

The  next  man  to  head  the  department  was  Charles  Fash,  who  had  served 
as  captain  under  superintendent  Flynn.  He  immediately  appointed  S.  O.  Tripp, 
captain,  and  made  ex-superintendent  of  police,  Charles  Flynn.  the  chief  of  de- 
tectives. Sergeant  Sloan  still  retained  his  position,  as  did  Airs.  Wonder,  the 
matron. 


A    SI   11  IMI.U  !•:    SIATlilX    I'SKI)    IX    IsTS 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  341 

The  force  remained  practically  the  same,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  minor 
changes  in  the  captaincies,  until  1898.  when  John  \V.  White  was  made  superinten- 
dent, with  Frank  Kleinhenz  captain.     The  sergeant  was  Charles  Sloan. 

In  lyoo  Charles  F.  Flynn  was  again  appointed  superintendent;  Joseph  Amlong, 
sergeant;  D.  A.  Mclnnis,  sergeant;  llomnier  ]\Iahannah.  sergeant;  and  Tom 
Doty,  night  sergeant.  Doty  is  now  on  the  force  in  the  capacity  of  patrolman. 
.Mrs.  Emma  1\  Wonder  was  again  appointed  matron  to  succeed  Mrs.  Barrett. 

In  1902  Edward  AI.  Kennedy  was  appointed  superintendent,  assisted  by 
Captain  Michael  D.  Hurley.  John  J.  Welsh  was  made  lieutenant;  Frank  Bar- 
thell,  sergeant ;  Thomas  Powers,  sergeant  and  Tom  Doty  again  appointed  night 
sergeant.  Tom  Powers  remains  on  the  force  and  is  doing  duty  as  crossing  po- 
liceman at  Jefferson  and  Main  streets.     The  police  matron  was  Mrs.  Helen  F. 

1903  saw  Mayor  Woodruff's  first  term  as  mayor.  He  ap|M)inted  William  W. 
Rhoades  superintendent.  The  present  captain,  Gustave  I'.reymeier,  held  the  same 
position  then  that  he  does  now.  The  lieutenant  was  Frank  Lichtweis.  I'arthell 
and  Welsh  were  sergeants,  with  Charles  Stevens,  night  sergeant,  to  succeed  Doty. 
Mrs.  Anna  Stoufter  was  matron. 

Edward  M.  Kennedy  was  again  appointed  superintendent  in  1905.  The 
present  day  detective,  Charles  Wilson,  was  the  captain  under  Chief  Kennedy; 
.Merritt  B.  Palmer,  lieutenant;  sergeants  were  Welsh.  Stephens  and  Lee  Chase. 
.Mrs.  King  was  again  appointed  matron. 

Kennedy  served  until  1906,  when  he  resigned  and  Charles  \\"ilson  was  ap- 
pointed superintendent  of  police.  Sergeant  Welsh  was  promoted  to  captain 
and  James  Halpin.  the  present  secretary,  to  Superintendent  Rhoades.  was  ap- 
pointed lieutenant.    Charles  Smith  succeeded  Welsh  as  sergeant. 

In  1907  John  F.  Kiernan  was  appointed  the  head  of  the  department;  Welsh 
c'lntinued  as  cajJtain,  as  did  James  Halpin  as  lieutenant.  Austin  Kirby  and 
Robert  McConnell  were  made  sergeants.  Mrs.  Mabel  \\'riL;bt  was  appointed 
matron. 

When  Mayor  Woodruff'  was  again  selected  to  head  the  city  administrntion, 
he  appointed  the  men  who  now  serve  in  their  several  capacities,  and  when  tlie 
civil  service  law  went  into  effect  they  were  all  selected  and  reappointed. 

\'ast  improvements  have  taken  place  since  the  first  patrol  wagon  was  pur- 
'.hased.  The  telephone,  police  alarm  boxes  and  other  modern  methods  have  been 
placed  in  use  and  recently  the  city  installed  the  most  complete  police  signal  aiul 
.ilarm  boxes  which  have  ever  been  installed  in  any  city.  The  operators  at  bead- 
quarters  can  signal  to  any  officer  on  any  beat  in  the  entire  city,  lioth  by  the  auto- 
matic ringing  of  a  gong  and  the  automatic  flash  of  a  bull's-eye  signal  lamp  wliirli 
are  attached  to  each  l)ox.  At  nights,  in  case  of  emergency,  both  the  gong  and 
lights  are  used  simultaneously.  This  wonderful  invention  gives  the  chief  or 
captain  power  to  call  a  policeman  on  any  beat  within  a  few  minutes  after  a  rob- 
bery in  his  vicinity  has  been  reported. 

In  IQ12,  a  combination  automobile  patrol  wagon  and  rinibulance  was  added  to 
the  ijaraphernalia  of  the  de|)artnient  and  is  meeting  with  ;dl  tlie  rec|uirenicnt^ 
anticipated. 

r;.\S   .\XD   EI.ECTIUl'    LinilT 

The  Peoria  Gas  Light  &  Coke  Com]xuiy  was  organized  early  in  1853,  and  on 
February  12th  of  that  year  was  granted  a  charter  by  the  legislature.  The  incor- 
porators were  Hugh  J.  Sweeney,  Peter  Sweat,  George  C.  I>estor,  Henry  Grove 
and  William  S.  Moss.  The  company  at  once  erected  a  plant  at  the  foot  of 
Persimmon  street,  and  on  September  15,  1833,  entered  into  a  contract  wilh  the 
citv  for  the  lighting  of  the  streets.  This  company  had  no  opi)osition  until  llie 
organization  of  the  Peojile's  Gas  iS:  Electric  Companv.  which  was  chartered  March 
21,  1899,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $500,000.  Its  franchise  ran  for  ninety-nine  years 


342  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

and  chief  among  the  stockholders  were  Sumner  R.  Clark,  Frank  T.  Corning, 
Charles  C.  Clark,  George  H.  Littlewood,  Chauncey  D.  Clark,  Fred  Luthy,  H. 
Sandmeyer,  Sr.,  B.  Warren,  Jr.,  O.  J.  Bailey,  Philo  B.  Miles  and  T.  J.  Miller.  The 
company  built  its  works  near  those  of  the  other  company,  laid  their  mains  and  at 
once  entered  into  strong  competition  with  the  Peoria  Gas  Pight  &  Coke  Company, 
which  at  once  lowered  the  price  of  its  product,  and  started  a  merry  war  between 
the  two  concerns.  This  as  a  matter  of  course  occasioned  loss  to  them  both  and  it 
only  became  a  question  of  time  as  to  which  one  should  succumb  to  the  other.  A 
process  of  absorption  by  the  Peoria  Gas  &  Electric  Company,  the  name  assumed 
by  the  People's  Gas  &  Electric  Company  in  February,  1900,  by  acquisition  of  the 
stock  of  the  former  company,  finally  was  accomplished  and  in  1904  the  two 
companies  were  consolidated  under  the  name  and  title  of  the  Peoria  Gas  Light  & 
Coke  Company. 

About  the  year  1884,  electricity  was  introduced  into  the  city  of  Peoria.     Pre- 
vious to  this,  on  November  8,  1883,  a  franchise  was  granted  the  Jenny  Electric 
Light  &  Power  Company  to  set  poles  and  string  wires  in  and  along  the  streets  of 
the  city,  after  which  the  company  established  an  electric  lighting  plant,  and  in 
November,  1885,  completed  a  contract  with  the  city  for  the  lighting  of  its  streets 
for  a  period  of  five  years.     This  move  displaced  the  Peoria  Gas  Light  &  Coke 
Company  in  furnishing  lights  to  the  city  and  it  was  required  to  remove  all  its 
lamps  from  the  streets  and  was' the  beginning  of  the  end  of  the  use  of  gas  upon 
the  public  thoroughfares.     On  the  expiration  of  its  contract,  the  Jenny  Electric 
Light  &  Power  Company  was  successful  in  securing  another  contract  with  the 
city  for  the  same  length  of  time  to  light  the  streets  with  electricity.     Two  years 
thereafter  its  name  was  changed  to  the  Peoria  General  Electric  Company,  which 
company  continued  to  light  the  streets  until  the  end  of  the  year  1900,  when  the 
plant  was  sold  to  the   Peoria  Gas  &  Electric  Company,  which   some  time  pre- 
viously had  been  organized.    This  company  then  secured  a  contract  from  the  city 
for  lighting  the  streets  and  has  been  so  employed  to  the  present  time.     In  1906 
the  Peoria  Gas  &  Electric  Company  was  granted  an  extension  of  its  electric  fran- 
chise for  a  period  of  twenty-five  years,  which  begins  in  1920,  or  in  other  words, 
the  original  franchise  was  extended  from  a  period  of  fifteen  years  to  forty  years. 
The  Peoria  Gas  Light  &  Electric  Company  has  made  a  number  of  important 
changes  for  the  betterment  of  its  service  in  the  last  few  years.    In  1908,  it  placed 
all  its  wires  in  the  downtown  district  under  ground  and  in  191 1,  through  an  ar- 
rangement between  the  company,  the  business  men  and  the  city,  the  boulevard 
system  of  lighting  the  business  section  was  inaugurated.    The  first  installation  of 
ornamental  posts  was  on  Adams  street"  from  Main  to  Bridge,  and  at  the  present 
time  there  are  now  about  two  hundred  five-glolie  ornamental  boulevard  standards, 
which  not  only  illuminate  the  streets  and  the  buildings  i^rofusely,  but  add  very 
materially  to  the  beautihcation  of  that  section  of  the  city. 

Another  improvement  of  no  mean  importance  and  convenience  to  consumers 
was  the  public  steam  heating  system  recently  installed  by  the  company  in  the 
downtown  district.  The  mains  extend  from  Bryan  street  to  Oak  and  from  Water 
to  Monroe.  Many  private  homes  and  business  houses  are  furnished  heat  from  the 
central  plant  and  the  city  hall  and  other  public  buildings  are  also  patrons  of  the 
company.  The  modern,'  sky-scraper  office  building,  the  Jefferson,  and  the  new 
Jefiferson  hotel  receive  their  heat  from  the  company. 

The  electric  plants  belonging  to  the  company  are  at  the  foot  of  Liberty  street 
and  the  gas  plants  at  the  foot  of  Persimmon  street.  Gas  is  furnished  for  all 
purposes  at  ninety  cents  per  thousand  and  there  are  now  about  20,000  consumers. 
The  officials  of  the  company  are:  B.  C.  Cobb,  president;  W.  H.  Barthold,  vice- 
president;  E.  E.  Corken,  secretary;  A.  P.  Colvin,  treasurer;  R.  S.  Wallace,  vice- 
president  and  general  manager. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  343 

SEWERAGE   SYSTEM 

A  general  system  of  sewerage  was  adopted  by  the  city  in  1900.  Prior  to  this 
the  liquid  refuse  had  been  run  off  in  underground  drains  or  sewers  in  certain 
sections  as  the  occasion  demanded  and,  ui)on  determined  appeals  of  citizens  inter- 
ested, the  first  important  one  was  a  dec])  sewer  constructed  in  the  west  part  of 
the  city,  and  having  its  main  outlet  at  Oak  street.  There  were  other  local  sewers 
constructed  in  that  portion  of  the  city  between  Main  and  Bridge  streets ;  but  it 
was  not  until  the  year  first  above  mentioned  that  this  necessary  convenience  and 
public  work  was  systematized.  Since  then  the  greater  part  of  the  city  has  been 
drained  and  given  outlets  for  its  refuse  matter.  The  city  is  divided  into  sewerage 
districts,  which  bear  the  name  of  the  streets  in  which  the  mains  are  constructed, 
such  as  the  Carolina  street  district,  the  Main  street  district,  the  Jackson  street 
district,  etc.  Most  of  the  sewers  are  constructed  of  vitrified  pipes,  ranging  in 
diameter  from  si.x  inches  to  twenty  inches.  Many  miles  of  sewers  are  made 
of  brick,  circular  in  form,  which  range  from  twenty-four  to  eighty-eiglit  inches 
in  diameter.  There  are  also  egg-shaped  brick  sewers,  from  one  and  one-half 
feet  to  five  feet  in  diameter.  Some  of  these  sewers  are  very  deep.  In  1912  the 
number  of  miles  of  sewers  in  Peoria  was  estimated  to  he  ninety. 

STREETS  .\N1)   SII>EW.\LKS 

For  many  years  the  streets  of  Peoria  were  "worked"  at  intervals  pretty  much 
as  the  comitry  roads  are  kept  up  (  ? )  at  the  present  time.  As  traffic  increased, 
the  necessity  for  harder  and  firmer  thoroughfares  became  apparent  and  gravel 
was  used  to  some  extent.  This  material  did  not  meet  the  requirements  and  the 
next  step  toward  modern  steel  pavfhg  was  broken  stone  with  a  layer  of  gravel 
on  top.  A  street  treated  in  this  way  was  said  to  be  macadamized.  Main  street 
was  eventually  macadamized,  while  cedar  blocks  were  laid  on  North  Adams  and 
other  streets  were  laid  with  cobble  stones.  Washington  street,  from  Alain  to 
Locust,  was  paved  with  granite  blocks,  but  none  of  these  materials  gave  general 
satisfaction.  Then  about  the  year  1885,  vitrified  brick  was  tried,  first  on  Ham- 
ilton, between  Adams  and  Monroe,  and  at  last  the  "long  felt  want"  was  appeased. 
The  first  asphalt  paving  was  done  in  i8gi,  Moss  avenue  being  chosen  for  the 
first  experiment.  Since  that  time  several  miles  of  this  material  have  been  laid 
in  Peoria.  There  were  no  fast  mails  in  those  days  and  a  letter  cost  twenty-five 
one  homogeneous  mass  by  a  filling  of  tar,  has  been  laid  for  several  blocks  on  Adams 
street  and  now  it  seems  that  the  favorite  material  for  paving  is  brick,  asphalt  and 
cedar  block.  In  1912  about  half  of  Peoria's  175  miles  of  streets  were  paved  with 
one  or  the  other  of  the  materials  last  mentioned 

The  first  sidewalks  laid  in  Peoria  were  made  of  planks,  which  later  gave 
way  to  the  brick  walk.  For  a  long  time  nothing,  excepting  stone,  was  considered 
equal  to  brick  for  sidewalk,  but  now  the  brick  w'alk  is  being  discountenanced  and 
the  stone  walk  with  it.  Cement  stands  supreme  and  the  concrete  walk  is  not  only 
chosen  for  its  durability  but  also  for  many  others  of  its  virtues  and  today  the 
city,  in  all  probability,  has  at  least  150  miles  of  walks. 

THE  POSTOFFICE 

Manv  changes  have  taken  place  since  the  establishmetU  of  the  first  postoffice 
in  Peoria.  Recently  cedar  blocks,  laid  on  a  solid  cement  foundation  and  made 
cents  for  carriage  and  delivery,  the  recipient  usually  being  the  one  to  pay  for  his 
fetters. 

The  postoffice  at  Peoria  was  established  in  1825,  within  a  few  days  after  the 
organization  of  the  coutUy,  and  on  .^pril  qth  of  the  year,  James  Adams  was  com- 
missioned as  Peoria's  first  postmaster.  Soon  thereafter,  John  Dixon  obtained  a 
contract  to  carry  the  mail  from  Peoria  to  Galena  and  made  the  trip  between  the 


344  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

two  points  once  every  two  weeks.  He  traveled  at  times  on  horsebact:  and  oft- 
times  on  foot,  by  way  of  the  trail  between  this  point  and  Dixon's  ferry.  Where 
Mr.  Adams  kept  the  mail  is  not  definitely  known,  but  it  is  safe  to  say  citizens  of 
the  village  were  required  to  go  to  the  postmaster's  home  when  looking  for  intelli- 
gence from  distant  correspondents.  Of  the  personality  of  Mr.  Adams  the  reader 
must  remain  in  the  dark,  as  he  left  no  reminder  of  himself  from  which  a  descrip- 
tion can  be  given.  However,  he  did  not  grow  fat  and  arrogant  from  the  receipts 
of  his  office,  as  they  only  amounted  to  about  eight  dollars  the  first  year,  and  that 
j;eriocl  covered  his  incumbency. 

The  second  postmaster  was  Xorman  Hyde,  who  took  a  large  and  important 
part  in  affairs  during  the  formative  period  of  the  county,  and  then  earner-Stephen 
Stillman,  who,  if  he  ever  qualified,  remained  in  the  office  but  a  few  days.  But 
there  was  nothing  very  unusual  in  that,  as  the  history  of  most  of  the  other  coun- 
ties of  the  state  will  show. 

Up  to  within  a  comparatively  few  years  the  government  owned  no  buildings 
outside  the  larger  cities,  but  now,  where  the  congressman  is  diligent  and  persistent 
in  his  efiforts  to  please  his  constituency,  a  town  of  four  or  five  thousand  inhabi- 
tants without  its  federal  building  is  an  object  of  criticism  if  not  derision.  But  in 
the  first  half  century  of  the  republic  money  was  not  nearly  so  plentiful  as  it  is 
now  and  in  the  great  farming  state  of  Illinois  the  people  had  few  wants  and  were 
very  modest  in  their  efforts  toward  having  them  supplied.  Up  to  the  federal 
building  era  it  was  the  custom  of  the  postmaster  to  establish  his  office  wherever 
he  pleased  and  in  many  instances  his  choice  of  location  was  far  from  being  as 
convenient  to  his  patrons  as  it  was  to  himself  and  intimates. 

As  has  been  related,  no  one  knows  where  the  first  postmaster  kept  his  office, 
but  verv  likely  his  hat  or  coat  pockets  were  the  mail  boxes  and  most  of  the  letters 
coming  to  him  were  distributed  wherever  he  might  happen  to  be  found.  This 
was  a  common  practice  in  the  pioneer  days.  .Antoine  Le  Claire,  one  of  the 
French-Canadian  residents  of  Fort  Clark,  founded  the  city  of  Davenport,  and 
was  appointed  its  first  postmaster.     He  carried  the  mail  in  his  coat-tail  pockets. 

There  is  no  data  indicating  the  location  of  the  postoffice  under  the  administra- 
tions of  Xorman  Hyde  and  Stephen  Stillman,  but  there  is  scarcely  a  doubt  it 
was  wherever  those  gentlemen  resided.  John  L.  Bogardus,  at  the  time  of  his 
appointment,  kept  a  hotel,  and  here  was  located  the  postoffice  during  his  term. 
This  was  a  log  cabin,  not  far  from  the  foot  of  Hamilton  street.  At  another  time 
the  postoffice  was  located  on  the  corner  of  Fulton  and  Adams  streets,  the  present 
site  of  Shipper  &  Block's  department  store.  Under  John  King  it  was  moved 
into  the  basement  of  the  Peoria  House,  corner  of  Adams  and  Hamilton.  In 
1861,  under  George  C.  Bestor's  administration,  the  office  was  kept  at  311-13  Main 
street,  whence  it  was  removed  to  the  Rouse  building  by  Enoch  Emery,  in 
1865.  In  1867  the  office  was  removed  to  the  Puterbaugh  building,  corner  of 
Main  and  Monroe  streets,  where  the  great  federal  structure  now  stands.  Finally, 
about  1883,  Congress  made  an  appropriation  for  the  construction  of  a  federal 
building  and  at  once  interested  persons  owning  property,  began  an  active  cam- 
paign to  induce  the  government  to  purchase  the  location  of  them,  but  the  com- 
mission appointed  for  the  purpose,  decided  in  favor  of  the  Puterbaugh  prop- 
erty, and  purchased  the  grounds  and  buildings  thereon  for  the  sum  of  $52,000. 
Contracts  were  awarded,  the  building  was  constructed,  and  in  the  spring  of  1889 
it  was  completed  and  occupied.    The  structure  cost  $251,833. 

During  the  administration  of  William  E.  Hull,  the  business  of  the  department 
had  increased  so  largely  that  the  building  was  found  to  be  inadequate  for  its 
purposes  and  through  the  efforts  of  Congressman  Joseph  B.  Graff,  an  appropria- 
tion was  secured  from  Congress  and  an  addition  was  built  to  the  rear,  costing 
$218,500,  making  the  total  cost  of  the  building,  with  site,  as  it  now  stands, 
$530,833.  This  addition  was  completed  and  ready  for  occupancy,  January  i. 
1910.  The  first  floor  and  basement  of  the  building  are  devoted  to  the  postoffice 
department,  the  second  floor  to  the  internal  revenue  department  and  chief  clerk 


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HISTORY  OF  TEORIA  COUNTY  345 

of  the  railway  mail  service,  the  third  Hoor  to  the  United  States  court  and  offices 
of  the  collector  of  customs,  deputy  clerk  and  deputy  marshal.  On  the  fourth 
floor  are  jury  rooms  and  a  room  for  civil  service  examinations. 

At  the  present  time  there  are  four  branch  offices  in  the  city  and  seventeen 
numbered  stations. 

On  July  7,  1873,  a  city  free  delivery  system  was  established,  and  at  that 
time  eight  carriers  were  appointed,  namely:  John  Stillwell,  Charles  R.  Gundlock, 
Henry  Schimpff,  E.  O.  Place,  Robert  I'f'eilfer,  Deitrich  Kuch,  Kugene  RoUman 
and  John  Onyon.  This  corps  of  carriers  started  out  with  three  deliveries  daily 
in  the  business  portion  and  two  in  the  residential  sections.  At  the  present  time 
their  number  has  increased  to  fifty-two  carriers  and  collectors  and  now  there 
are  five  deliveries  daily  in  the  business  district  and  two  in  the  residential.  It  is 
estimated  that  the  average  number  of  persons  served  by  each  carrier  daily  is  1,510. 

The  rural  free  delivery  system  was  established  in  Peoria  November  i,  1900, 
with  two  carriers.  There  are  now  seven.  One  of  the  first  to  be  appointed  was 
Daniel  L.  .Murphy,  still  serving  in  that  capacity,  and  in  all  the  years  he  has 
lost  but  a  few  days"  time  and  these  were  occasioned  by  a  severe  attack  of  la  grippe 
in  the  winter  of  1912. 

Henry  W.  Lynch,  who  is  serving  his  second  term  as  postmaster,  has  for  his 
assistant  Robert  M.  Campbell,  who  is  now  rounding  out  the  twentieth  year  in 
that  capacity,  having  been  first  appointed  under  the  Harrison  administration. 
Crover  Cleveland  permitted  Mr.  Campbell  to  retire  when  he  was  elected  president 
the  second  time,  but  his  successor,  William  McKinley,  reappointed  Mr.  Campbell 
and  he  is  still  in  the  postoffice,  performing  his  duties  well  and  faithfully.  Other 
employes  of  the  postoffice  consist  of  forty-one  clerks,  one  substitute  clerk,  and 
three  special  delivery  messengers.  There  are  also  in  the  office  James  T.  Stacey, 
superintendent  of  mails,  who  is  the  nestor  of  the  force,  having  served  for  more 
than  twenty-eight  years.  Lawrence  1.  Thompson,  who  commenced  his  activities 
in  the  office  as  special  delivery  messenger  in  1889,  is  nearing  his  twentv-fourth 
year  of  service.  Among  the  city  carriers,  Charles  J.  Speck  is  foremost  in  length 
of  service.  He  was  appointed  as  carrier  in  1873  and  is  still  doing  faithful  duty 
on  his  route  every  day.  George  E.  Wilde  is  superintendent  bf  the  money  order 
division  and  is  also  in  charge  of  the  postal  savings  bank  system,  recently 
inaugurated  by  the  government. 

The  first  money  order  ever  paid  in  this  office  was  on  the  4th  day  of  Novem- 
ber, 1864.  The  order  was  issued  by  the  office  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  to  Abner 
M.  Watson,  for  $25,  and  was  made  payable  to  Henry  M.  Kneer,  of  Peoria.  On 
November  4,  191 1,  just  forty-seven  years  from  that  date,  the  postal  savings  bank 
was  opened  in  this  office. 

The  receipts  of  the  postoffice  show  a  steady  increase  from  year  to  year.  For 
1825  they  were  $8;  for  the  fiscal  year  of  189S  the  receipts  amounted'  to  $143,- 
753.26;  and  for  the  fiscal  year  191 1,  $345,208.46.  Below  is  given  a  list  of  the 
postmasters  since  the  establishment  of  the  office  until  the  present  time: 

James  .\dams,  .\pril  9,  1825;  Norman  Hyde,  February  23,  1826;  Stephen 
Stillman,  April  9,  1830;  Norman  Hyde,  July  12,  1830;  John  Hamlin,  August 
17.  1832;  John  L.  Bogardus,  August  21,  1833;  William  Mitchell,  May  16,  1834; 
(Hies  C.  Dana,  February  23,  1835;  Joseph  C.  Fuller,  July  12,  1838;  George  C. 
Bestor,  November  3,  1841  ;  William  H.  Fesenden,  October  6,  1843;  Washington 
Cockle,  August  19,  1847;  John  King,  ;May  29,  1849;  Peter  Sweat,  Alarch  29,  1853; 
George  W.  Raney,  September  28,  185S;  George  C.  Bestor,  March  27.  1861 ; 
Enoch  Emery,  AJay  12,  1865:  Isaac  Underbill,  .August  25,  1866;  David  W. 
Magee,  April  20,  1867;  John  S.  Stevens,  January  7,  1876;  Washington  Cockle, 
January  13,  1880;  John  Warner,  June  15,  1885;  William  T.  Dowdall,  May  3, 
1886;  Alexander  Stone,  December  2,  1889;  Henry  B.  Morgan,  February  14,  1894; 
William  Edgar  Hull,  March  9,  1898;  William  Edgar  Hull,  March  9,  1902 ;  Henry 
W.  Lynch,  May  i,  1906:  Henry  W.  Lynch,  February  18,  1910. 


CHAPTER  XXI\' 

MEDICAL    PERSONAGES    AND    AFFAIRS    ASSOCIATED    WITH     THE    HISTORY    OF    PEORIA 

COUNTY PIONEER    DOCTORS     AND    THEIR     WAYS THE     FR.\TERNITY     AND     THE 

METHODS  OF  ITS  MEMBERS  OF  TODAY  AS  SHOWN  BY  DR.  0.  B.  WILL OSTEOPATHY. 

It  is  a  matter  of  authentic  record  as  well  as  common  knowledge  that  the 
first  person  attempting  the  practice  of  medicine  as  a  business  in  Peoria  county 
was  Augustus  Langworthy.  who  came  to  Fort  Clark  for  that  avowed  purpose  in 
1824,  only  five  years  after  the  first  white  American  settler  had  placed  foot  on  the 
same  soil.  Whence  Dr.  Langworthy  came  is  not  certainly  known.  He 
w^as  never  very  communicative,  and  seemingly  had  no  intimate'  or  confidential 
relations  with  any  of  his  medical  comrades.  He  seems  to  have  been  rather  in  a 
class  by  himself ;  a  surmise  accentuated  by  his  many  years  of  complete  isolation 
from  professional  fellowship.  That  he  meant  what  he  said,  liowever,  is  plain 
from  the  fact  that  he  continued  to  practice  in  the  field  of  his  first  selection  for 
nearly  thirty-five  consecutive  years,  never  once  faltering  in  his  faith  in  Peoria 
or  his  fealty  to  the  traditional  principles  of  the  profession  in  which  he  was  regu- 
larly educated  and  ordained.  According  to  Mr.  Charles  Ballance,  who  knew 
liim  personally,  the  doctor  was  more  persistent  than  popular,  but  in  view  of  his 
experience  of  many  years  as  the  only  medical  practitioner  in  all  the  territory  of 
northern  Illinois  from  Indiana  to  the  ]\Iississippi  river  and  from  Springfield  north 
to  the  Great  Lakes,  he  was  probably  justified  in  a  cynical  exhibition  of  inde- 
l^endence,  for  even  the  historian  referred  to  naively  remarks  in  connection  with 
the  subject  that  all  the  town  needed  to  make  it  a  tempting  place  for  some  othe'r 
physician  to  "break  into  competition  with  Dr.  Langworthy  was  'people.'  "  It 
was  not  until  some  eight  years,  however,  after  the  doctor's  first  appearance  that 
the  "'breaking  in"  process  was  effected.  In  the  meantime,  in  the  midst  of  his  1,236 
possible  [matrons,  all  told,  scattered  all  over  the  extensive  region  described,  the 
doctor  was  not  altogether  either  useless  or  idle.  He  supplemented  the  resources 
of  the  tardy  community  by  serving  both  as  chairman  of  the  first  granrl  jury 
convened  under  the  new  organization,  and  as  commissioner  of  public  highways, 
varying  the  monotony  of  the  situation  by  acting  as  surgeon  accompanying  the 
Peoria  volunteers  during  the  excitement  of  the  Black  Hawk  Inflian  war.  But 
Dr.  Langworthy  was  not  absolutely  useless,  either,  in  his  technical  relations 
with  his  subsequent  medical  colleagues.  A  love  of  nature  in  her  manifestations 
of  still-life  led  him  to  an  investigation  of  the  indigenous  materia  medica  and  its 
therapeutics  properties,  which  he  used  largely  in  his  own  ]5ractice,  and  to  which  he 
succeeded  in  drawing  the  attention  of  some  of  his  professional  brethren  of  a  later 
period  who,  together  with  himself  developed  a  modified  system  of  symptomatic 
therapy  of  much  practical  value.  The  genius  and  fraternalism  thus  exhibited 
was  the  saving  clause  in  an  otherwise  somewhat  unsympathetic  nature.  Dr. 
Langworthy  subsequently  became  a  member  of  the  local  medical  society  imme- 
diately upon  its  formation,  as  well  as  of  the  state  organization,  thus  giving  quiet 
allegiance  to  the  stipulated  objects  of  both.  Some  time  just  before  or  during 
the  Civil  war  he  retired  to  his  farm  in  Bureau  county,  where  he  passed  to  his 
final  rest  in  1868. 

The  eight  years'  interval  between  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Langworthy  and  that  of 

347 


348  HISTORY  (3F  PEORIA  COUNTY 

his  first  competitor  seemed  to  represent  a  period  prophetic  of,  as  well  as  prepara- 
tory to.  the  appearance  of  that  coterie  of  able  and  distinguished  men  who  formed 
the  essential  personal  basis  of  Peoria  county's  prominence  in  the  field  of  legitimate 
medicine  throughout  not  only  the  pioneer,  but  most  of  the  succeeding  stage  of 
developmental  activity.  The  "breaking  into  competition"  process  referred  to  by 
Air.  liallance  occurred  with  the  arrival  in  1832  of  the  first  member  of  this  group 
in  the  person  of  Rodulphus  Rouse,  whose  name  has  been  associated  with  so  many 
of  Peoria's  interests  as  to  make  it  even  yet  a  familiar  one  to  most  of  the  popula- 
tion. Xot  only  as  the  first,  but  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  active,  he  became  con- 
spicuous in  all  his  relations  to  the  life  of  the  community.  A  man  of  exceptional 
intellectual  endowments,  supplemented  by  fine  educational  acquirements,  in  the 
maturity  of  experience,  he  assumed  at  once  a  commanding  position  amongst  the 
citizenship,  and  subsequently  with  his  professional  confreres.  His  experience  had 
been  such  as  to  warrant  immediate  recognition  of  leadership.  After  a  technical 
training  in  the  medical  school  of  Philadelphia  and  New  York,  Dr.  Rouse,  then 
little  more  than  a  mere  youth,  was  accepted  as  a  regimental  surgeon  in  the  Ameri- 
can arm\-  during  the  War  of  1812-14,  at  the  close  of  which  he  was  honorably 
discharged  with  the  special  commendation  of  his  commanding  oiificer.  Return- 
ing to  New  York  he  secured  an  instructorship  in  the  New  York  Medical  College, 
a  position  he  held  for  several  years  until  failing  health  admonished  him  to  seek 
more  salubrious  surroundings  amidst  primitive  conditions.  He  then  came  to 
Peoria  in  obedience  to  that  demand,  stopping  first  at  St.  Louis  enroute.  Accus- 
tomed as  he  was  to  association  with  the  most  prominent  and  gifted  in  his  profes- 
sion, he  could  never  wholly  accustom  himself  to  the  exigencies  of  border  associa- 
tions and  so  was  considered  as  somewhat  eccentric,  grufl:'  and  irrascil^le  in  man- 
ner, tliough  always  sincere  and  helpful.  An  accomplished  practitioner,  careful 
and  exact,  the  crudities  and  inattentiveness  which  he  subsequently  encountered 
in  professional  association  generally,  led  him  to  take  a  special  interest  in  the  edu- 
cational status,  scientific  advancement  and  material  betterment  of  the  profession. 
He  was  much  impressed  with  the  advantages  prospectively  obtainable  through 
eft'ective  organization,  and  exerted  his  influence  in  that  direction  continuously. 
He  stimulated  efforts  eventuating  in  the  formation  of  the  Peoria  Society  in 
1848,  and  two  years  later  was  the  enthusiastic  presiding  officer  at  the  meeting 
in  Springfield  preliminary  to  the  organization  of  the  State  Association.  He  was 
at  once  made  its  first  vice  president  for  the  ensuing  year,  its  treasurer,  and  in 
1852  was  honored  with  the  presidency,  his  capabilities  in  any  professional  line 
being  fully  -recognized  by  the  best  elements  within  the  state.  In  his  address  of 
acceptance  Dr.  Rouse's  statement  relative  to  the  advantages  of  organization  on 
the  part  of  the  profession,  which  became  a  classic  amongst  them  for  its  clearness 
and  brevity,  is  well  worth  reproduction  in  this  connection,  as  oft  quoted  but  never 
improved  upon.  "It  is,"  he  said,  "an  acknowledged  maxim  that  the  association 
of  those  who  are  engaged  in  the  same  pursuit  facilitates  the  attainment  of  their 
common  object.  The  association  of  physicians  oft'ers  many  advantages  to  them- 
selves and  others.  By  this  means  the  members  of  our  profession  are  the  better 
enabled  mutually  to  assert  their  rights,  protect  their  interests,  to  guard  the  morals 
of  each  other,  to  preserve  their  respectability,  to  maintain  the  honor  and  dignity  of 
their  profession,  to  advance  their  knowledge,  and  extend  their  usefulness."  In 
order,  furthermore,  to  illustrate  as  well  the  doctor's  temper,  and  show  him  how  on 
occasion  his  elegance  of  diction  could  l)e  turned  to  keen,  sarcastic  criticism,  the 
following  is  reproduced  from  the  minutes  of  the  1851  meeting:  "Dr.  Rouse 
also  stated  that  the  only  inducement  for  his  acceptance  of  the  office  of  treasurer 
had  been  the  constitution  makes  the  treasurer,  ex-oflicio,  one  of  the  committee  of 
puI)lication ;  but  as  he  had  not  been  permitted  to  have  anything  to  do  with  that 
part  of  the  duties  of  his  office,  he  would  take  this  opportunity  to  disavow  any 
responsibilitv  in  relation  to  numerous  errors  in  a  publication  which  in  its  present 
unfortunate' shape  he  considered  as  reflecting  very  little  credit  upon  the  contrib- 
utors, the  society,  its  committee,  or  the  Press."     Such  exhibitions  on  the  part  of 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  349 

Dr.  Rouse  were  not  unusual,  but  were  never  undeserved.  He  was  punctilious 
in  all  things,  and  his  attitude  always  indicative  of  conscious  power  and  dignity. 
A  lover  of  art  and  the  drama,  Dr.  Rouse  indulged  his  penchant  in  that  direction 
by  erecting  in  the  rear  of  his  residence  and  office,  corner  of  Main  and  Jefferson 
streets,  the  finest  opera  hall  then  in  existence  in  the  west,  in  which  he  had  the 
pleasure  of  witnessing  the  exhibitions  of  many  of  the  greatest  histrionic  lights 
on  the  American  stage.  Dr.  Rouse  was  held  in  the  highest  respect  and  esteem 
by  the  profession  and  laity  of  Peoria,  and  left  an  honorable  record  when  he 
passed  away  in  1873  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty  years. 

Thus  far,  then,  Peoria  county  had  been  fortunate  in  her  incidental  acquisi- 
tion of  medical  talent.  Talent  not  only  worthy  of  more  than  its  prospective 
reward,  but  befitting  the  amlMtions  and  ideals  of  many  a  more  pretentious  com- 
munity. It  is  therefore  historically  interesting  and  enlightening  to  call  attention 
at  this  juncture  to  that  timely  and  fortunate  combination  of  local  and  general  con- 
ditions which  served  to  continue  the  segregation  within  the  county's  borders  of  an 
ever  increasing  numiier  of  able  medical  men.  The  renewed  activity  in  American 
educational  concerns  following  disturbed  conditions  in  Europe  and  the  close  of 
our  second  war  with  Great  Britain,  eventuated  in  evolving  from  the  colleges  and 
universities  of  the  east  a  large  number  of  talented,  technically  well-trained  and 
ambitious  young  professional  men,  imbued  with  the  aggressive  thought  of  the 
time.  Chafing  under  the  restrictions  and  monotonies  of  customary  surround- 
ings, they  longed  for  a  greater  measure  of  personal  and  professional  liberty. 
-Aroused  still  further  by  the  growing  sentiment  that  "westward  the  star  of  empire 
makes  its  way"  they  wished  to  satisfy  the  spirit  of  adventure  as  well  as  progress 
by  seeking  and  creating  for  themselves  opportunities  and  homes  in  the  midst  of 
surroundings  and  institutions  at  least  partially  of  their  own  making.  Small 
wonder,  then,  that  their  attention  was  easily  directed  to  the  great  State  of  Illi- 
nois, the  frontier  commonwealth  of  the  nation,  and  to  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Clark, 
its  frontier  settlement.  The  conditions  of  location  and  convenient  transportation 
which  made  Fort  Clark  a  strategical  territorial  outpost,  also  made  of  Peoria  the 
most  conspicuous  centre  of  border  life  and  activity.  Thither,  then,  as  their  first 
objective,  was  turned  the  rapidly  increasing  streams  of  immigration.  From  the 
Atlantic  sea-board  and  Middle  States,  down  the  Ohio,  up  the  Wabash  and  across 
country  to  Peoria ;  and  from  the  south  up  the  Mississippi  and  Illinois  rivers  to  the 
same  destination  came  these  streams  of  humanity  bearing  with  them  not  only  the 
professional  representatives  of  recent  college  experience,  but  gathering  in  their 
currents  medical  men  from  all  sources  enroute ;  one  from  here  and  another  from 
there,  no  two  from  the  same  locality  or  with  the  same  antecedents,  traditions  or 
training:  men  of  refinement  and  education,  of  orthodox  principles,  and  those  of 
irregular  and  sectarian  mould  of  predisposition.  Men  imbued  with  the  ])rofes- 
sional,  social  and  political  instincts  of  the  slave  states  and  the  south,  with  those  of 
northern  sentiments  and  sympathies ;  all  to  be  collected  in  a  small  human  whirl- 
pool on  the  shore  of  Peoria  lake.  Because,  when  these  travelers,  worn  and 
weary  from  their  long  journey  caught  sight  of  the  beauties  of  the  Illinois  valley 
from  the  tops  of  the  Tazewell  county  hills,  or  from  the  decks  of  the  up-bound 
steam-boats,  they  cared  to  go  no  farther,  and  prepared  at  once  to  call  the  place 
home.  Many,  of  course,  finding  the  field  preempted,  or  for  other  reasons  unsatis- 
factory, made  the  town  of  Peoria  itself  but  a  rendezvous  from  which  to  secure 
needed  supplies  and  seek  locations  further  interior,  where  hamlets  were  spring- 
ing up  in  all  directions,  each  expectant  and  ambitious  to  become  the  metropolis 
of  the  region.  In  that  state  of  affairs  may  be  read  the  answer  to  the  oft  repeated 
inquiry  as  to  why  the  profession  of  Peoria  and  vicinity  acquired  so  commanding 
an  influence  in  the  early  medical  as  well  as  other  councils  of  the  state.  Concentra- 
tion of  cultivated  intelligence  within  a  com])aratively  small  area,  held  the  secret. 

From  the  admixture  of  professional  materials  and  forces  just  alluded  to  it  is 
not  difficult  to  surmise  that  some  strenuous  experiences  were  in  sight.  It  will  be 
profitable  as  well  as  entertaining,  therefore,  to  learn  yet  more  of  the  dominant 


350  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

personalities  involved,  since  character  in  physical  and  mental  resource  can  alone 
come  to  the  rescue  in  predetermining  the  nature  and  quality  of  results  in  any 
professional  calling.  To  that  end  then,  it  may  be  said  that  the  first  representative 
of  this  younger  contingent  of  medical  aspirants  for  fame  and  fortune  was  Joseph 
C.  Frye,  from  the  University  of  Virginia  and  Ohio  Aledical  College,  who  arrived 
within  the  same  years  as  his  immediate  predecessor.  A  man  of  impressive, 
scholarly  feature  and  quiet  dignity  as  well  as  politeness  of  manner,  he  was  not 
long  in  winning  the  confidences  he  sought  in  the  community,  building  up  a  large 
and  lucrative  practice  as  a  physician  rather  than  a  surgeon.  In  fact  he  may  be 
justlv  said  to  have  had  a  specialty,  as  specialties  were  counted  in  those  days,  in 
that  his  mind  dealt  mostly  with  the  philosophy  of  medical  therapeutics ;  or  the 
application  of  drugs  to  the  cure  of  disease.  An  extensive  and  intensive  reader, 
as  well  as  deep  thinker  and  observer  in  the  line  indicated,  he  was  considered 
throughout  central  Illinois  as  an  authority  into  the  adjustment  of  such  agencies  to 
the  desired  end.  He  loved  the  study  of  the  intimate,  vital  relation  of  external 
and  internal  forces  within  the  economy,  and  was  an  expert  in  such  divination. 
Dr.  Frye  was  one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Peoria  and  State  Medical  Socie- 
ties, and  represented  the  professional  sentiment  of  central  Illinois  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  American  JNIedical  Association  at  Philadelphia  in  1847,  in  association 
with  Drs.  Brainard,  Davis  and  one  or  two  others  from  Chicago.  A  very  con- 
stant attendant  at  the  meetings  of  the  few  gathered  now  and  again  in  the  interest 
of  a  local  society,  Dr.  Frye's  very  interesting  report  from  the  national  gathering, 
including  its  adopted  code  of  medical  ethics,  had  much  to  do  with  arousing  the 
necessary  enthusiasm  to  make  the  scheme  an  accomplished  fact  in  the  following 
year.  Dr.  Frye  had  attained  the  age  of  full  four  score  years  when  he  finally 
passed  away,  leaving  the  impression  of  a  systematically  conducted  and  well- 
balanced  life. 

In  the  trail  thus  rebroken,  as  it  were,  by  Drs.  Rouse  and  Frye,  quickly  fol- 
lowed a  sufficient  number  of  others  to  make  a  score  or  more  of  those  who  as  a 
matter  of  record  constituted  the  essential  personal  elements  of  professional  life 
in  what  has  been  designated  the  pioneer  stage  of  Peoria  county's  medical  develop- 
ment. In  uncertain  order  of  sequence  came  the  other  members  of  this  notable 
group.  Whence  Edward  Dickinson  came  the  writer  has  been  unable  to  learn, 
but  that  appears  to  be  a  matter  of  small  moment  in  comparison  with  his  position 
as  the  preeminently  beloved  physician  of  Peoria  county.  A  man  of  splendid 
physique  and  intellectual  attainments  along  both  general  and  technical  lines,  wise, 
of  a  judicial  temperament,  courteous  and  dispassionate  as  well  as  compassionate, 
he  was  one  whom  everybody  not  only  respected  but  loved.  He  was  a  man  who 
endeared  himself  to  his  patients  as  a  parent  to  a  child,  and  was  equally  adored 
by  his  professional  brethren  for  his  gentlemanly,  kind  and  helpful  disposition. 
It  might  almost  go  without  saying,  therefore,  that  he  was  a  successful  practitioner, 
but  an  indilTerent  business  man,  He  entered  into  both  the  joys  and  sorrows  of 
those  with  whom  he  became  associated,  and  was  everybody's  friend.  And  when 
he  died  a  most  remarkable  thing  occurred.  On  the  day  of  his  funeral  his  remains 
were  escorted  by  his  comrades  of  the  medical  profession  in  solemn  procession 
to  the  church  where  the  last  sad  rites  were  said,  and  then,  in  the  presence  of  a 
congregation  overflowing  accommodations,  with  windows  and  doors  open,  prac- 
tically every  medical  man  in  the  city  knelt  about  the  casket,  and  in  the  silence 
almost  of  death  in  unison  reverently  intoned  the  Lord's  prayer.  And  afterwards, 
as  the  funeral  cortege  passed  on  its  way  to  the  tomb  residents  along  the  street 
stood  in  the  open  door-ways  of  their  homes  with  bared  and  bowed  heads  in 
response  to  the  common  sentiment  of  sorrow.  No  such  tribute  before  or  since 
has  ever  been  so  universally  paid  to  a  member  of  that  profession  which  Dr.  Dick- 
inson graced  with  his  personality.  And  when  the  formerly  exclusive  medical 
club  of  the  city  was  formed  it  was  christened  "The  Dickinson  Medical  Club." 
The  living  and  lasting  contribution  of  Dr.  Dickinson  to  the  professional  life  of 
his  locality  and  time  must  therefore  be  accounted  his  inspiring  influence  toward 
that  nobility,  grandeur  and  self-sacrifice  characteristic  of  the  ideal  physician. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  351 

Francis  McNeil  was  one  of  those  characters  which,  though  once  numerous 
are  now  rarely  if  ever  seen  in  this  country.  Only  in  the  mission  fields  of  foreign 
lands  is  his  like  probably  to  be  found.  He  was  what  nowadays  is  called  a  medi- 
cal missionary,  a  representative  of  the  Methodist  church,  combining  the  functions 
of  theology  and  medicine.  He  preached  on  Sundays  and  practiced  medicine  the 
remaining  days  of  the  week.  He  was  a  regularly  educated  physician,  possessed 
of  the  instincts  of  that  calling,  and  if  he  was  as  efficient  in  his  clerical  relations 
as  he  was  in  his  medical,  his  church  could  have  had  no  reason  to  find  fault  with 
him.  He  was  one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Peoria  City  Medical  Society, 
and  was  chosen  by  that  body  as  one  of  those  to  represent  its  membership  at  the 
organization  of  the  Illinois  State  Association  in  1850.  He  possessed  the  faculty 
of  expressing  himself  eloquently  and  logically,  and  was  a  valued  exponent  of  the 
progressive  professional  energies  of  the  time.  Dr.  McNeil  was  highly  esteemed 
by  his  medical  associates,  and  remained  in  Peoria  for  several  years,  finally  remov- 
ing to  some  point  in  Iowa,  to  which  the  exigencies  of  his  gospel  calling  probably 
led  him,  but  from  which  it  is  said  he  later  returned  to  some  point  in  northern 
Illinois  where  he  died,  rather  early  in  life.  Dr.  McNeil's  name  will  ever  be 
recalled  from  the  records  of  both  the  above  named  medical  societies  as  a  sincere 
and  impressive  expounder  of  the  faith  in  both  of  his  chosen  professions,  and  as  a 
genial,  companionable  gentleman. 

But  there  are  other  factors  necessary  in  the  composition  of  medical  men  whose 
paths  lie  in  differing  lines  of  service.  Such  was  exemplified  in  the  life  and  work 
of  Elwood  Andrew.  He  seemed  to  have  been  especially  built  for  the  require- 
ments of  a  widely  extended  country  practice  under  pioneering  conditions.  He 
was  big,  strong,  blufl^'  and  hearty,  and  enjoyed  a  splendid  reputation  through- 
out a  large  extent  of  territory.  He  feared  nothing  and  nobody  and  impressed 
upon  his  clientele  respect  for  both  his  opinions  and  requirements.  Like  his 
comrade  in  arms,  Dr.  Clark  Rankin,  his  popularity  rested  more  upon  his  hopeful, 
inspiring  personality  than  upon  any  superiority  in  a  purely  medical  sense,  though 
the  latter  was  a  diligent  and  earnest  student,  active  in  organization  affairs  and  a 
surgeon  in  the  I'nion  army. 

As  exemplifying  another  phase  of  local  professional  personality,  one  of  the 
most  impressive  characters  in  the  pioneer  life  of  Peoria  was  John  Murphy,  an 
early  comer,  an  Irishman  of  substantial  lineage  in  the  old  country,  a  graduate 
of  Edinborough  University,  a  scholarly  man  of  fine  all  around  professional 
attainments,  naturally  of  a  fiery,  passionate  disposition,  yet  tender-hearted  and 
generous  with  all.  He  attracted  immediate  attention  through  his  singular  stateli- 
ness  of  bearing  and  polite  gravity  of  manner.  By  the  members  of  his  profession 
he  was  often  jocularly  referred  to  as  "my  lord  Murphy."  Thaf  appellation,  how- 
ever, did  not  fully  expound  the  doctor's  character,  since  with  his  friends  he 
was  condescending,  affable  and  democratic  enough,  a  good  story-teller,  and  alto- 
gether a  very  companionable  man.  \'ery  sensitive  and  easily  perturbed  by 
criticism  or  injustice,  his  display  of  temper  was  sometimes  alarming  and  at  others 
amusing  since  some  of  his  best  friends  would  now  and  again  take  advantage  of 
his  disposition  for  purposes  of  tantalization.  No  one  recognized  or  deplored  that 
unfortunate  feature  of  his  make-up  more  than  the  doctor  himself.  And  yet  with 
it  all  he  managed  to  gain  the  highest  respect  and  confidence  of  a  large  following 
and  was  a  successful  medical  practitioner  and  surgeon.  He  seemed  to  under- 
stand human  nature  thoroughly,  and  could  apparently  read  the  composition  of  a 
man  almost  at  first  sight.  He  was  a  remarkably  good  disciplinarian  of  his 
patients,  and  in  that  way  could  secure  results  where  others  failed.  He  was  always 
indulgent  toward  beginners  in  the  profession  who  sought  his  advice.  Dr. 
Murphy  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  City  Medical  Society,  and  was  its 
secretary  for  a  long  time,  his  heavy,  verbose  style  of  composition  being  found 
on  many  a  page  of  the  society's  early  transactions.  On  the  occasion  of  the 
celebration  of  the  last  named's  semi-centennial  anniversary  in  T<SqS  the  portrait 
of  Dr.  Murphy,  as  the  only  survivor  of  the  original  membership,  was  selected 


352  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

to  adorn  the  cover  of  menu  and  program  at  the  banquet.  To  the  very  last  Dr. 
Murphy  rarely  wrote  a  prescription,  preferring  the  old  method  of  self-dispensing. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  Dr.  Murphy  all  his  life  clung  to  the  ])rinciple,  as  a  business 
proposition,  that  details  in  the  practice  of  mediciiie  were  entirely  matters  of 
individual  experience  and  adjustment,  and  could  never  be  satisfactorily  com- 
municated to  another.  In  other  words,  that  every  man's  faculty  in  that  line  was 
inscrutibly  and  e.xclusively  his  own. 

Unlike  Dr.  Murphy  in  nearly  every  respect  was  John  D.  Arnold,  who  was 
one  of  the  earliest  professional  compatriots.  A  tall,  slender  man.  Dr.  Arnold 
suffered  throughout  his  adult  life  from  what  would  now  probably  be  termed 
latent  tuberculosis.  Nervous  and  yet  self-contained,  Dr.  Arnold  conducted  him- 
self cooly,  calmly  and  deliberately  under  all  circumstances,  was  a  successful 
general  practitioner,  cordial,  persuasive  and  sincere.  His  tastes,  however,  ran 
more  to  general  political  affairs  than  to  the  intricacies  of  medical  science,  and 
his  methods  in  professional  affairs  were  those  of  the  practical  politician.  He  was 
active  in  the  cause  of  the  republican  party,  being  a  candidate  for  election  to  the 
state  senate.  His  failure  to  attain  his  ambition  in  that  direction  was  compensated 
for  by  his  appointment  at  the  hands  of  his  friend.  President  Lincoln,  to  the  con- 
sulship at  St.  Petersburg,  Russia,  during  the  trying  period  of  the  Civil  war;  a 
position  he  was  shortly  compelled  to  relinquish  on  account  of  rapidly  failing 
liealth  under  the  rigors  of  the  northern  climate.  Upon  his  return  home  he  con- 
tmued  to  grow  steadily  more  feeble,  and  finally  died  from  the  continuous  inroads 
of  his  old  enemy,   tuberculosis. 

Dr.  William  R.  Hamilton  and  his  brother  John  L.  came  from  Ohio  to  the  town 
of  Morton,  in  Tazewell  county,  if  the  writer  is  not  misinformed,  but  within  a 
short  time  removed  to  Peoria,  which  they  made  their  final  home.  The  former 
did  not  continue  at  the  practice  of  medicine  very  many  years,  his  tastes  and  capa- 
bilities leading  him  into  other  enterprises.  He  was  the  builder  and  first  presi- 
dent of  the  Peoria  and  Rock  Island  railway,  now  a  branch  of  the  C.  R.  I.  and  P., 
and  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  connection  with  general  business  rather 
than  professional  affairs,  and  lived  to  reach  the  unusual  age  of  over  ninety-one 
years.  He  was  a  man  of  intellectual,  staid  and  quiet  habit,  whose  honesty  and ' 
integrity  were  never  questioned.  John  L.  Hamilton,  however,  remained  in  the 
active  practice  of  medicine  until  within  a  few  months  of  his  death  which  occurred 

in  .     He  was  one  of  the  most  competent  surgeons  as  well  as  medical  practi-  | 

tioners  the  city  of  Peoria  contained.  He  was  a  quiet,  serious  man,  a  deep  thinker, 
never  boastful,  nor  in  any  way  over-stepping  the  finest  traditions  of  his  profes- 
sion. Perfectlv  sincere  and  honest  in  all  his  professional  and  other  relations,  he 
had  an  extensive  practice  amongst  the  most  discerning,  and  seemingly  could 
attend  to  more  work  than  any  other  man,  because,  although  he  never  hurried, 
neither  did  he  waste  time.  In  many  of  his  surgical  exploits  he  was  quite  original, 
and  remarkably  successful.  He  did  the  first  successful  abdominal  section  ever 
performed  by  a  Peorian.  He  it  was  who  led  in  the  project  of  the  Cottage  (now 
Proctor)  Hospital,  and  remained  on  its  lioard  of  directors  as  long  as  he  lived. 
Dr.  Hamilton  was  a  serious-minded,  valualile  friend.  No  man  was  more  willing 
or  quick  to  acknowledge  merit  wherever  found,  and  none  more  ready  to  encourage 
it  in  the  ranks  of  his  profession.  He  was  one  of  the  early  members  of  the  local 
and  State  Medical  Societies,  and  always  a  valued  counselor  in  their  deliberations. 
When  he  died  the  profession  and  cit}-  lost  one  of  their  most  talented,  worthy  and 
honorable    representatives. 

Probably  the  most  active,  progressive,  original  and  enterprising  member 
of  the  Peoria  county  profession  during  this  first  stage  in  its  development  was 
Elias  Cooper.  From  what  section  he  came  the  writer  does  not  know,  but  he 
was  full  of  energ)'.  He  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  man  west  of  Pennsylvania 
to  use  chloroform  as  an  anesthetic,  and  that  feat  was  accomplished  in  the  doc- 
tor's own  private  Orthopodic  Hospital,  the  first  hospital  ever  erected  in  Peoria. 
While  such  use  of  the  agent  mentioned  was  made  for  the  first  time  anywhere 


SIIADV    ]\\-:m  II.    I'KlilMA    XAKUdWS 


I'KoniA  LAKE   KIKLM  SK^  S(  UA  I'KK 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  353 

iu  1846,  only  one  year  later  Dr.  Cooper  was  utilizing  it,  and  at  the  meeting  of 
the  State  Society  two  years  later  reported  his  experience  with  it  in  some  seventy 
cases.  For  his  assumed  recklessness  in  that  direction  he  was  criticised  hy  the 
local  medical  society  membership,  but  his  practical  argument  was  too  convincing 
to  be  long  ignored,  and  his  position  was  soon  vindicated.  In  the  long  room 
constituting  the  third  floor  of  the  present  Central  National  liank  building,  cor- 
ner of  Main  and  Adams  streets,"  Dr.  Cooper  had  his  anatomical  and  dissecting 
laboratory,  in  which,  along  one  w-hole  side  were  arranged  a  row  of  human 
skeletons  ranging  from  adult  to  infant  size,  h'or  want  of  professional,  he 
employed  non-professional  assistants  in  his  experimental  work,  and  was  roundly 
censured  for  so  doing  by  resolution  passed  in  the  City  Medical  Society,  em- 
i)od\ing  the  admonitory  conviction  that  no  self-respecting  professional  man 
would  associate  with  him.  But  Dr.  Cooper  was  as  independent  and  courageous 
as  he  was  progressive  and  enterprising,  and  paid  no  heed.  When  the  Civil 
war  broke  out  he  enlisted  and  served  in  the  capacity  of  regimental  surgeon, 
and  when  finally  he  left  the  army  he  removed  to  San  Francisco,  California, 
where  he  became  the  most  famous  surgeon  on  the  Pacific  coast,  accumulating  a 
fortune  which  he  left  to  his  nephew,  the  late  Professor  Lane,  who,  in  memory 
of  his  uncle  founded  the  institution  known  as  "Cooper  Medical  College,"  now 
the  medical  department  of  the  University  of  San  Francisco. 

But  Peoria's  quota  of  the  professionally  eminent  in  her  formative  period 
was  not  full.  Another  surgeon  of  accomplishment  and  note  was  already  on 
hand  to  take  up  the  sceptre  of  the  master,  in  the  person  of  J.  T.  Stewart,  a 
graduate  of  Knox  College  and  Pennsylvania  University.  A  man  of  intellectual 
dignity,  culture  and  scientific  taste,  Dr.  Stewart  is  yet  remembered  by  many  as 
a  i)otanist  of  distinction,  for  many  years  President  of  the  Peoria  Scientific 
Association,  and  surgeon  of  the  Civil  war,  in  which  he  was  wounded  in  a  way 
maiming  him  for  life,  and  yet  he  maintained  for  a  score  of  vears  a  reputation 
as  tjie  leading  surgeon  of  the  section  of  country  tributary  to  Peoria.  Scholarly, 
somewhat  eccentric  but  always  affable  and  polite,  he  possessed  a  host  of  friends. 
.\s  a  member  of  the  state  and  local  medical  societies  he  was  a  valued  contribu- 
tor and  constant  attendant,  and  there  were  no  more  sincere  mourners  at  his 
bier  than  the  members  of  the  profession  he  loved  and  honored. 

Another  member  of  the  pioneer  grou])  that  formed  the  City  Medical  Society 
was  E.  M.  Colburn,  a  talented  physician  and  affable,  courtly  gentleman,  respected 
and  honored  by  every  one  who  knew  him,  and  known  for  his  scholarly  and 
scientific  attainments.  He  was  the  guiding  spirit  and  for  a  number  of  years 
the  President  of  the  once  famous  Peoria  Scientific  Association,  and  a  citizen 
in  all  respects  to  be  proud  of.  Honorable  and  sincere  in  every  thought  and  act 
of  his  life,  he  typified  the  old  idea  of  the  physician  as  counselor  and  friend. 
Regularly  educated  in  medicine,  his  scientific  sense  revolted  at  the  then  pre- 
vailing habit  of  heavy  and  nauseous  drugging,  and  he  -adopted  a  modified 
form  of  Homeopathic  medication.  Too  honorable  to  even  seem  to  be  intruding 
upon  the  sensibilities  of  those  who  differed  from  him,  he  voluntarilv  .severed 
his  connection  with  his  wilsome  comrades  and  followed  his  own  ideals.  He 
lived  to  a  really  green  old  age  loved  and  respected  by  his  one-time  associates 
in  regular  medicine,  as  well  as  by  the  hundreds  who  had  looked  to  him  for  relief 
during  the  long  period  of  his  sojourn  among  them. 

John  N.  Niglas  was  one  of  the  pioneer  group,  of  foreign  training,  to  enter 
the  northern  army  upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war,  where  he  served 
with  that  patriotic  distinction  which  characterized  the  allegiance  of  so  many 
foreign  born  citizens  to  their  ado]:)ted  countrv.  He  reengaged  in  general  practice 
immediately  upon  the  expiration  of  his  enlistment,  and  as  health  officer  a  few 
years  later  gained  a  wide  reputation  for  efficiency  in  handling  epidemics,  espec- 
ially through  the  use  of  antiseptics  and  segregation  of  the  afflicted. 

Robert  Roskoten,  physician  and  ripe  scholar,  master  of   four  languages,  in- 
volved in  the  revolutionary  movement  in  his  native  land,  after  incarceration  in 
Vol,  1—23 


354  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

prison  from  which  he  escaped  through  connivance  of  compatriots,  fled  first  to 
Spain  and  from  thence  to  the  United  States,  coming  finally  to  Peoria  where  his 
splendid  scientific  and  literary  attainments,  as  well  as  thorough  medical  training, 
made  him  a  most  substantial  addition  to  the  high-bred  class  of  medical  men 
already  assembled  within  so  narrow  a  sphere.  When  the  Civil  war  broke  out 
none  was  more  prompt  in  tendering  his  services  to  the  cause  of  his  adopted 
land  than  was  Dr.  Roskoten.  Well  trained  in  the  military  as  well  as  profes- 
sional field  he  made  a  most  valuable  acquisition,  and  was  at  once  appointed  to 
a  high  position  in  the  service,  that  of  brigade  surgeon,  where  he  remained  until 
mustered  out  with  honor  and  credit  to  himself  as  well  as  the  department  in 
which  he  had  labored.  Returning  to  Peoria  upon  the  close  of  the  conflict.  Dr. 
Roskoten  resumed  the  practice  he  had  for  the  time  relinquished.  A  man  of 
high  education  and  cultivated  tastes,  he  became  the  centre  of  a  distinguished 
group  of  local  German  and  American  literateurs,  and  favored  them  later  with 
a  child  of  his  brain  in  the  form  of  a  drama,  based  upon  the  sad  experience 
of  Maxamilian  and  his  beloved  Carlotta  in  Mexico,  an  experience  followed 
closely  by  Dr.  Roskoten  from  its  inception  to  its  close,  as  one  of  the  incidents 
closely  bordering  on  the  interests  of  his  native  land.  A  man  of  noble  qualities 
and  manner.  Dr.  Roskoten  was  a  favorite  with  the  elite  of  his  profession  and 
societv  generally,  and  left  a  strong  impress  upon  local  professional  ideals. 

Dr.  Peter  Bartlett,  an  able  physician,  and  previously  secretary  of  the  Xew 
Hampshire  State  Medical  Society  was  a  hopeful  addition  to  the  forces  now 
being  chronicled,  coming  to  Peoria  in  1834,  but  he  sickened  and  died  within  a 
year  or  two  after  allying  himself  with  the  local  professional  organization.  Dr. 
A.  B.  Chambers  was  another  well-bred  member  of  the  profession  arriving  just 
prior  to  the  close  of  the  pioneer  period.  He  was  a  very  active  and  efficient 
member  of  the  City  Medical  Society,  at  one  time  serving  as  its  presiding  officer, 
but  soon  removed  to  Warsaw,  Kentucky.  Drs.  Cross,  H.  H.  Waite,  McConnell 
and  Willis  Sperry  were  likewise  capable  men,  in  so  far  as  the  records  show, 
but  all  left  in  a  short  time  for  other  points  tmknown  to  the  writer,  excepting 
Dr.  Cross,  who  is  said  to  have  returned  to  \'ermont,  whence  he  came.  Dr. 
]\Ioses  Tvoyer,  a  graduate  of  the  Ohio  Medical  College,  came  in  1840,  remaining 
in  Peoria  the  rest  of  his  life. 

In  connection  with  this  list,  as  one  name  standing  in  almost  as  unique  a 
relationship  to  its  end  as  did  that  of  Dr.  Langworthy  at  its  beginning,  is  that 
of  Robert  Boal,  long  designated  the  "grand  old  man"  of  the  Illinois  profession ; 
one  of  the  organizers  of  our  State  Society,  of  which  he  was  later  made  Presi- 
dent ;  formerly  demonstrator  of  anatomy  in  the  Ohio  Medical  College,  four 
times  elected  to  membership  in  the  state  legislature,  friend  and  political  adviser 
of  President  Lincoln,  and  lacking  only  eighteen  months  of  rounding  out  a 
centurv  of  life.  Of  him  it  may  truthfully  be  said  that  he  was  a  man  amongst 
men,  a  leader  of  his  time,  one  against  whom  no  word  of  reproach  was  ever 
heard ;  of  a  genial,  sunny  disposition,  broad  and  liberal  minded,  even  tempered, 
sensitive  as  a  woman,  filled  with  the  proverbial  milk  of  human  kindness,  re- 
spected and  loved  by  all.  Coming  to  the  West  in  1834,  Dr.  Boal  located  at 
Lacon. 

After  twenty-five  years  of  active  practice  there  he  removed  to  Peoria  where 
the  exigencies  of  the  recruiting  service  preparatory  to  the  Civil  war  called  for 
his  presence  as  recently  appointed  examining  surgeon.     From  that  day  he  con- 
tinued to  reside  and  practice  in  Peoria,  until  his  retirement  from  active  work, 
when  he  returned  to  Lacon  to  spend  his  remaining  days  with  his  daughter.  Mrs. 
Col.  Fort.    Although  a  non-resident  at  that  time.  Dr.  Boal  had  been  a  member  of  j 
the  Peoria  Medical  Society  almost  from  its  birth,  and  an  especially  active,  con- 
stant, and   influential   attendant.      In   keeping,  therefore   with  the  general   planl 
in  this  connection  of  allowing  those  who  can  to  speak  for  themselves,  the  fol- 
lowing estimate  of  his  colleagues,  tendered  by   Dr.   Boal  at  the  celebration  of  | 
the  Peoria   Society's   semi-centennial   anniversary,   when   he   was   in  his   ninety- 


TUSTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  355 

second  year,  is  worthy  of  reproduction  both  as  an  illustration  of  his  mental 
virility,  and  as  an  historic  resume :  "The  pioneer  doctors  who  were  in  this 
part  of  the  state  in  the  forties  were  Dr.  Perkins  of  Tremont,  Drs.  Wilson  and 
Wood,  Sr.,  of  Washington,  Dr.  Harris  of  Groveland,  all  of  Tazewell  county, 
Drs.  \\'hitmire  and  Zeller  of  Woodford  county,  Drs.  Thompson,  Thomas,  John 
and  Charles  Baker  of  Marshall  county.  Of  these  only  four  are  now  (i8c}8) 
living,  Dr.  Charles  Baker  of  Henry,  Drs.  Thompson  and  Thomas  of  Lacon, 
and  myself;  and  strange  to  say,  all  are  residents  of  Marshall  county.  In  this 
city  of  Peoria,  Drs.  Rouse,  Dickinson,  Frye,  Andrew,  Arnold,  McNeil,  Cooper 
and  Murphy,  with  one  exception  have  all  gone,  Dr.  Murphy  being  the  sole 
survivor.  In  the  little  dingy  office  of  Dr.  Frye,  with  its  hard  pine  floors,  its 
three  or  four  stuffed  wooden  chairs,  the  men  I  have  named  met  and  organized 
the  Society  whose  semi-centennial  we  commemorate  tonight.  Dr.  Dickinson, 
who  presided,  was  a  man  of  great  nobility  of  character,  of  commanding  presence, 
a  high  sense  of  honor  and  purity  of  life,  a  popular  and  successful  physician. 
Dr.  Rouse  was  (if  I  am  correctly  informed)  the  second  doctor  to  come  to 
Peoria.  In  some  things  he  was  peculiar  and  in  others  eccentric.  He  was  at 
times  curt  and  abrupt,  generally  genial  and  cordial,  and  with  a  keen  sense  of 
humor.  During  his  last  illness,  which  was  chronic  and  lasted  for  many  months, 
lie  designed  a  monument  for  himself  and  family.  He  watched  with  interest  its 
construction  and  erection  and  rode  out  to  Springdale  cemetery  every  few  days 
when  the  weather  permitted  to  note  its  progress.  He  often  expressed  his  fears 
that  he  would  not  hvc  to  see  its  completion,  as  he  wished  to  see  how  it  looked 
before  he  died. 

Dr.  Frye  had  an  extensive  and  lucrative  practice,  he  was  an  omniverous 
reader  of  literary  and  medical  books,  possessed  a  remarkably  and  retentive  mem- 
ory, and  was  an  entertaining  conversationalist.  Like  others  he  had  a  hobby. 
It  was  the  most  implicit  confidence  in  the  curative  power  of  medicine.  Dr. 
Andrew  was  of  imposing  presence,  muscular  as  a  prize  fighter,  careless  in  busi- 
ness, seldom  or  never  sending  a  bill  to  his  patrons.  If  he  needed  money  he 
would  ask  for  it  from  the  first'  patron  met,  and  he  always  got  it.  With  Dr. 
McNeil  I  was  only  slightly  acquainted.  He  was  a  minister  of  the  CSospel  as 
well  as  a  doctor.  ]\Iy  relations  with  Dr.  Arnold  were  more  of  a  political  than 
professional  character.  He  was  a  candidate  for  the  state  senate  and  I  for  the 
house.  We  traversed  together  the  three  counties  comprising  the  district,  so  that 
I  knew  him  better  as  a  man  than  physician.  He  was  appointed  consul  to  St. 
Petersburg,  but  served  only  a  short  time  as  the  climate  was  too  rigorous.  A 
few  years  after  his  return  he  died  of  tuberculosis.  I  would  be  recreant  to  a 
.  friendship  of  forty  years  with  Dr.  John  D.  Zeller,  of  Spring  Bay,  did  I  not 
stop  to  pay  a  tribute  to  his  memory.  He  lived  in  a  hamlet  that  had  scarcely 
risen  to  the  dignity  of  a  village.  His  ability  and  acquirements  would  have 
secured  for  him  more  congenial  surroundings  had  he  desired,  l)Ut  he  did  not. 
He  was  not  only  doctor  in  the  community  in  which  he  lived,  but  their  counselor 
and  friend.     They  loved  him  while  living  and  mourned  for  him  when  dead. 

"For  the  third  of  a  century  I  have  known  Dr.  Murphy.  Through  all  these 
years  I  have  had  intimate  social  and  professional  relations  with  him.  Our 
friendship  has  run  throughout  all  these  years,  like  the  current  of  peaceful 
rivers,  unvexed  by  a  wave  of  anger,  undisturbed  by  a  rijiple  of  ill  will.  For  his 
sorrow  and  bereavement  I  have  sincere  sympathy.  *  *  *  Do  you  wonder  that 
for  this  old-time  friend,  polished  gentleman,  fine  scholar,  accomplished  physi- 
cian and  sole  survivor  of  the  founders  of  this  Society,  borne  down  with  weight 
of  years  and  sorrow,  that  I  feel  the  most  profound  sympathy  ?  For  those 
pioneers  who  have  'crossed  the  river'  and  have  solved  the  mysterious  and  per- 
plexing problem  of  human  destiny  I  have  tender  memories." 

In  Peoria  county,  outside  the  town,  the  only  physician  located  prior  to  1850, 
of  which  the  writer  can  find  any  evidence  were,  first,  Asahel  Wilmot,  a  grad- 
uate of  the  medical  branch  of  the  State  University,   Herkimer  county,   N.  Y., 


356  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

in  1832  who  emigrated  to  Peoria  in  1843,  locating  first  at  Ilallock  where  he 
spent  four  years,  and  finally  at  Chillicothe  where  he  remained  the  rest  of  his 
life.  He  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  considerable  abiUly,  and  enjoyed  an 
extensive  practice  throughout  the  northern  part  of  the  county.  The  second 
was  J.  H.  Wilkinson  an  Englishman  who  was  an  alumnus  of  Louisville  Medical 
College,  and  came  from  Ohio  to  Kickapoo  Town  in  1848  in  association  with 
the  English  colony  about  Jubilee  College,  remaining  in  practice  there  for  up- 
wards of  thirty  years,  finally  retiring  to  the  city  where  he  died  sometime  in 
the  late  eighties.  The  third  was  R.  F.  Henry,  of  Princeville,  one  of  the  earliest 
members  and  most  constant  attendants  of  the  State  Society. 

The  foregoing  brief  characterizations  of  all  those  practitioners  in  Peoria 
county  who  made  any  pretense  to  a  fundamental  medical  education  prior  to 
1850,  represent  the  medical  dramatis  pcrsonae,  so  to  speak;  the  jsersonal  and  pro- 
fessional forces  which  assembled  during  the  first  of  three  well-defined  stages  in 
the  progress  of  medical  affair  in  Peoria  county,  largely  dominated  the  second  as 
well,  and  triumphantly  foreshadowed  the  operations  of  the  third.  This  is  not  too 
much  to  say,  when  it  is  remembered  that  all  there  is  of  the  county's  history  might 
have  been  spanned  by  many  a  single  human  life-time.  The  members  of  this 
group,  then,  stand  alone  in  the  over-shadowing  importance  of  their  individuality, 
in  that  the  progress  of  the  first  period  covering  it,  was  dependent  entirely  upon 
individual,  isolated  etTort,  separate  and  apart  from  any  suggestion  of  that  com- 
munity of  professional  endeavor  which  has  characterized  all  the  intervening  years 
down  to  the  present  moment. 

The  story  of  the  experience  of  these  professional  forefathers  and  their  legiti- 
mate successors  therefore  falls  with  differing  lines  of  activity  into  the  three 
curiously  well-marked  and  approximately  equal  periods  alluded  to,  of  about 
thirty  years  each.  The  first  nominally  began  in  1818  with  the  admission  of 
Illinois  to  the  Union,  ending  about  1848  with  her  retirement  as  the  Nation's 
frontier  commonwealth  coincident  with  the  introduction  of  chloroform  as  an 
anesthetic  and  the  formation  at  Peoria  of  the  first  City  Medical  Society  in  the 
state.  The  second,  commencing  under  such  inspiring  auspices  terminated  in  1878 
with  state  supervision  of  medical  education  and  licensure,  and  the  epoch-making 
acceptance  of  the  doctrine  of  bacterial  influence  in  disease.  And  the  third, 
opening  under  the  demands  of  the  new  revelation,  closed  in  the  latter  years 
of  the  new  century's  decade  with  complete  establishment  of  those  principles, 
methods  and  measures  of  asepsis  and  immunity  which  have  revolutionized  the 
practice  of  medicine,  surgery  and  sanitation,  and  won  for  the  devotees  of  those 
arts  a  prestige,  position  and  power  hitherto  unaccorded  in  the  annals  of  pulilic 
recognition. 

But  it  is  with  the  relation  of  the  Peoria  profession  to  the  first  of  these,  as 
the  opening  stage  in  progressive  development,  we  have  particularly  to  deal 
at  the  present  moment.  With  the  arrival  of  the  first  few  members  of  this  nota- 
ble contingent  began  the  series  of  activities  associated  with  the  adjustment 
and  regulation  of  professional  relation.  At  first  characterized  by  independent 
individual  endeavor,  it  gradually  grew  to  the  dimensions  of  detail  preparatory 
to  final  disciplined,  collective  effort ;  but  not  without  much  pain  and  travail. 
These  men,  conscious  of  their  own  individual  ability,  jealous  of  their  j^rofes- 
sional  rights  and  dignity,  firmly  fixed  in  their  opinions,  some  representing  the 
brilliant  but  fiery  sons  of  the  South,  others  the  calmer  but  none  the  less  stub- 
born product  of  the  North ;  and  yet  others  tainted  with  the  rebellious  spirit 
of  Europe's  oppressed,  mixed  with  irregular,  unauthorized  characters  indigenous 
to  the  then  middle  west ;  independent,  self-reliant  and  aggressive,  it  may  not 
be  wondered  that  there  was  more  or  less  strife,  contention  and  discord.  Such 
a  state  of  professional  feeling,  which  today  might  seem  unworthy  and  childish, 
was  not  at  all  uncommon  for  that  period.  At  a  much  later  one,  in  fact,  the 
writer  can  well  remember  many  personal  encounters.  Such  forms  of  disagree- 
ment were  the   result  of   jealousy,   hot-headed  criticism   and  misunderstanding. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  357 

mostly  the  latter,  since  fraternization  was  not  a  special  characteristic  of  the  days 
when  medical  men  were  both  nominally  and  really  competitors,  and  as  such 
had  their  material  problems  to  solve,  as  well  as  those  of  a  technical  nature. 
Competition  was  keen.  At  this  distance  from  the  scene  of  action  we  are  often 
disposed  to  think  that  philanthropy  was  the  dominating  feature  of  our  me<lical 
ancestors.  But  while  those  of  self-sacriticing  zeal  were  plentiful,  and  show 
well  in  song  and  story,  they  were  fully  alive  to  material  needs,  and  the  struggle 
for  existence  was  just  as  lively  then  as  now.  In  a  modification  of  the  language 
used  elsewhere  by  the  writer  "the  period  was  fraught  with  illogical,  discon- 
nected assumption  in  the  science  of  Medicine,  and  the  Art  had  not  yet  shed 
its  swaddling  clothes  of  uncertainty  and  superstition  to  the  extent  that  exists 
today.  Blind  science  and  empirical  art  went  hand  in  hand.  Also  the  same  need 
existed  then  as  exists  now  for  some  means  of  making  one's  self  conspicuous 
in  the  public  eye.  And  therein,  as  one  of  the  original  pioneer  professional 
brethren  used  to  tell  the  writer,  the  horde  of  irregulars,  by  whom  the  lack  of 
legal  supervision  in  the  old  days  permitted  the  regularly  educated  physicians  to 
be  surrounded,  had  a  great  advantage.  They  always  had  something  to  talk 
about,  and  were  continually  expatiating  on  the  merits  of  their  particular  'school' 
and  its  sjaecial  doctrine.  While  the  orthodox  physicians  of  that  time  continued 
tn  grope  in  the  darkness  of  uncertainty  for  some  really  scientific  key  to  the 
mystery  of  a  successful  therapeutics,  these  self-satisfied  thinkers  and  expo- 
nents of  Nature  came  forward  with  numerous  theories  as  ])racticable  substitutes 
for  the  real  thing.  Whether  it  was  the  so-called  eclectic,  physio-medic  or  botanic, 
it  mattered  not.  The  essential  feature  seemed  to  be  that  symptoms  are  the 
infallible  language  of  distressed  nature,  and  when  accurately  read  and  properly 
interpreted,  as  only  they  were  able  to  do,  were  a  sure  guide  to  both  pathology 
dud  treatment.  While  that  was  the  central  thought  of  what  might  properly  be 
called  the  indigenous  therapeutic  philosophy  of  the  time,  there  was  considerable 
diversity  of  opinion  among  the  followers  of  the  main  doctrine  respecting  the 
relati\'e  utility  of  reputed  measures.  In  that  fact  lay  the  reason  for  the  great 
variety  of  sects.  Every  clique  of  these  sectarian  advocates  had  its  therapeutic 
specialty,  which  in  their  hands  and  with  their  ingenuity  had  as  much  puhlicity- 
\alue  as  any  specialty  of  the  present  day.  The  members  of  the  regular  profes- 
sion, while  at  constant  variance  amongst  themselves,  were  in  the  main  loyal 
to  their  sense  of  personal  dignity  and  the  traditionary  principles  of  ethics. 
Nevertheless,  in  a  country  and  among  a  people  in  general  having  no  respect 
for  such  refinements  of  sentiment,  they  were  placed  at  a  great  disadvantage. 
Surrounded  and  pervaded  by  low  professional  influences  they  found  themselves 
burdened  with  a  great  task.  To  protect  both  themselves  and  the  public  from 
the  inroads,  likewise,  of  a  growing  class  of  charlatans,  the  outgrowth  of  pre- 
vailing professional  libertinism,  was  a  proposition  of  no  mean  order,  esjiecially 
where  no  governmental  interference  was  exerted  to  control  the  educational 
qualifications  or  even  take  any  cognizance  of  the  public  welfare.  It  was  with 
reference  to  this  state  of  things  that  the  proposition  was  broached  to  make 
some  effort  at  control.  Appeal  to  the  state  under  existing  conditions  was  prac- 
tically useless.  Only  some  local  educational  influence  or  social  restriction  seemed 
to  ofTer  any  prospect  of  relief.  It  could  not  suffice  to  say  that  superior  educa- 
tional ([ualifications  were  in  and  of  themselves  a  sufficient  protection,  because  as 
a  matter  of  fact  they  were  not,  and  never  have  been  when  pitted  against  design- 
ing fraud. 

But  superior  intellect  has,  after  all,  a  habit  of  gaining  its  end  in  one  way  or 
another.  In  this  strife  for  supremacy  attention  of  personal  elements  gradually 
was  wearing  away  the  rough  edges  of  dispositions,  and  tolerance  began  to  take 
the  place  of  arrogant  vanity.  The  policy  of  ignoring  the  sectarian  professional 
jiarasites  had  proven  a  failure,  while  contempt  and  scorn  had  met  like  defeat, 
a'i  they  ahvavs  will  in  such  cases  by  serving  to  arouse  the  jiopular  antipathy 
through  claims  of  persecution.     An  unusual  degree  of  approachment  had  been 


358  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

steadily,  if  slowly,  manifesting  itself  amongst  even  the  most  violent  tempers,  and 
a  similar  degree  of  strategic  condescension  manifested  itself.  Informal  meetings 
were  held  to  consider  the  situation.  At  the  suggestion,  finally,  of  some  wise 
heads  it  was  concluded  to  adopt  a  pacific  policy  toward  at  least  the  chief  and  most 
influential  exponents  of  these  specific  doctrines,  and  gradually,  through  that  per- 
suasive influence  which  is  always  generated  and  cultivated  by  honest  and  frank 
association,  lure  them  to  surrender  something  of  the  aggressively  sectarian  in 
their  habits,  and  join  the  regular  brethren  in  an  efYort  for  professional  protection 
and  uplift.  In  other  words,  the  old  idea  of  exclusiveness  in  professional  asso- 
ciation on  the  part  of  the  regular  bred  doctors  was  to  be  minimized  and  an  era  of 
cooperation  among  all  fair-minded  and  respectable  members  of  the  profession 
attempted.  This  proposition  of  conciliation  between  the  warring  professional 
representatives  at  that  early  day  was  naturally  a  long  time  in  maturing,  because 
of  opposition  to  any  fraternization  with  men  of  such  varied  professional  hue  as 
those  with  whom  the  regular  faculty  would  thus  be  brought.  However,  by  dint 
of  perseverance  on  the  part  of  the  farsighted  few  who  could  see  in  the  consumma- 
tion of  such  a  movement  a  partial  solution,  at  least,  of  the  difficulties  under  which 
the  profession  were  laboring,  consent  of  a  number  was  secured  and  the  scheme 
was  quietly  launched.  Thus  did  that  group  of  resourceful  professional  pro- 
genitors of  ours  anticipate  by'  some  sixty  years  the  action  taken  by  the  general 
profession  within  the  last  decade.  Conferences  were  held  in  which  matters  per- 
taining to  the  welfare  of  both  the  profession  and  the  public  were  discussed,  and 
to  which  were  invited  those  honest  adherents  of  irregular  medicine  who  really 
believed  what  they  preached  and  practiced,  and  yet  were  open-minded  enough 
to  listen,  and  had  self-respect  enough  to  indulge  in  no  blatent  pretensions.  The 
idea  seemed  to  meet  with  favor.  Conferences  thus  inaugurated  spread  through- 
out the  county,  and  even  up  to  as  late  a  date  as  forty  years  ago  were  popular. 
Just  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  war  a  County  IMedical  Society  distinct  from  that 
of  the  city  was  inaugurated  on  those  lines  under  the  leadership  of  the  late  Dr. 
George  L.  Corcoran  of  Brimfield,  and  technical  subjects  discussed,  with  the  vim 
and  ardor  and  honesty  which  usually  characterize  the  proceedings  of  small  as- 
semblages, together  with  the  various  sectarian  doctrines  and  methods  then  in 
vogue.  Any  man  of  any  particular  faith  within  convenient  distance  was  given 
not  only  a  generous,  but  hearty  welcome,  and  his  expositions  listened  to  with  that 
interest  and  respectful  consideration  exhibited  by  those  who  are  seeking  the  truth 
from  whatever  'source  it  be  derived,  and  who  consider  every  honest  human  ex- 
perience a  legitimate  field  for  serious  investigation,  particularly  at  a  time  when, 
as  then,  every  one  was  searching  earnestly  for  some  tangible  clue  to  rational 
therapeutics. 

In  Peoria  a  surprising  liberality  of  sentiment  and  practical  harmony  were 
gradually  developed.  Half  a  dozen  or  more  of  the  most  prominent  practitioners 
of  sectarian  persuasion,  especially  homeopathists  and  eclectics,  and  others  with 
similar  leanings,  were  of  the  number  who  finally  established  a  sort  of  circle  of 
defense  and  ofifense,  and  thereby  accomplished  an  immense  amount  of  good  for 
themselves  and  the  general  public,  by  curbing,  through  personal  and  collective 
influence,  the  arrogance  and  pretense  of  the  baser  sort.  It  was  to  that  act,  and 
the  circumstances  associated  with  it  that  Charles  Ballance  in  his  history  of  1870 
referred  when  he  wrote:  "The  laws  of  Illinois  do  not  prescribe  who  may  and  who 
shall  not  practice  medicine.  To  remedy  this  evil,  certain  physicians  of  Peoria, 
on  the  fifteenth  of  .^pril,  1848,  formed  themselves  into  a  medical  society,  which 
has  been  kept  up  to  this  day.  Those  who  went  into  that  arrangement  were 
Rudolphus  Rouse,  Joseph  C.  Frye,  Edward  Dickinson,  Elwood  Andrew,  John 
Alurphy,  John  D.  Arnold,  F.  McNeil.  William  R.  Hamilton,  E.  Cooper,  j.  T. 
Stewart,  E.  M.  Colburn,  John  L.  Hamilton,  H.  H.  Waite,  John  N.  Niglas,  VVillis 
Sperry,  James  McConnell,  Clark  D.  Rankin,  A.  B.  Chambers,  Robert  Roskoten. 
But  there  were,  at  that  time,  a  number  of  men  who  relied  upon  the  practice  of 
medicine  for  a  support,  whose  names  are  not  contained  in  the  above  list.     That 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  359 

was  probably  Iiecause  they  could  not  produce  a  diploma  from  some  medical  school 
of  their  qualifications,  or  it  may  have  been  because  they  had  adopted  doctrines, 
or  fallen  into  practices,  that  were  deemed  unprofessional." 

It  was  in  relation  to  the  same  conditions  and  circumstances  preceding  the  or- 
ganization of  the  City  Society  that  our  own  Dr.  Rouse  had  the  following  to 
say  in  one  of  his  addresses :  "To  the  meniliers  of  this  Society  it  is  sufficient  to 
say  that  its  objects  are  stated  in  the  constitution.  For  others  I  may  add,  that  by 
such  association  or  fellowship  the  legitimate  and  honorable  members  of  a  great 
and  noble  profession,  which,  more  than  any  other,  links  together  art  and  science, 
philosophy  and  philanthropy,  are  better  known  and  aided  by  each  other ;  while 
by  those  not  of  the  profession  they  are  more  easily  distinguished  from  the  multi- 
tude of  false  pretenders,  of  every  grade  and  description,  who,  in  the  absence  of 
all  legal  distinction  or  restraint,  depending  on  the  credulity  and  weakness  of 
human  nature,  become  as  numerous  as  the  frogs  and  other  pests  of  Egypt,  and 
invest  and  infest  every  place  and  corner  of  our  country  and  community.  Socie- 
ties like  ours  have  long  existed  in  all  the  older  states  of  the  I'nion,  and  have  been 
of  great  advantage  to  both  the  profession  and  the  general  community  ;  but  in  our 
good  state  of  Illinois,  where  there  is  no  legal  protection  of  either,  and  where  the 
medical  profession  is  perfectly  outlawed,  the  necessity  and  utility  of  such  asso- 
ciation and  organization  is  exceedingly  obvious." 

It  may  be  said  here,  in  a  supplementary  way,  that  the  ensuing  period  was 
really  the  pioneer  one  for  most  of  the  settlements  in  the  interior  aside  from  the 
three  or  four  already  mentioned.  Dr.  George  L.  Corcoran,  in  so  far  as  the  writer 
knows,  was  the  first  physician  to  locate  in  P.rimfield ;  Dr.  W.  M.  Swisher  in  Elm- 
wood,  having  the  distinction  of  erecting  the  first  house  there;  Dr.  Joseph  F. 
Thomas  in  Northampton,  from  whence  he  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Civil  war 
as  Captain  of  Company  C.  Eighty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry,  as  Major  in  1864, 
wouncled  and  returned  home  when  he  reentered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion at  Chillicothe,  subsequently  president  of  the  Marshall  County  Medical  So- 
ciety, and  a  member  of  the  Peoria  and  state  organizations ;  and  W.  H.  Wilmot 
of  Lawn  Ridge  in  1858,  who  continued  in  practice  there  for  over  twenty  years, 
finally  removing  to  California  wdnere  he  subsequently  died. 

With  the  nominal  acceptance  of  the  community-of-interest  idea  the  process 
of  adjustment  under  constitutional  regulation  was  yet  slow.  Men  accustomed 
to  freedom  in  professional  thought  and  action  were  averse  to  accommodating 
themselves  to  the  full  requirements  of  the  changed  situation.  The  records  of 
the  Society  exhibit  many  resolutions  of  censure,  reprimand,  expulsion  and  re- 
admission.  It  was  one  thing  to  inaugurate  such  a  movement,  but  quite  another 
to  maintain  it.  The  increasing  number  of  sectarian  new-comers,  mountelianks 
and  charlatans  increased  the  gravity  of  the  situation,  and  the  second  stage  in 
Peoria  countv's  medical  development  seemed  doomed  to  disaster.  Contention 
against  the  sophistries  of  irrational  dogma  continued,  however.  The  inspiration 
of  the  forefathers  had  not  been  in  vain.  Notwithstanding  the  intervening  period 
of  the  Civil  war,  and  depletion  of  the  local  ranks  to  furnish  much  of  its  best  blood 
for  relief  of  suffering  at  the  front,  the  enemy  of  rational  medicine  was  held  at  bay 
until  1878,  when  the  close  of  the  second  stage  witnessed  the  establishment  of 
restrictive  legislation  as  to  practitioners  of  medicine,  and  the  dawn  of  the  an- 
tiseptic and  antitoxic  era  dissipated  sectarianism  like  dew  before  the  morning 
sun,  nothing  of  value  remaining  but  the  name,  llefore  that  was  comsummated, 
however,  the  call  to  arms  for  the  Civil  war  had  taken  something  like  a  dozen  of 
the  ablest  and  truest  friends  of  medical  organization  and  its  progressive  influence. 
Amongst  those  who  obeyed  the  summons  were  Drs.  Rankin.  Cooper,  Roskoten, 
Stewart,  Lucas,  Niglas,  Herrell,  Guth,  and  Thomas  of  Chillicothe.  For  more 
than  ten  years  after  the  return  of  these  veterans  the  fight  against  the  enemies  of 
liberal  science  continued  until  indubitable  proof  came  to  the  relief  of  its  defenders 
and  settled  the  question  of  a  multiple  standard  of  medical  education  once  and 
fur  all.  whatever  names  or  means  sinister  motives  might  adopt  for  personal 
aggrandizement. 


360  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

During  this  second  period  the  roster  of  the  city  society  and  other  records 
show  the  addition  of  some  fifty  practitioners,  whose  names  it  would  be  agree- 
able to  announce,  and  whose  services  in  the  profession  it  would  be  a  pleasure 
to  consider,  did  space  permit.  Suffice  it  to  say,  however,  that  from  the  first  year 
of  organized  dispensation  individualism  lost  much  of  its  prestige,  and  progress 
was  steady  along  the  lines  of  technical  improvement  followed  by  progressive  men 
the  country  over,  each  adding  his  mite  to  the  sum  total  of  accumulating  knowl- 
edge, and  to  the  institution  of  means  and  measures  of  public  as  well  as  profes- 
sional advantage.  Locally,  sanitary  conditions  were  improved.  A  Marine,  and 
later  a  city  hospital,  was  established.  A  charter  for  a  medical  school  was  ob- 
tained, but  several  attempts  to  use  it  were  frustrated  by  the  wise  counsel  of  those 
far-sighted  enough  to  see  that  the  prospective  facilities  were  not  such  as  to  argue 
the  success  of  the  venture. 

In  1876  the  Sisters  of  St.  Frances  were  induced  to  establish  a  hospital  of  their 
order,  which  was  located  on  South  Adams  street  just  below  Chestnut,  and  sub- 
sequently removed  to  its  present  commanding  position  on  the  East  Bluff.  The 
inception  of  the  antiseptic  regime  and  its  relation  to  surgery,  however,  which 
began  the  third  stage  in  the  county's  medical  development,  found  the  authorities 
of  that  institution  unprepared  to  accept  what  then  appeared  to  be  simply  a  fad. 
The  result  was  the  founding  of  the  Cottage  (now  Proctor)  hospital,  under  the 
leadership  of  ihe  late  Dr.  J.  L.  Hamilton,  associated  with  Drs.  Thomas  M.  Mc- 
Ilvaine  and  O.  B.  Will,  first  as  a  private  institution,  subsequently  passing  into  the 
hands  of  a  stock  company  composed  of  physicians  and  interested  citizens,  and 
made  a  public  home  for  the  sick.  In  189S  The  Deaconess'  Sisterhood  of  the 
Methodist  church  also  opened  a  hospital  under  the  auspices  of  that  denomination, 
which  met  with  immediate  success,  and  now  all  three  of  the  enterprises  described 
are  well  equipped  for  the  requirements  of  modern  medicine  and  surgery  in  every 
respect. 

This  third  period  was  characterized  in  its  opening  by  gradual  relmquishment 
of  aggressive  activity  on  the  part  of  those  physicians  who  had  borne  the  burden 
of  the  pioneer  and  intermediate  periods,  and  to  whom  the  new  innovations  were 
but  the  possible  realization  of  a  dream.  They  had  done  their  part  of  the  work. 
And  yet  the  old  spirit  remained  dominant,  and  in  several  instances  won  laurels  in 
the  face  of  unaccustomed  demands,  as  instanced  in  Dr.  Stewart's  first  vaginal  hys- 
terectomy, and  Dr.  J.  L.  Hamilton's  first  successful  ovariotomy. 

In  these  past  thirty-five  years,  however,  many  changes  have  taken  place  m 
the  nature  of  professional  activity  as  well  as  its  personnel,  in  Peoria  county. 
The  organized  cooperation  which  sixty  years  ago  was  an  innovation  has  become 
a  fixed,  indispensable  policy.  The  principle  of  sectarianism  then  prevailing  has 
been  replaced  bv  the  near  taste  of  denominationalism.  The  public  recognition 
of  scientific  revelations  has  drawn  the  fangs  of  absolute  quackery,  and  sanitary 
evolution  opened  the  eyes  of  all  who  care  to  see.  The  local  medical  profession 
have  continued  in  the'  fore-front  of  every  progressive  maneuver.  Almost  the 
first  in  the  state,  as  the  literature  will  substantiate,  to  practically  grasp  the  signif- 
icance of  antisepsis  and  immunity  in  relation  to  their  art,  they  have  continued 
in  representative  fashion  to  reap  its  benefits,  and  have  followed  their  profes- 
sional forefathers  in  merging  the  idea  of  competition  into  that  of  cooperation 
through  organization.  The  celebration  of  their  local  society's  semi-centennial 
aniversary  in  iBqS  called  from  others  a  notable  commendation  of  allegiance  to 
traditional  principle  in  that  direction,  and  the  writer  cannot  better  close  this 
brief  historical  resume  than  by  quoting  a  paragraph  or  two  from  the  address  of 
Professor  Daniel  Brower  of  Chicago,  on  that  occasion,  as  follows: 

"The  great  city  of  Chicago  was  at  one  time  an  insignificant  village  in  the 
county  of  Peoria;  although  a  full  three  days'  journey  the  county  judge  of  Peoria 
dispensed  justice  in  that  city  by  the  lake,  and  the  inspiration  that  has  rnade  it 
the  marvel  of  the  age  was  doubtless  in  part  drawn  from  here.  It  was  eminently 
fitting  that  this  citv  should  be  the  pioneer  in  medical  organizations.     Rudolphus 


n 

V- 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  861 

Rouse,  Joseph  C.  Frye,  John  Murphy,  E.  S.  Cooper,  I.  D.  Arnold,  F.  McNeil 
and  their  associates  who  founded  and  who  developed  this  society  whose  semi- 
centennial we  celebrate  tonight,  are  entitled  to  our  fullest  homage;  they  builded 
better  than  they  knew. 

"The  great  organizer,  not  satisfied  with  establishing  the  I'eoria  Medical  So- 
ciety, proceeded  almost  innnediately  to  the  organization  of  a  State  Medical 
Society.  This  org;anization  was  completed  at  Springfield,  June  4,  1850.  Dr. 
Rouse  was  the  chairman  and  Drs.  McXeil,  Cooper  and  Murphv  were  the  earnest 
and  active  agents  in  its  accomplishment.  It  was  not  done  in  Peoria,  but  by 
Peoria,  and  the  honor  of  the  semi-centennial  of  the  state  society  be- 
longs to  Peoria,  and  here  its  ceremonies  should  be  held.  The  state  society  that 
had  its  origin  in  the  cerebral  activity  of  Peorians  was  pushed  along  its  grand 
work  of  organizing,  elevating  and  unifying  the  profession  by  the  same  strong 
influence. 

"This  society  was  organized  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  anaesthetic  age.  Sir 
James  Y.  Simpson  first  used  chloroform,  as  an  anaesthetic  in  1847,  in  Kdinburgh, 
and  ether  was  only  ijrought  to  the  attention  of  the  profession  for  the  same  pur- 
pose the  year  before,  and  yet  notw-ithstanding  there  were  no  railroads  nor  tele- 
graphs to  Peoria  in  those  days,  no  weekly  medical  journal,  your  Dr.  E.  S.  Cooper 
read  a  very  interesting  and  exhaustive  paper  before  the  State  Medical  Society  at 
its  first  meeting  on  'The  effect  of  chloroform  as  an  anaesthetic  agent  in  seventy- 
nine  surgical  operations.'     Is  that  enterprise  and  progressiveness  surpassed  today? 

"The  Rouses,  Fryes,  Coopers,  etc.,  of  '48'  have  worthy  successors  in  the 
doctors  at  this  festive  board  tonight — worthy  sons  of  noble  sires,  carrying  on 
with  success  the  great  work  of  keeping  Peoria  in  the  front  rank  of  medical 
progress ;  and  may  we  express  the  hope  that  when  they  go  hence  their  succes- 
sors may  be  equally  self-sacrificing  and  earnestly  devoted  to  the  pursuit  of  knowl- 
edge, and  equally  conscientious  in  the  practice  of  this,  the  noblest  of  professions. 
And  then  we  can  in  imagination  look  into  the  distant  future  and  see  fifty  years 
hence  a  festival  more  glorious  than  this,  at  which  the  noble  deeds  of  the  men 
and  women  who  are  here  tonight  will  rise  as  a  savory  incense  before  the  altar 
of  a  noble  science." 


OSTEOPATHY  IN  PEORIA 

The  first  iieard  of  osteopathy  in  Peoria  was  in  the  fall  of  1895  through 
Charles  Hazzard.  of  this  city.  Dr.  Hazzard  had  taken  a  post-graduate  course 
in  Northwestern  University  at  Evanston.  with  a  view  of  studying  for  the  medical 
profession.  After  spending  some  time  at  the  university  he  went  to  W'oods  Hole. 
Massachusetts,  where  he  took  a  summer  course  in  biology  under  the  celebrated 
neurologist.  Dr.  Ira  von  Giesen,  at  Bellevue  Hospital,  New  York  City,  after 
which  he  returned  to  the  Northwestern  University  for  further  studies  before 
entering  the  medical  college.  About  this  time  Dr.  Harrv  M.  Still,  a  son  of  the 
founder  of  the  science  of  osteopathy,  had  taken  an  office  in  Chicago,  with  resi- 
dence and  house  practice  in  Evanston.  There  Mr.  Hazzard  noted  the  patients 
coming  to  and  from  Dr.  Still's  residence,  and  marking  the  improvement  in  the- 
various  cases,  he  sought  and  became  acquainted  with  Dr.  Still.  After  a  thorough 
investigation  and  by  the  advice  of  a  ])rominent  physician  of  Chicago,  he  entered 
the  .\merican  School  of  Osteopathy,  at  Kirksville,  Missouri,  January  i,  i8q6, 
and  afterwards  taught  in  that  institution  about  five  years,  opening  and  conducting 
the  first  course  in  histology,  using  the  techni(|ue  acquired  through  the  teaching 
of  Dr.  von  Giesen.  In  the  interim  Dr.  Hazzard  practiced  in  Detroit  one  year  and 
then  returned  to  the  school.  Having  taken  a  special  course  in  dissection  in 
Chicago,  he  finally  became  chief  of  clinics  in  the  .American  .School  of  Osteopathv. 
In  June,  1903,  Dr.  Hazzard  severed  his  connection  with  the  school,  and  in  con- 


362  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

nection  with  Dr.  Harry  M.  Still  opened  an  office  in  New  York  city.  Later  he 
bought  the  interests  in  the  practice  of  Dr.  Still  and  is  continuing  in  the  profes- 
sion at  the  metropolis. 

Physicians  of  the  school  of  osteopathy  who  have  practiced  in  Peoria  are  the 
following: 

Dr.  Logan  H.  Taylor,  a  graduate  of  the  Kirksville  school  in  1897.  Through 
the  solicitations  of  William  M.  Lyons  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Peoria  in  June 
of  the  year  just  given.  Dr.  Lyons  was  a  native  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where 
he  was  educated  in  the  private  schools.  He  also  attended  the  Military  Academy 
at  West  Chester,  Pennsylvania,  after  which  he  spent  two  years  at  the  Missouri 
State  University  and  two  years  in  the  Missouri  State  Medical  School.  His  prac- 
tice in  Peoria  was  successful  and  at  times  he  was  associated  with  Drs.  Canada 
Wendell  and  G.  R.  Boyer.  Dr.  Taylor  died  September  6,  1906,  at  the  age  of 
forty-two. 

Dr.  Canada  Wendell  was  born  on  a  farm  near  New  Holland,  Illinois,  April  27, 
1868.  His  education  was  received  in  the  common  schools  and  in  Lincoln  Uni- 
versity, at  Lincoln,  Illinois.  Leaving  the  university,  he  spent  one  year  at  Central 
Normal  School  at  Danville,  Illinois,  and  another  year  at  the  Northern  Indiana 
Normal  School  at  Valparaiso.  He  taught  school  a  year  and  for  six  and  a  half 
years  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business.  In  February,  1898,  Mr.  Wendell 
entered  Kirksville  School  of  Osteopathy  and  graduated  therefrom  in  1900.  Pre- 
vious to  this,  in  the  summer  of  1899,  he  was  in  Peoria  as  an  assistant  to  Dr. 
L.  H.  Taylor.  After  his  graduation  he  returned  to  Peoria  and  entered  into 
partnership  with  Dr.  Taylor,  which  association  continued  under  the  firm  name 
of  Taylor  &  Wendell  until  November  7,  1901.  At  the  time  last  mentioned  Dr. 
Wendell  formed  a  partnership  with  Dr.  E.  G.  Magill,  which  coimection  still 
continues. 

Dr.  E.  G.  Magill  is  a  native  of  central  Ohio  and  received  his  primary  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools.  He  taught  school  a  few  terms  and  then  came  to 
Illinois  and  entered  the  state  normal,  where  he  remained  some  little  time  and 
then  took  up  a  course  of  study  in  Wesleyan  University,  at  Bloomington.  He 
was  a  teacher  in  the  schools  for  fifteen  years.  He  graduated  from  the  American 
School  of  Osteopathy  in  1901  and  in  December  of  that  year  became  associated 
in  practice  with  Dr.  Canada  Wendell.  At  the  present  time  the  firm  of  Wendell 
&  Alagill  is  still  in  existence. 

Mrs.  R.  AI.  Magill,  daughter  of  a  physician  of  the  old  school,  laid  a  founda- 
tion for  the  profession  of  teaching  in  the  common  and  state  normal  schools. 
She  taught  for  twenty-two  years,  and  with  her  husljand  she  went  to  the  Amer- 
ican School  of  Osteopathy  in  Kirksville  and  graduated  therefrom  in  June,  1907. 
She  then  located  with  her  husband  in  Peoria  and  became  the  assistant  of  the 
firm  of  which  he  was  a  member.     Mrs.  Magill  died  in  191 2. 

Dr.  Edgar  O.  Thawley  was  born  in  Delaware.  He  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  and  had  a  private  tutor  in  Latin,  physics,  etc.  He  graduated  from  the 
Kirksville  school  in  June,  1902,  and  in  the  same  year  he  took  a  special  course  in 
anatomy  and  dissection.  In  December  of  that  year  Dr.  Thawley  arrived  in 
Peoria  and  began  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Later  he  took  a  summer  course 
in  pathology  and  bacteriology  in  the  American  College  at  Chicago.  In  1912 
Dr.  Thawley  was  elected  president  of  the  Illinois  State  Osteopathy  Association. 

Dr.  G.  R.  Boyer  is  a  native  of  Kentucky  and  was  educated  in  Central  College 
of  that  state,  having  graduated  therefrom  with  honors  in  1895.  In  1901  he 
entered  the  American  School  of  Osteopathy  at  Kirksville  and  graduated  in  June, 
1902.  He  then  located  in  Peoria  and  entered  into  practice  with  Dr.  Taylor,  with 
whom  he  was  associated  for  some  time.  Dr.  Boyer  has  been  active  in  securing 
state  and  national  recognition  in  the  science  and  was  the  delegate  from  Illinois 
to  the  legislative  council  in  1912.  His  wife  entered  Kirksville  school  with  her 
husband  and  graduated  at  the  same  time.  She  has  not  practiced  in  this  city, 
however. 


i 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  363 

H.  J.  Faulkin  was  born  in  Logan  county,  Jllinois.  in  1875.  He  secured  his 
education  in  the  district  schools,  entered  the  American  School  of  Osteopathy  in 
1899  and  graduated  in  1901.  He  commenced  practice  the  same  year  at  Pekin 
and  remained  there  until  Alay,  1907,  when  he  located  at  Peoria. 

M.  J.  Grieves  was  born  at  Lacon,  Illinois.  He  received  his  schooling  in  his 
native  place  and  entered  the  Kirksville  College  in  1905,  from  which  he  gradu- 
ated in  June,  1909.     He  came  direct  to  Peoria  and  engaged  in  practice. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE    BENCH    AND    BAR FIRST    COURTS,    JUDGES    AND    LAWYERS — AN    INDIAN    TRIED 

FOR    MURDER — SKETCHES   OF   SOME  OF   PEORIA's   FAMOUS   ADVOCATES ^THE   LATE 

JUDGE     m'cULLOCH's    RECOLLECTIONS DESCRIPTION     OF    LINCOLN-DOUGLAS    DE- 
BATE  COLONEL  ROBERT  G.  INGERSOLL PEORIA  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

A  ])leasing  and  interesting  sketch  was  written  in  1899  l)y  the  late  Judge  David 
AlcCulloch  and  i)ubhshed  in  "The  Bench  and  Bar  of  lUinois,"  in  which  he  gave 
his  recollections  and  impressions  of  the  early  courts  of  i'eoria  county,  the  emi- 
nent men  who  sat  upon  the  bench  in  these  courts  and  the  pioneer  lawyers  and 
their  successors,  many  of  whom  attained  prominence  and  distinction,  not  only 
in  their  chosen  profession  but  also  in  places  of  political  eminence  secured  by  the 
votes  and  influence  of  admiring  friends  and  adherents.  From  a  residence  of 
over  a  half  century  in  Peoria  and  a  membership  of  the  I'eoria  bar  almost  as 
long,  Judge  i\IcCulloch"s  acquaintance  with  the  courts  of  this  district  and  the 
lawyers  practicing  therein,  coupled  with  his  ability  to  judge  character,  accuracy 
of  expression,  and  facile  pen,  he  was  splendidly  equipped  to  write  lucidly  and 
with  certainty  upon  the  early  history  of  the  bench  and  bar  of  Peoria  county. 
I  ly  permission,  his  article  as  published  is  here  reproduced : 

Peoria  comity  was  organized  under  an  act  of  the  legislature  of  January  13, 
1825,  with  its  present  boundaries,  to  which  were  added  for  county  purposes  all 
that  tract  of  country  north  of  town  20  and  west  of  the  third  principal  meridian, 
formerly  a  part  of  Sangamon  county,  and  all  that  tract  of  land  north  of  Peorui 
county  and  of  the  Illinois  and  Kankakee  rivers.  The  territory  so  attached  em- 
braced a  large  portion  of  the  north  part  of  the  state,  including  what  is  now 
the  city  of  Chicago.  Cook  county  was  not  organized  until  1831.  It  is  of  in- 
terest to  note  that,  as  shown  by  the  early  records  of  Peoria  county,  licenses  in 
those  times  were  granted  by  its  county  authorities  to  certain  persons  to  maintain 
ferries  over  the  Chicago  river  at  Fort  Dearborn  and  the  "Callimink"  (Calumet), 
at  the  head  of  I.ake  Michigan,  as  well  as  to  keep  a  tavern  at  Chicago,  and  that, 
although  Chicago  had  its  own  justices  of  the  peace,  yet  persons  desiring  to  be 
married  there  were  obliged  to  come  to  Peoria  for  their  marriage  licenses. 

The  first  term  of  the  circuit  court  commenced  the  14th  day  of  November, 
1825,  with  John  York  Sawyer,  judge;  John  Dillon,  clerk;  and  Samuel  Fulton, 
sheriff.  The  court  was  held  in  a  log  building,  fourteen  feet  square,  that  stood 
on  the  bank  of  the  river.  It  had  only  one  window  and  its  loft  was  low — in 
fact  it  was  a  genuine  log  cabin.  It  also  served  for  religious  meetings  on  the 
Sabbath.  The  basement  was  reached  through  an  opening  or  door  on  the  river 
side  and  was  sometimes  used  as  a  jail,  sometimes  as  a  stable.  A  better  jail, 
built  of  three  thicknesses  of  logs,  with  a  log  floor  covered  with  oak  plank  well 
s]5iked,  was  subse(|uently  erected  and  continued  to  be  the  county  prison  for 
many  years. 

The  following  testimony  of  .some  of  the  earliest  settlers  will  throw  much 
light  upon  the  administration  of  justice  in  those  early  days.  John  Hamlin,  writ- 
ing in  1844,  savs :  "In  the  year  1826  I  lived  three  miles  from  Mackinaw,  on  the 

365 


366  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

Peoria  and  Springfield  road,  in  what  is  now  Tazewell  county,  but  then  attached 
to  Peoria ;  and,  being  twenty-one  years  of  age  that  year,  I  was  summoned  on  the 
grand  jury.  There  were  not  enough  adults  then  in  Peoria  county  proper  to  form 
the  grand  and  petit  juries,  and  hence  they  were  summoned  from  the  attached  por- 
tion. All  the  grand  juries  but  two  were  from  the  east  side  of  the  Illinois  river, 
and  were  chiefly  my  neighbors.  We  took  our  provisions  and  bedding,  the  latter 
being  a  blanket  or  quilt  for  each.  It  was  also  the  practice  in  those  days  to  take 
along  a  flagon  of  liquor,  and  the  custom  was  not  omitted  on  this  occasion.  In 
truth,  so  faithfully  was  the  flagon  put  under  requisition  that  but  two  of  our 
number  were  sober  when  we  appeared  in  court  to  receive  the  judge's  charge, 
judge  Sawyer  was  the  presiding  judge,  James  Turney  the  prosecuting  attorney, 
and  Messrs.  Cavalry,  Pugh,  Bogardus  and  Turney  the  entire  bar. 

"There  were  only  about  eight  bills  of  indictment  found  by  the  grand  jury — 
one  of  these  against  an  Indian  named  Xomaque,  for  murder.  He  had  been 
tried  the  fall  before,  but,  obtaining  a  new  trial,  he  was  indicted  again  this  term. 

"The  court  house  was  a  log  building  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  in  which  the 
jurors  slept  on  their  blankets  on  the  floor.  There  was  a  tavern  kept  by  Mr. 
Bogardus.  but  it  was  not  large  enough  to  furnish  sleeping  accommodations  for 
them.  The  grand  jury  room  was  a  lumber  cabin,  in  which  Bogardus  kept  sad- 
dles and  other  cattle  fixings." 

Xomaque,  the  Indian  mentioned  in  the  above  extract,  had  been  tried  at  tlie 
first  term  of  the  court  held  by  Judge  Sawyer,  at  which  time  he  was  convicted 
for  the  nuirder  of  a  Frenchman  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged ;  William  Hamilton, 
a  son  of  the  celebrated  Alexander  Hamilton,  being  counsel  for  the  defense,  and 
James  Turney,  attorney  general,  for  the  prosecution.  The  case  had  been  carried 
to  the  supreme  court  and  the  judgment  reversed.  It  is  reported  in  Beecher's 
Breese,  with  copious  notes  by  the  author.  .\t  the  time  of  his  second  indictment, 
there  being  no  secure  jail,  the  sheriff  kept  him  under  guard  at  a  private  house, 
when  an  attempt  was  made  at  his  rescue  by  some  drunken  Indians,  but  without 
success.  He  was  afterward  allowed  to  quit  the  country  and  is  reported  to  have 
united  liis  fortunes  with  lUack  Hawk,  and  to  have  lost  his  life  in  the  battle  of 
Stillman's  Run.  It  has  been  hinted  that  "the  flagon"  cut  quite  a  figure  in  his 
first  trial. 

In  the  same  year  (1844)  Isaac  Underbill  wrote  as  follows:  "I  first  landed 
on  the  shore  of  Peoria  lake  on  Christmas  day,  1833.  and  took  lodging  with  our 
worthy  townsman,  A.  O.  Garrett,  who  then  kept  the  'Peoria  Hotel,'  in  a  small 
two-story  wooden  building  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Washington  streets.  The 
only  building  west  of  the  hotel  at  that  time  was  a  barn,  a  short  distance  up 
Main  street.  The  entire  town  consisted  of  but  seven  frame  houses  and  a  few 
log  tenements.  The  dav  following  I  left  in  the  steamboat  'Peoria'  for  the  south. 
In  a  few  months  I  returned  again  to  Peoria.  During  my  absence  preparations 
had  been  made  for  building,  and  before  the  first  of  September  about  forty  houses 
and  stores  were  erected. 

"ludge  Young  was  the  presiding  judge  at  that  time  and  held  the  circuit  court 
in  a  "small  building,  fourteen  feet  square,  on  the  river  bank.  The  grand  jury  sat 
under  the  shade  of  a  crabapple  tree,  and  the  petit  jury  deliberated  in  an  old 
French  cellar,  partially  filled  up.  and  surrounded  with  a  growth  of  rank  weeds 
and  grass.  The  venerable  Isaac  Waters  was  clerk  of  the  court.  His  office  and 
dwelling  were  in  a  small  log  cabin,  where  now  (1844)  stand  the  plow  works 
of  Tobey  &  Anderson.  The  old  gentleman  used  to  carry  the  seal  of  the  court  in 
his  pocket,  and  on  one  occasion,  by  mistake,  offered  it  to  the  postmaster  in  pay- 
ment of  postage. 

"The  only  practicing  members  of  the  bar  that  resided  here  at  that  time  were 
the  Hon.  Lewis  Bigelow  and  Charles  Ballance.  The  former  was  an  eminent 
jurist  and  profound  scholar.  I  was  informed  that  he  wrote  a  digest  of  the  laws 
of  Massachusetts,  a  valuable  work  of  upward  of  eight  hundred  pages,  with  one 
quill.     He  died  here  in   1838.     William  Frisby.  a  member  of  the  bar  of  much 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  367 

promise,  arrived  liere  in  1834.  By  his  indefatigable  studies  he  was  fast  reach- 
ing the  topmost  round  of  the  ladder  of  his  profession,  when  he  died,  in  1842, 
lamented  by  a  large  circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances." 

Judge  Samuel  D.  Lockwood  succeeded  Judge  Sawyer,  and  in  1829,  Judge 
Lockwood  was  succeeded  by  Judge  Richard  M.  Young,  who  remained  on  the 
bench  until  the  close  of  the  year  i8'34.  Charles  Ballance,  who  is  mentioned  in 
one  of  the  foregoing  extracts,  was  a  prominent  attorney  at  law  who  had  settled 
in  Peoria  as  early  as  1831.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  wrote  a  history  of 
Peoria,  from  which  some  of  the  following  facts  are  gleaned. 

Judge  Young's  circuit  extended  from  below  Quincy  to  Chicago,  including  the 
present  cities  of  Quincy,  Rock  Island,  Galena,  Ottawa  and  Chicago,  and  em- 
braced all  the  intermediate  territory.  In  May,  1833,  he  made  his  appearance  in 
the  village  of  Peoria  and  announced  that  he  was  on  his  way  to  Chicago  to  hold 
court.  He  had  traveled  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  from  Ouincv,  where 
he  lived,  and  had  to  travel,  as  the  trail  then  ran,  not  less  than  one  hundred  and 
seventy  miles  farther,  to  hold  his  first  court  on  his  circuit.  He  traveled  all  the 
way  on  horseback. 

After  Judge  Young's  time,  and  before  the  accession  of  the  Hon.  Onslow 
Peters,  the  circuit  of  Peoria  county  was  presided  over  by  the  following  named 
judges,  in  addition  to  those  already  mentioned :  Thomas  Ford,  Sidney  Pjreese. 
Stei)hen  T.  Logan,  Daniel  Stone,  John  D.  Caton.  T.  Lyle  Dickey  and  William 
Kellogg,  each  one  of  whom  occupies  a  prominent  place  in  the  history  of  his  times 
and  needs  not  any  extended  notice  here.  It  is  a  matter  of  historv,  however, 
that  Thomas  Ford  died  in  poverty,  at  the  house  of  his  intimate  friend,  Andrew 
<  iray,  an  early  settler  of  Peoria.  The  grand  jury  was  then  in  session,  with 
Anclrew  Gray  as  foreman.  That  body  passed  a  series  of  resolutions  paying 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  Governor  Ford,  from  which  the  following  extract  is 
taken  : 

"While  state's  attorney  in  our  sparsely  settled  country  he  discharged  his 
duties  faithfully  and  successfully;  as  a  judge  he  was  impartial,  laborious  and  just; 
as  a  man  and  citizen,  one  of  the  noblest  works  of  God.  He  was  nurtured  in  our 
state  while  in  its  infancy :  he  grew  with  its  growth  and  strengthened  with  its 
strength.  He  won  his  way  from  a  fatherless  boy  to  eminence  and  fame  and  ha? 
left  a  bright  examjile  to  those  behind  him,  that  virtue,  industry  and  tidelity 
insure  success  and  will  be  crowned  with  triumph." 

My  acquaintance  with  the  Peoria  bar  began  on  the  second  Alonday  in  May, 
1853,  that  being  the  day  on  which  Onslow  Peters  assumed  the  duties  of  circuit 
judge  of  the  newly  formed  sixteenth  circuit,  consisting  of  the  counties  of  Peoria 
and  Stark.  For  some  years  prior  to  that  time  Peoria  and  Stark  counties  had 
constituted  a  part  of  the  tenth  circuit,  composed  of  the  counties  of  Fulton,  Peoria, 
Stark,  Henry,  Rock  Island,  Mercer,  Knox  and  Warren.  The  formation  of  the 
sixteenth  circuit,  composed  of  only  two  counties,  one  of  them  hc'ut^  very  small 
and  bavins:  but  little  business,  so  localized  our  courts  that  from  that  time  forward 
circuit  riding  in  this  vicinity  ceased  to  be  one  of  the  occupations  of  the  pro- 
fession. 

At  that  time  as  nearly  as  I  can  remember,  the  Peoria  bar  consisted  of  the  fol- 
lowing named  leading  attorneys  and  firms :  Norman  H.  Purple  and  Ezra  G 
Sanger,  Lincoln  15.  Knowlton,  Elihu  N.  Powell  and  William  F.  Bryan,  Halsey 
O.  and  Amos  L.  Merriman.  Jonathan  K.  Cooper,  Charles  Ballance,  Henry  Grove 
and  .Alexander  McCoy,  Elbridge  G.  Johnson  and  C^eorge  S.  P>lakesley,  John  T 
Lindsay  and  Henry  Lander.  Henry  S.  Austin  and  Charles  C.  Bonnev. 

Thomas  Ford,  Lewis  Bigelow,  John  L.  Bogardus.  William  Frisby  and  \\  il- 
liam  L.  May  had  been  prominent  at  the  bar,  but  they  had  pas,sed  away.  Lincoln 
B.  Knowlton,  Halsey  O.  Merriman  and  Ezra  G.  Sanger  soon  joined  the  ranks 
of  the  dead.  Before  coming  to  Peoria,  Bigelow  had  been  a  member  of  con- 
gress from  Massachusetts,  but  he  is  better  known  to  the  profession  as  the  com- 
piler of  Bigelow's  Digest  of  the  Massachusetts  reports.     Frisby  was  his  son-in- 


368  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

law,  a  brilliant  young  lawyer,  whose  life  was  cut  short  in  early  manhood.  John 
L.  Bogardus  was  more  prominent  as  a  business  man  and  dealer  in  lands  than 
as  an  attorney. 

Before  coming  to  Peoria,  William  L.  May  had  served  one  term  in  the  legis- 
lature and  two  terms  in  congress.  He  also  was  more  of  a  busines  man  than  an 
attorney,  and  possibly  his  most  enduring  monument  is  the  Peoria  wagon-road 
bridge,  for  the  building  of  which  he  obtained  a  charter  from  the  legislature. 
The  building  of  this  bridge,  which  was  the  first  one  erected  over  the  navigalile 
portion  of  the  Illinois  river,  was  the  occasion  of  a  most  important  decision  of  our 
supreme  court,  in  the  case  of  the  Illinois  River  Packet  Company  versus  the 
Peoria  Bridge  Association,  reported  in  38  Illinois  Reports,  page  467. 

Lincoln  B.  Knowlton  was  a  man  of  great  ability.  He  had  been  a  member  of 
the  constitutional  convention  which  framed  the  constitution  of  1848.  I  remem- 
ber him  as  a  stalwart  man,  above  medium  height,  broad-shouldered  and  raw- 
boned.  He  was  then  in  the  last  stages  of  consumption.  With  a  shaggy  over- 
coat thrown  loosely  over  his  shoulders,  he  walked  down  the  middle  aisle  of  the 
court  house  with  great  dignity,  and  took  his  seat  in  a  hair-cloth  rocker  which  had 
been  provided  especially  for  his  use.  He  died  within  a  month  of  that  time. 
The  following  tribute  was  paid  to  his  memory  by  the  Peoria  bar  on  the  occasion 
of  his  death:  "Resolved,  That  we  pay  but  a  just  tribute  of  respect  to  the  deceased 
when  we  declare  that  his  character  as  a  faithful,  eloquent  and  successful  advocate 
in  our  courts,  as  a  man  in  whom  were  united  the  fidelity  and  honorable  conduct 
of  a  good  lawyer,  as  well  as  the  most  expanded  liberality,  kindness  and  generosity 
of  man,  commands  our  most  unfeigned  respect ;  that  the  poor,  oppressed  and  un- 
protected have  occasion  long  to  rememljer  and  to  appreciate  his  generous  efforts, 
gratuitous  labor  and  professional  exertions,  so  often  and  so  faithfully  put  forth 
in  their  behalf,  they  having  ever  found  in  him  the  poor  man's  and  the  widow's 
advocate  and  friend." 

Lincoln  Brown  Knowlton  was  born  in  Shrewsbury,  Massachusetts,  in  1804, 
his  paternal  ancestors  having  come  to  America  from  Knowlton  Manor,  in  Kent, 
England,  in  1642.  Lieutenant  Daniel  Knowlton  and  Colonel  Thomas  Knowlton. 
famed  in  the  early  Indian  wars  and  the  Revolution,  were  lineal  ancestors. 
Nathaniel  Lyan  was  his  own  cousin,  tlirough  a  Knowlton  mother.  The  three 
Knowlton  brothers  settled  in  Ipswich,  ^Massachusetts.  Lincoln  B.  Knowlton  was 
very  gifted  in  an  intellectual  way,  and  at  an  early  age  was  sent  to  LInion  College, 
at  Schenectady,  New  York,  whose  president  was  then  the  famous  educator. 
Eliphalet  Nott,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.  After  graduating  at  Union  College,  Mr.  Knowl- 
ton studied  law  with  the  governor  of  Massachusetts,  "Honest  John  Davis,"  as 
he  was  called.  Mr.  Knowlton  came  to  Peoria  at  a  very  early  period  in  its  his- 
tory and  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  prominent  lawyers  of  his  dav,  being 
known  as  the  Henry  Clay  of  the  Illinois  bar.  He  loved  his  profession,  refusing 
a  judgeshi]5  and  being  practically  pushed  into  politics.  He  was  nominated  for 
congress  the  year  he  died  (August.  1854),  and  knowing  that  he  could  not  live  to 
fill  the  office,  asked  the  privilege  of  naming  his  successor,  James  Knox,  who  was 
elected.  He  was  sent  as  a  delegate  to  the  last  whig  convention,  which  met  at 
Baltimore,  and  nominated  his  idol,  Henry  Clay,  for  the  presidency  The  last 
speech  ever  delivered  by  Mr.  Knowlton,  when  he  was  almost  too  weak  to  stand, 
and  the  glory  of  his  rich,  magnetic  voice  had  gone,  was  in  advocacy  of  the 
election  of  Clay  to  the  presidency.  He  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Abraham 
Lincoln,  David  Davis,  Stephen  A.  Douglas  and  other  eminent  men  who  lent 
dignity  to  the  early  bar  of  Illinois. 

I  have  no  recollection  of  ever  having  seen  Halsey  O.  Merriman.  He  was  a 
very  popular  lawyer  and  had  been  attorney  for  the  town  of  Peoria  when  it 
obtained  its  charter  as  a  city,  which  was  largely  the  work  of  his  hands. 

Ezra  G.  Sanger  was  a  young  man  of  talent  and  considerable  prominence. 
He  had  Ijeen  a  member  of  the  legislature  in  1848,  and  one  of  the  presidential 
electors  in  1852.     With  Judge  Purple  as  a  partner,  he  was  fast  attaining  to  an 


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LETTER  FROM  I'KORIAN  CITIZENS  TO  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  369 

eminent  position  al  the  bar,  when  the  dreaded  consumiUion  also  claimed  him 
as  a  victim. 

The  old  court  house  had,  in  1836,  been  replaced  b}-  a  two-story  brick  one, 
with  a  cupola  and  a  portico  ornamented  with  four  round  sandstone  colunms. 
It  was  considered  an  elegant  building  for  the  times,  and  continued  to  be  the 
seat  of  justice  for  about  forty  years.  Here  also  many  political  battles  were 
fought,  for  it  was  the  only  public  hall  in  town  and  for  years  all  political 
conventions  and  political  meetings  were  held  in  it.  Its  walls  on  many  occasions 
resounded  with  the  eloquence  of  such  men  as  Abraham  Lincoln,  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  Owen  Lovejoy,  Wendell  Phillips,  Joshua  R.  Giddings,  Josiah  Quincy, 
Jr.,  and  other  men  of  note. 

An  incident  of  the  times,  which  strongly  impressed  itself  upon  my  memory, 
was  the  great  debate  between  Lincoln  and  Douglas  on  October  16,  1854.  The  cir- 
cumstances which  brought  these  two  political  giants  together  at  that  time  I  did 
not  know,  but  in  some  way  an  arrangement  was  made  that  Senator  Douglas 
was  to  have  three  hours  for  his  opening  sjieech,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  to  have  the 
same  time  for  reply,  and  Douglas  was  to  have  one  hour  to  close  the  debate. 
I  was  then  a  young  man,  and  not  much  inclined  to  political  life,  but  having  been 
brought  up  a  democrat,  I  was  disposed  to  side  with  Senator  Douglas.  I  lis- 
t"ened  with  much  interest  to  his  speech  in  defense  of  the  repeal  of  the  "Missouri 
Comproinise,"  but  was  not  altogether  satisfied  with  it.  When  he  had  closed. 
Mr.  Lincoln  arose  and  spoke  about  as  follows:  "My  Fellow  Citizens:  I  would 
like  to  make  a  bargain  with  you.  Judge  Douglas  has  occupied  all  the  time 
allotted  to  him  for  his  opening  speech.  It  is  now  late  in  the  afternoon,  and  if  I 
be.gin  mv  speech  now,  I  will  not  be  able  to  finish  it  until  the  time  you  will  want 
to  go  to  your  suppers,  and,  as  I  would  not  like  to  have  my  speech  cut  in  two,  I 
would  suggest  that  we  adjourn  this  meeting  now  and  come  together  again 
jiromptly  at  seven  o'clock.  1  can  then  finish  my  speech  by  ten,  and  Judge 
Douglas  can  finish  his  by  eleven,  which  is  not  an  unusually  late  hour  at  this 
season  of  the  year.  What  do  you  say?"  Immediately  a  cheer  went  up  from 
his  friends  all  over  the  vast  audience,  accompanied  by  throwing  of  hats  in  the 
air,  and  other  demonstrations  of  approval.  So  the  meeting  was  adjourned  until 
seven  o'clock,  which  gave  Mr.  Lincoln  the  advantage  of  a  much  larger  night 
audience,  and  an  opportunity  of  arranging  his  thoughts  beforehand.  When 
the  evening  came  Mr.  Lincoln  proceeded  with  his  speech,  during  the  progress 
of  wh.ich  he  drove  Mr.  Douglas  into  some  very  close  quarters.  When  the  latter 
arose  to  replv,  he  manifested  strong  symptoms  of  anger,  and  continued  to  speak 
in  that  strain  until  the  close  of  his  hour.  This  debate  took  place  on  a  small 
platform,  erected  on  the  portico  at  the  south  corner  of  the  court  house,  and  the 
speakers  and  officers  of  the  meeting  came  upon  it  through  a  window,  in  one  of  the 
offices.  It  is  said  upon  good  authority  that  Mr.  Lincoln  expected  to  again  debate 
with  .Senator  Douglas  on  the  following  day  in  an  adjoining  county,  but  upon 
the  solicitations  of  the  latter,  on  the  ground  that  his  was  a  controversy  with  a 
wing  of  his  own  parly  and  not  with  tlie  ojiposing  party,  Mr.  Lincoln  decided  to 
return  home. 

I  never  saw  Mr.  Lincoln  afterward,  except  on  one  occasion  when  he  was  in 
attendance  at  the  circuit  court  of  Woodford  county,  then  being  held  in  a  yet 
smaller  court  house  in  the  town  of  ^letamora.  Judge  David  Davis,  clad  in  a  gray 
and  apparently  homespun  suit,  with  heavy-soled  boots  on  his  fe.et.  one  leg  thrown 
over  the  low  desk  in  front  of  him,  his  steel-gray  hair  cropped  short,  was  presid- 
ing. Mr.  Lincoln  sat  among  the  lawyers,  with  his  chair  thrown  back  and  his 
hands  clasped  behind  his  head.  I  was  struck  with  the  largeness  of  all  his  features, 
especially  his  ears,  which  seemed  out  of  all  proportion.  No  one  would  have 
suspected  then  that  either  of  these  two  men  would  ever  attain  to  the  world- 
wide rejnitation  to  which  they  afterward  succeeded.  It  may  be  mentioned  in 
this  connection  that  this  little  town  of  IMetamora,  now  abandoned  as  a  county 
seat,  was  the  place  where   Adlai   Stevenson,  late  vice  president  of  the  United 


370  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

States,  commenced  practice  as  a  youthful  attorney,  and  the  place  where  Simeon 
P.  Shope,  an  eminent  justice  of  our  supreme  court,  spent  his  boyhood  days. 
Here  also,  at  court  times,  were  accustomed  to  assemble  many  other  distinguished 
attorneys  from  neighboring  counties,  amongst  whom  may  be  mentioned  the  late 
Asahel  Gridley,  Lawrence  Weldon,  now  of  the  court  of  claims  at  Washington, 
and  Robert  E.  Williams,  of  Bloomington  ;  lienjamin  S.  Prettynian  and  Samuel 
W.  Fuller,  of  Pekin ;  T.  Lyle  Dickey,  of  Ottawa;  Samuel  L.  Richmond,  John 
Burns,  Thomas  M.  Shaw  and  George  Barnes,  of  Lacon ;  Henry  Grove,  Henry 
B.  Hopkins,  E.  C.  and  R.  G.  Ingersoll  and  Sabin  D.  Puterbaugh,  of  Peoria. 

Although  the  old  court  house  at  Peoria  had  on  many  occasions  been  made 
to  resound  with  the  eloquence  of  the  distinguished  statesmen  already  named,  yet 
their  eloquence  did  not  by  any  means  eclipse  that  of  some  of  our  home  talent. 
I  well  remember  a  murder  case  tried  in  the  early  days  of  Judge  Peter's  incumb- 
ency, in  which  Elbridge  G.  Johnson  and  Judge  Norman  H.  Purple  were  counsel 
for  the  prosecution,  and  Judge  William  Kellogg  and  Julius  Manning  for  the 
defense.  This  was  indeed  a  battle  of  the  giants.  In  all  my  experience  at  the 
bar  I  have  never  heard,  in  any  one  case,  four  addresses  to  the  jury  of  such 
uniform  eloquence  and  power  as  those  presented  on  this  occasion. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  but  afterward  located  in  the 
state  of  \'ermont,  where  he  read  law  with  the  distinguished  Judge  Redfield,  and 
was  there  admitted  to  the  bar  at  the  early  age  of  twenty  years.  He  practiced  his 
profession  in  the  state  of  \'ermont  until  the  year  1850,  when  he  located  in  Peoria 
and  there  continued  in  active  practice  until  the  time  of  his  death,  January  26, 
1885.  It  has  been  truthfully  said  of  Mr.  Johnson  that  he  did  not  attain  to  that 
distinction  to  which  his  eminent  talent  entitled  him.  He  was  extremely  sensitive, 
so  much  so  as  to  almost  revolt  at  the  idea  of  putting  himself  forward  as  a  candi- 
date for  any  public  position.  I  had  occasion  at  one  time  to  be  a  witness  of  his 
great  diffidence,  when  attending  the  supreme  court  at  Ottawa.  As  is  well  known 
to  those  who  attended  that  court,  the  chairs  in  the  great  court  room,  for  some 
inexplicable  reason,  were  arranged  about  its  outer  walls,  so  that  every  attorney 
who  wished  to  address  the  court  was  obliged,  as  it  were,  to  run  the  gauntlet  of 
the  entire  bar  in  attendance.  Mr.  Johnson  had  a  motion  to  present,  but  was 
scarcely  able  to  summon  courage  necessary  for  the  occasion,  remarking  at  the 
time  that  he  would  as  lief  stand  up  to  be  shot  at  as  to  go  forward  to  present  his 
motion. 

The  following  points  in  his  character  are  taken  from  an  able  address  delivered 
by  his  former  partner,  Hon.  H.  B.  Hopkins,  on  the  occasion  of  his  death :  "He 
was  a  man  of  dignified  and  imposing  personal  appearance,  with  nature's  emphatic 
stamp  of  superioritv.  He  was  all  his  life  under  the  dominion  of  strong  powers, 
both  mentally  and  physically.     His  intellect  belonged  to  the  type  of  the  colossal. 

*  *  *  Although  he  did  not  attain  all  that  distinction  which  his  early  life  seemed 
to  indicate,  in  the  judgment  of  his  contemporaries,  yet  he  always  had  in  himself 
all  the  qualities  of  greatness  and  power  which  justified  that  promise,  and  he 
needed  only  the  occasion  and  sufficient  force  of  impulse  to  have  quite  realized  it. 

*  *  *  Upright  and  honest,  he  had  no  patience  with  tricks  or  duplicity.  His 
opinions  upon  social,  moral,  religious,  political  and  personal  topics  were  most 
independent.  *  *  *  Behind  the  shelter  of  an  external  inditiference  was  a 
nature  so  sensitive  and  delicate  tliat  almost  everything  either  hurt  him  or  consoled 
him.  A  bundle  of  nerves,  a  tissue  of  sensibilities,  a  battery  of  forces,  pain  and 
pleasure  were  the  ever  vibrating  tides  of  his  emotions.  *  *  *  In  the  early 
part  of  Mr.  Johnson's  residence  here  he  held  the  office  of  state's  attorney  for 
one  term,  and  later  served  one  term  in  the  state  legislature,  as  a  member  of  the 
house  of  representatives,  and  soon  after  the  enactment  by  congress  of  the  old 
bankrupt  law  he  was  appointed  register  in  bankruptcy  for  this  congressional 
district,  and  held  the  office  until  the  law  was  repealed.  He  discharged  the  duties 
of  these  various  offices  with  unquestionable  ability  and  faithfulness." 

William  Kellogg  had  been  a  member  of  the  lower  house  of  the  state  legisla- 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  371 

ture.  after  whicli  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  tenth  circuit,  which  then  included 
i'eoria  and  Stark  counties.  This  office  he  held  witii  distinction  from  February, 
1850.  to  Xoveniber,  1852.  After  leaving  the  bench  he  resigned  the  practice  of 
law  until  1856,  wlien  he  was  elected  to  congress,  and  continued  to  be  a  member 
of  that  l)ody  until  March  4,  1863,  during  which  time  he  took  a  prominent  part 
in  the  legislation  of  that  critical  period  of  our  country's  history. 

Judge  Kellogg  was  a  hue  orator  and  displayed  his  eloquence  with  great  power, 
both  at  the  bar  and  in  the  halls  of  legislation.  In  person  he  was  of  medium 
height,  somewhat  inclined  to  corpulency,  had  a  high  forehead  and  was  of  fair 
comi)lexion.  His  face  was  full  and  his  voice  clear  and  distinct,  his  gestures 
graceful,  and  his  whole  manner  that  of  a  finished  orator.  After  leaving  congress 
he  came  to  Peoria  to  reside  and  remained  in  the  practice  of  the  law  at  this  place 
until  tlie  time  of  his  death.  His  public  career  belongs  rather  to  the  state  and 
nation  than  to  the  local  bar  of  Peoria. 

Of  Julius  .Manning  I  cannot  speak  too  highly.  He  was  one  of  my  preceptors, 
and  for  the  last  year  of  his  life  it  was  my  great  privilege  to  be  his  partner.  He 
was  a  native  of  Canada,  his  birthplace  having  been  near  the  Vermont  line,  and 
he  received  his  education  at  Middlebury  College  in  that  state,  where  he  also 
studied  law.  He  came  to  Illinois  in  1837  and  at  once  took  a  leading  position  at 
tlie  bar,  as  well  as  in  political  matters.  I'efore  coming  to  Peoria  he  had  for  some 
\ears  lived  and  practiced  law  in  Knox  county,  from  which  county  he  had  been 
elected  to  the  lower  house  of  the  general  assembly  for  two  successive  terms,  and 
in  1848  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  electoral  college  in  the  presidential 
contest  of  that  year.  His  practice  had  been  extensive,  covering  several  counties, 
including  Peoria.  In  the  year  1854,  soon  after  the  death  of  Halsey  O.  Merri- 
man,  he  came  to  Peoria  and  formed  a  partnership  with  Amos  L.  Merriman,  which 
firm  continued  until  June,  1861,  when  Mr.  ]\Ierriman  was  elected  to  the  office  of 
circuit  judge  of  the  sixteenth  circuit.  It  was  at  that  time  that  I  became  a  partner 
of  ^Ir.  Manning.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year  Mr.  Manning  and  Judge  Purple 
were,  by  almost  common  consent,  elected  to  represent  the  counties  of  Peoria  and 
.Stark  in  the  constitutional  convention.  In  January,  1862,  he  left  the  office  to 
attend  that  convention  and  remained  at  Springfield  until  the  time  of  its  adjourn- 
ment. Upon  his  return  home  his  health  was  very  much  impaired,  and  he  deemed 
a  trip  to  Canada,  where  he  had  once  lived,  advisable  for  rest  and  recuperation ; 
l)ut  when  his  preparations  had  all  been  made,  and  while  paying  a  visit  to  his  old 
home  in  Knoxville,  he  suddenly  expired  on  July  4,  1862,  at  the  early  age  of  forty- 
eight  years. 

In  political  faith  Mr.  Manning  was  a  democrat,  and  although  in  the  constitu- 
tional convention,  he  went  with  his  party  in  a  course  which  seemed  somewhat 
(|uestionab!e.  yet  he  was  always  loyal  to  the  country.  I  well  remember  when  the 
rebellion  first  broke  oiit  and  excited  crowds  were  filling  our  streets  it  became 
the  earnest  desire  of  many  good  citizens  to  know  the  standing  of  Julius  Manning 
on  the  all  important  questions  then  agitating  the  country.  Accordingly,  when 
called  u])on  to  address  the  multitude  assembled  in  front  of  his  office,  he  appeared 
on  the  balcony  and  commenced  something  in  this  wise:  "My  Fellow  Citizens:  I 
belong  to  the  north,  I  was  born  in  the  north.  I  married  my  wife  in  the  north,  my 
children  were  born  in  the  north,  my  interests  lie  in  the  north,  and  in  this  fight 
I  am  for  the  north."  He  then  went  on  to  show  that  when  sections  are  at  war  with 
each  other,  there  can  be  no  middle  ground,  but  every  man  must  be  on  one  side  or 
on  the  other.  As  for  himself,  whatsoever  others  might  do  or  be,  he  was  for  the 
north.  This  speech  produced  a  profound  impression  upon  the  community  and 
had  much  to  do  with  placing  many  wavering  democrats  on  the  right  side. 

His  forecasting  of  political  events  was  shown  by  a  remark  made  by  him  at  the 
time  of  Abraham  Lincoln's  first  nomination.  A  few  of  us,  mostly  democrats, 
were  in  his  office  awaiting  the  results  of  the  balloting  in  Chicago.  When  the 
news  of  Lincoln's  nomination  came,  there  was  manifested  a  considerable  degree 
of  merriment  over  the  choice  of  the   convention,   which   was  checked   by   Mr. 


372  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

Alanninj;.  who  said:  "lioys,  don't  laugh;  Abe  Lincoln  is  the  hardest  man  to  beat 
the  republicans  could  have  nominated."  This  was  before  the  split  in  the  demo- 
cratic party.  After  that  event  occurred  Mr.  Manning  threw  his  influence  in 
favor  of  Douglas,  in  the  presidential  campaign  of  that  year. 

Mr.  Alanning  was  slightly  above  medium  height,  portly  in  person,  erect  in 
carriage,  dignified  in  appearance,  fair  in  complexion  and  in  the  color  of  his 
hair,  his  features  heavy  and  prominent  but  pleasing  in  expression.  He  dressed 
well,  wore  a  silk  hat  and  carried  a  gold-headed  cane.  His  presence  commanded 
respect  wdierever  he  appeared. 

As  an  orator  Julius  Manning  had  few  equals  and  no  recognized  superiors. 
His  voice  was  musical  and  clear  as  a  bell,  his  enunciation  was  perfect,  his  ges- 
tures elegant,  his  expression  earnest  and  his  whole  manner  most  persuasive. 
He  was  a  student  of  rhetoric.  Although  his  speeches  seemed,  to  a  listening 
audience,  to  be  entirely  extemporaneous,  yet  on  all  important  occasions,  when 
time  was  at  his  command,  they  were  studiously  prepared.  Some  of  his  skele- 
tons, still  extant,  observe  the  rhetorical  division  of  exordium,  argument  and 
peroration,  and  the  line  of  thought  assigned  to  each  was  scrupulously  followed 
in   delivery. 

As  a  lawyer  he  was  perhaps  not  so  methodical  nor  so  exact  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  his  cases  as  was  Judge  Purple,  but  in  point  of  native  talent  and  the  in- 
tuitive grasping  of  the  principles  of  the  law  he  was  generally  regarded  as  the 
latter's  superior.  With  the  jury  he  was  almost  invincible  and  many  a  man 
owed  his  life  or  his  liberty  to  the  eloquence  of  Julius  Manning,  when  in  less 
able  hands  he  might  have  been  condemned  to  punishment. 

The  estimate  in  which  he  was  held  by  his  brethren  of  the  profession  is  best 
expressed  by  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  Peoria  bar  on  the  occasion  of  his 
death,  one  of  which  reads  as  follows: 

"Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  i\lr.  Manning  the  bar  of  this  county  and 
state  has  lost  one  of  its  brightest  ornaments,  the  state  one  of  its  most  distin- 
guished citizens,  and  society  one  of  its  noblest  and  worthiest  members.  En- 
dowed by  nature  with  a  mind  of  the  finest  texture  and  of  the  most  enlarged  ca- 
pacity, enriched  and  strengthened  by  cultivation,  he  grasped  with  remarkable 
ease  and  clearness  the  whole  science  of  law,  and  successfully  applied  it  in 
practice  with  a  rare  combination  of  eloquence  and  logic.  He  had  thoroughly 
mastered  the  elementary  principles  of  his  noble  profession,  and  his  mind  was 
a  vast  store  house,  in  which  memory  had  carefully  garnered  up  and  stored  away 
inexhaustible  treasures  of  legal  lore.  He  was  thus  always  provided  and  ready 
for  any  professional  emergency,  whether  on  the  circuit  or  at  home.  He  was 
no  less'  conspicuous  for  his  modesty.  Always  unconscious  of  his  own  merits 
and  preferring  the  quiet  of  home  rather  than  the  pleasures  of  the  social  circle, 
he  sedulously  shunned  the  turmoil  and  eclat  of  public  life.  He  entered  the 
political  arena  but  seldom,  and  with  reluctance,  in  obedience  to  the  urgent  and 
unsolicited  demands  of  his  numerous  friends.  In  his  deportment,  whether  in 
public  life  or  in  professional  or  social  intercourse,  he  was  always  courteous. 
No  barbed  shaft  ever  found  place  in  his  full  quiver.  His  heart  was  as  expansive 
as  his  mind.  Kindness  exhaled  from  him  as  an  atmosphere  and  shed  its  benefi- 
cence upon  all  alike  who  came  into  his  presence." 

In  religious  matters,  during  most  of  his  life,  Julius  Manning  was  a  liberal 
thinker.  While  entertaining  a  very  high  regard  for  the  person,  character  and 
teachings  of  Jesus  Christ  as  a  man,  he  could  not  yield  his  assent  to  what  is 
known  as  orthodox  teaching;  but  in  the  last  few  months  of  his  life  he  became  a 
thorough  convert  to  the  Evangelical  faith  and  to  all  appearances  was  a  devout 
Christian. 

Norman  H.  Purple's  proper  place  in  history  is  with  the  bar  of  the  state 
at  large,  rather  than  with  the  local  bar  at  Peoria.  But,  having  spent  the  best 
years  of  his  life  with  us,  we  claim  him  as  one  of  our  own.  After  retiring  from 
the  supreme  bench  he  removed  to  Peoria  and  resumed  the  practice  of  the  law, 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COL'NTY  373 

wliicli  soon  became  extensive  and  lucrative.  The  great  contest  in  the  Mihtary 
I'ract  between  patent  titles  and  tax  titles  was  then  at  its  height.  By  an  act  of 
congress,  in  1812,  two  million  acres  of  land  in  Illinois,  northwest  of  the  Illinois 
river,  had  been  set  apart  for  soldiers'  bounties.  These  lands,  having  been 
patented  directly  to  the  soldiers  had  become  taxable,  and  many  of  them  hail 
been  sold  for  taxes.  These  tax  titles  were  the  only  ones  upon  which  many  of 
the  actual  settlers  held  their  farms.  As  lands  became  valuable  the  country  was 
scoured  from  Maine  to  Texas  by  speculators  in  lands,  in  search  of  the  patentees 
or  their  heirs.  When  they,  or  some  other  persons  of  like  names,  were  found, 
suits  would  be  commenced  in  their  names,  or  in  those  of  their  grantees,  for  the 
jiossession.  In  many  instances,  when  the  occupant  had  bought  up  the  apparent 
patent  title  of  one  set  of  heirs,  another,  and  possibly  a  third,  set  would  turn  u]) 
claiming  the  same  land.  Many  of  these  suits  were  brought  in  the  federal 
courts,  and  many  of  them  in  the  courts  of  the  state.  In  this  great  controversy 
manv  of  the  members  of  the  bar  in  the  JMilitary  Tract  came  to  be  recognized 
as  tiie  leading  land  lawyers  in  the  country.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned 
Archibald  Williams.  ( )rville  H.  Browning,  Charles  B.  Lawrence,  of  Ouincy ; 
Robert  S.  lUackwell.  aiuhor  of  Blackwell  on  Tax  Titles,  of  Macomb;  Hezekiah 
M.  Wead,  William  Kellogg,  William  C.  Goudy  and  S.  Corning  Judd,  of  Fulton 
county;  Joseph  Knox,  of  Knox  county;  and  Norman  H.  Purple,  Julius  Man- 
ning. Onslow  Peters,  Flihu  X.  Powell,  William  F.  Bryan  and  others  of  Peoria 
county.  In  this  contest  the  law  relating  to  tax  titles  and  the  statutes  of  limita- 
tion became  practically  settled  for  all  time. 

.\nothcr  fruitful  source  of  litigation  in  those  days  consisted  of  the  l-"rench 
claims  in  Peoria.  During  the  War  of  18 12  one  Captain  Craig,  acting  under 
orders  of  the  territorial  governor,  had  come  to  the  French  village  at  Peoria 
lake  and,  erroneously  supposing  the  inhabitants  to  be  acting  in  league  with  the 
hostile  Indians,  burned  their  village  and  carried  the  inhabitants  away  to  more 
southern  counties.  To  atone  for  this  act  of  injustice  congress,  in  1823,  had 
granted  to  these  settlers  the  lots  on  which  they  had  resided,  with  their  adjacent 
outlots.  The  quarter  section  on  which  the  county  seat  was  afterward  located, 
and  the  tracts  now  known  as  Bigelow  and  Underbill's  Addition  and  Ballance's 
.Addition,  were  all  patented  subject  to  these  rights  of  the  French,  but  the  claims 
were  not  surveyed  out  for  several  years  after  the  grant.  Charles  Ballance,  the 
attorney  already  mentioned,  had  become  the  owner  of  a  large  tract  of  land 
upon  which  he  had  laid  out  an  addition,  besides  being  the  owner  of  other  lots 
covered  by  the  French  claims.  He,  therefore,  became  champion  of  the  parties 
in  possession,  while  one  Robert  Forsyth,  of  St.  Louis,  championed  the  cauSe 
of  the  French,  he  being  one  of  the  heirs.  The  controversy  hinged  upon  the 
statute  of  limitation,  and  the  points  to  be  determined  were:  First.  Did  the 
statutes  run  against  these  grants?  Second.  Were  the  defendants  within  the 
provisions  of  any  of  those  statutes?  These  questions  being  finally  resolved  in 
favor  of  the  occupants,  this  vexatious  litigation  which  had  lasted  for  twenty 
vears  came  to  an  end.  In  these  contests  Judge  I'urple  and  Julius  Manning  had 
frequent  occasion  to  measure  intellectual  swords  with  each  other. 

iudge  Purple  was  a  forcible  rather  than  an  elegant  speaker.  Unfortunately 
he  had  somewhat  of  a  nasal  enunciation,  which,  with  those  not  accustomed 
to  hear  him,  detracted  not  a  little  from  the  elegance  of  his  diction.  In  appear- 
ance he  was  tall,  erect  and  dignified,  in  physique  he  was  well  proportioned,  in 
gesture  not  graceful,  but  the  earnestness  of  his  delivery  made  up  for  all  the 
other  defects  and  gave  his  speeches  great  weight.  In  the  use  of  sarcasm  he 
was  cutting,  and,  when  occasion  demanded  repartee,  he  was  quick  and  pointed. 

As  a  practitioner  at  the  bar  Judge  Purple  was  exact  as  well  as  exacting. 
He  never  presented  a  matter  in  court  without  due  preparation.  Keeping  him- 
self within  the  rules  of  the  court,  he  expected  the  same  of  others.  He  wrote 
a  bold  and  very  legible  hand,  and  although  his  penmanship  was  not  elegant,  yet 
his  court  papers  were  always  prepared  with  scrupulous  neatness.     In  1857  Judge 


374  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

Puriilc  compiled  and  published  an  edition  of  all  the  laws  of  the  state  then  in 
force,  and  before  that  had  puljlished  a  compilation  of  the  reai-estate  statutes, 
which  are  known  as  Purple's  Statutes  and  Purple's  Real-Estate  Statutes. 

Hezekiah  M.  Wead  was  a  member  of  the  convention  which  framed  the  con- 
stitution of  1848,  and  was  the  successor  of  'William  Kellogg  as  judge  of  the 
tenth  circuit.  After  retiring  from  the  bench  he  came  to  Peoria  and  spent  the 
remaining  years  of  his  life  in  the  practice  of  the  law,  during  which  time  he 
was  associated  at  different  times  with  ]\Iarion  Williamson,  Elihu  N.  Powell, 
William  Jack  and  Lawrence  W.  James.  He  was  a  talented  lawyer,  an  able  and 
upright  judge,  a  forcible  speaker,  a  man  of  fine  physical  development  and  of 
strong  will  power.     His  career  in  Peoria  was  a  successful  one. 

His  position  upon  the  questions  of  the  day  is  shown  by  tlie  following  extract 
from  a  paper  of  the  opposite  party  in  politics,  relative  to  an  oration  delivered 
by  him  [uly  4,  1862:  "It  was  one  of  the  best  and  most  appropriate  addresses 
of  the  kind  we  have  ever  listened  to.  *  *  *  At  the  close  the  speaker  alluded 
to  the  war  progressing  for  the  integrity  of  our  country  and  the  supremacy  of 
the  constitution  under  which  we  have  made  such  glorious  progress  in  all  that 
can  make  a  people  great  and  happy.  He  was  not  among  those  who  looked 
despondingly  at  the  future,  or  had  fears  as  to  the  result.  'The  result,'  said  the 
Judge,  'will  be  the  total  overthrow  of  treason  and  rebellion,  and  before  another 
Fourth  of  July  dawns,  the  reestablishment  of  the  national  authority  over  every 
foot  of  the  soil  of  these  United  States.'  " 

Henrv  Grove  was  a  diamond  in  the  rough.  Born  in  Pennsylvania,  he  had 
in  earlv  life  been  taken  by  his  parents  to  the  state  of  Ohio,  where  he  spent 
his  youth  and  early  manhood.  Having  there  become  accustomed  to  the  hardy 
life  of  the  pioneer  backwoodsman,  he  retained  many  of  its  characteristics  dur- 
ing life.  In  fact,  he  prided  himself  upon,  and  obtained  much  of  his  popularity 
by,  keeping  closely  in  touch  with  the  sons  of  toil.  He  was  a  man  of  most 
decided  native  ability,  but  lacked  that  culture  derived  from  early  education, 
which  many  of  his  associates  possessed.  On  this  account  some  of  them  were 
inclined  to  deride  him  somewhat  when  he  first  came  to  the  Peoria  bar,  but  he 
proved  himself  a  fair  match  for  the  ablest  of  them,  not  so  much  by  the  force 
of  pure  logic  as  by  the  force  of  that  vast  amount  of  wit,  humor  and  ridicule 
which  he  was  able,  as  occasion  required,  to  throw  into  his  speeches.  I  remember 
one  occasion,  when  being  hard  pressed  by  his  opposing  counsel  he  found  it 
necessary  to  divert  the  attention  of  the  jury  from  the  case  itself,  by  turning 
upon  his  opponents.  Making  a  terriffic  assault  upon  them  for  their  alleged 
duplicity,  and  seizing  the  old  worn  Bible  on  the  clerk's  desk,  quick  as  a  flash 
he  turned  to  the  proper  passage,  and,  pointing  alternately  to  the  two  opposing 
counsel,  read  in  the  most  sonorous  voice  he  could  command,  "I  say  unto  you 
the  publicans  and  harlots  go  into  the  kingdom  of  God  before  you !"  The  effect 
was  magical  and  brought  the  crimson  to  the  faces  of  his  opponents. 

He  was  a  man  of  about  medium  height  and  weight,  had  a  heavy  shock  of 
black  hair,  which  showed  but  slight  acquaintance  with  either  comb  or  brush; 
heavy  eyebrows,  small  piercing  eyes,  prominent  Roman  nose,  thin  lips  covering 
firmly  set  teeth,  protruding  chin  and  full  beard,  less  the  mustache.  His  ill 
fitting  clothes  seemed  to  be  hung  upon  him  without  reference  to  appearance. 
He  wore  low  shoes,  often  down  at  the  heels,  and,  if  tied  at  all,  they  were  tied 
with  leather  shoestrings. 

But  with  all  these  peculiarities  Henry  Grove  was  a  man  of  power  as  well 
in  political  life  as  at  the  bar.  As  might  be  supposed  from  his  antecedents,  he 
had  an  utter  contempt  for  the  aggressions  of  the  slave  power,  and  early  es- 
poused the  cause  of  the  Anti-Nebraska  party.  He  was  elected  to  the  legislature 
in  1854,  and  recorded  his  votes  with  others  of  that  political  faith,  and  when 
the  tug  of  war  came  in  i860  he  was  made  a  delegate  to  the  national  convention. 
and  had  the  honor  of  voting  for  Abraham  Lincoln  as  a  candidate  for  president 
of  the  United  States.     He  was  loyal  to  the  core,  and  although  too  old,  as  he 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  375 

said,  to  go  into  tlie  army,  he  was  one  of  the  most  liberal  supporters  of  those 
who  did  go.  At  the  time  of  his  death  the  Peoria  bar  passed  a  series  of  resolu- 
tions commemorative  of  his  life  and  services,  and  upon  presentation  of  the 
same  to  the  circuit  court,  William  F.  liryan  gave  the  following  sketch  of  his 
character:  "It  is  superfluous  to  say  that  Mr.  Grove  had  traits  of  character 
which  made  him  peculiarly  notable.  Mis  presence  was  always  manifested  by 
some  demonstrative  act.  With  but  a  limited  education  he  had  a  rare  command 
of  the  sturdy  elements  of  his  mother  tongue.  He  was  laboriously  diligent  in 
the  practice  of  his  profession  and  was  always  energetic  and  aggressive  in  behalf 
of  his  clients.  *  *  *  He  loved  the  court  room  and  the  excitement  incident 
to  its  proceedings.  His  whole  professional  career  has  passed  like  a  popular 
panorama  before  the  public  eye.  Better,  therefore,  perhaps  than  any  of  his 
contemporaries,  has  he  delineated  his  own  character,  and  as  it  were  so  molded 
and  shaped  it  that  like  the  statue  of  a  sculptor  it  stands  forth  seen  and  recog- 
nized by  all  men."     Henry  Grove  died  in  the  month  of  Alay,  1872. 

Alexander  McCoy  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  was  graduated  at  Wash- 
ington College  in  the  class  of  1844,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Ohio  about  the 
year  1850,  after  which  he  came  to  Peoria  and  formed  a  partnership  with  Henry 
Grove,  in  1851.  In  1856  he  was  elected  state's  attorney  for  the  sixteenth  circuit, 
for  the  term  of  four  years,  and  was  reelected  to  the  same  office  in  i860.  The 
duties  of  this  office  he  discharged  with  signal  faithfulness  and  ability.  In  1861 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  Judge  Purple,  which  continued  until  the  latter's 
death  in  1863.  In  1864  he  was  elected  to  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature  on 
the  republican  ticket.  His  ability  as  a  lawyer  was  at  once  recognized  by  his 
being  made  chairman  of  the  judiciary  committee,  which  made  him  the  leader 
of  the  house. 

When  the  thirteenth  amendment  to  the  constitution  of  the  United  States 
was  submitted  to  the  legislature  of  Illinois  for  ratification  and  the  same  had 
passed  the  senate,  it  was  upon  the  motion  of  Alexander  McCoy  that  the  same 
was  at  once  ratified  by  the  house,  lly  this  prompt  action  of  its  legislature  the 
state  of  Illinois  was  the  first  to  place  the  seal  of  immortality  upon  the  brow  of 
her  noblest  son.  by  its  ratification  of  this  amendment,  insuring  perpetual  free- 
dom not  only  to  the  black  men  of  the  south,  but  to  every  human  being  wherever 
our   flag  floats. 

Upon  the  retirement  of  Judge  Marion  Williamson  from  the  bench  in  1867, 
a  partnership  was  formed  between  himself,  Alexander  McCoy,  Lorin  G.  Pratt 
and  lohn  S.  Stevens,  which  continued  until  the  death  of  Judge  Williamson,  the 
vear"  following.  The  business  was  then  continued  under  the  name  of  McCoy 
&  Stevens  until  1870,  when  Mr.  McCoy  retired  and  took  up  his  residence  in  the 
city  of  Chicago.  There  he  had  at  difl'erent  times  as  partners,  George  F.  Hard- 
ing, Lorin  Grant  Pratt,  C.  B.  McCoy  and  Charles  E.  Pope.  About  the  year 
1887  he  retired  from  business  and  in  January,  1889,  removed  to  California, 
where  he  died  on  February  10,  1893. 

His  late  partner,  Charles  E.  Pope,  in  writing  to  the  surviving  members  of 
his  college  class  in  1894,  pays  him  the  following  beautiful  an<l  truthful  tribute: 
"I  can  truthfully  say  tliat  closely  he  approached  my  ideal  of  what  the  lawyer 
and  true  man  should'  be.  He  was  by  nature  and  practice  an  honest  man.  This 
characteristic,  united  with  great  knowledge  of  equity  principles  and  practice, 
made  him  a  most  excellent  equity  lawyer.  His  manner  of  presenting  his  case 
m  court  impressed  those  who  listened  to  him  with  the  feeling  that  he  thoroughly 
believed  in  the  justice  of  the  cause  he  was  advocating.  His  force  of  character, 
his  rugged  common  sense,  his  careful,  conscientious  preparation  of  his  case,  his 
cool  analvtical  dissection  of  the  facts  and  law,  usually  led  to  success.  Mr. 
McCoy's  ability  as  a  lawyer  was  well  known  to  the  public  at  large.  His  clients 
were  among  the  most  prominent  citizens  here.  As  regards  his  character  as  a 
man  it  is  hard  for  me  to  speak  in  terms  of  moderation.  His  standing  among 
his  professional  brethren  was  unchallenged.     He  was  trusted  and  respected  by 


376  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

all.  Most  genial,  and  gifted  with  a  keen  sense  of  humor,  he  was  a  most  de- 
lightful companion.  Those  who  have  known  him  cannot,  I  am  sure,  but  have 
been  led  thereby  to  a  higher  realization  of  what  man  can  and  ought  to  be." 

Jonathan  K.  Cooper  was  one  of  the  early  members  of  the  Peoria  bar.  He 
was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  grandson  of  Robert  Cooper,  a  noted  Presby- 
terian divine  and  chaplain  in  the  Revolutionary  army.  His  father  was  John 
Cooper,  who  for  many  years  was  principal  of  a  classical  academy  at  which  the 
son  received  his  early  education,  and  where  he  laid  the  foundation  of  that  liter- 
ary taste  and  that  felicity  in  the  use  of  pure  English  for  which  he  was  noted. 
At  the  age  of  seventeen  years  he  entered  Jefferson  College,  an  institution  of 
high  grade,  located  at  Cannonsburg,  in  western  Pennsylvania,  and  was  graduated 
in  1835.  He  afterward  pursued  a  course  of  study  of  the  law  in  the  law  school 
attached  to  Dickinson  College,  in  Carlisle,  where  he  came  in  contact  with  such 
men  as  Justice  Gibson,  Thaddeus  Stevens  and  other  leading  lawyers  of  the 
state. 

Upon  the  completion  of  his  course  he  was  admitted  to  the  Carlisle  bar,  about 
the  year  1839,  soon  after  which  he  came  to  Peoria.  As  a  lawyer  Mr.  Cooper 
was  conscientious,  painstaking  and  extremely  careful  of  his  clients'  interests. 
He  was  modest  and  retiring  to  a  fault,  generally  underrating  his  own  abilities, 
while  probably  overrating  the  abilitiy  of  others.  By  cultivation  he  had  become 
accustomed  to  the  use  of  the  choicest  language,  which  he  never  lost  sight  of 
even  in  the  heat  of  debate.  He  was  a  forcible,  although  not  brilliant  speaker, 
but  he  fully  made  up  for  this  apparent  defect  by  the  earnestness  of  his  manner, 
the  force  of  his  language  and  by  the  most  admirable  choice  of  words  in  which 
he  was  accustomed  to  express  his  thoughts. 

Mr.  Cooper  was  uot  ambitious  for  fame,  nor  was  he  ever  an  aspirant  for 
any  office,  but  (juietly  and  industriously  pursued  the  practice  of  his  profession 
as  long  as  the  state  of  his  health  would  permit.  He  had  a  supreme  contempt 
for  everything  low  or  vile,  and  never  would  on  any  occasion  countenace  a  sug- 
gestion of  vulgarity,  either  at  the  bar  or  in  his  intercourse  with  his  fellow  men. 
He,  as  well  as  others,  sometimes  became  the  object  of  Air.  Grove's  ridicule, 
but  Mr.  Cooper  was  able  to  cut  back  with  a  keen  blade.  On  such  occasions  it 
was  a  contest  between  the  tomahawk  of  the  son  of  the  forest  and  the  polished 
steel  of  the  knight  errant.  Yet,  opposite  as  they  were  in  character,  they  were 
warm  friends  and  each  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  the  other. 

At  the  time  of  his  death  it  was  truthfully  said  of  him  by  Hon.  H.  B.  Hop- 
kins, one  of  his  associates  at  the  bar:  "For  many  years  he  enjoyed  more  of 
personal  regard  and  friendship,  and  the  kindly  expression  of  them,  more  of  the 
fove  and  trust  of  home  friends,  of  professional  associates  and  business  patrons 
than  falls  to  the  happy  lot  of  many  men  of  our  times  and  locality.  *  *  *  It  is 
with  regret,  with  grief  and  a  tear  that  we  contemplate  the  broken  tie  which 
bound  him  to  us,  and  place  a  fresh  memory  along  with  that  of  those  who  have 
preceded  him.  *  *  *  And  in  amiable  qualities,  in  gentleness  and  sweetnes  of 
life  and  character  he  had  few  equals  among  the  living  or  departed  of  our 
generation." 

About  the  year  1857  two  brothers.  Ebon  Clark  Ingersoll  and  Robert  G.  Inger- 
soll,  came  from  Gallatin  county  to  Peoria.  They  were  both  immediately  recog- 
nized as  talented  young  attorneys,  and,  both  being  democrats,  they  soon  took 
prominent  positions  in  that  party.  The  elder  brother  was  then  a  representative 
in  the  legislature  from  the  fourth  district,  and  after  the  death  of  Owen  Love- 
joy,  in  March,  1864,  he  was  eleced  as  a  republican  to  succeed  the  latter  in 
congress.  .-Xfter  the  expiration  of  that  term  he  was  elected  three  times  in 
succession  to  represent  the  fifth  district.  Having  failed  in  his  reelection  in 
1870,  on  account  of  the  breaking  up  of  party  lines,  he  retired  to  private  life 
in  Washington  city,  where  he  continued  to  reside  until  the  time  of  his  death. 
He  was  in  congress  at  the  time  of  the  close  of  the  war,  and  took  an  active 
part  in  the  proceedings  of  that  body  during  the  exciting  time  of  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  Union. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  377 

Robert  G.  Ingersoll  was  regarded  as  an  able  lawyer,  but  was  not  so  suc- 
cessful in  politics  as  his  brother.  In  i860  he  ran  for  congress  as  a  democratic 
candidate  against  judge  William  Kellogg,  the  republican  candidate.  In  1861 
he  went  into  the  army  as  colonel  of  the  Eleventh  Regiment  of  Illinois  Cavalry. 
His  experience  in  the  army  wrought  a  complete  revolution  in  his  political  views, 
and  ever  afterward  he  was  an  ardent  republican.  From  February,  1867,  to 
January,  1869,  he  held  the  office  of  attorney  general,  by  appointment  of  Governor 
Oglesby. 

In  1868  he  was  a  candidate  before  the  republican  state  convention  for  the 
office  of  governor,  but  was  defeated  by  the  friends  of  General  John  M.  Palmer, 
who  was  subsequently  elected.  Some  years  after  his  brother  had  taken  up  his 
residence  in  Washington  city,  Robert  G.  Ingersoll  went  there  to  reside,  and  the 
two  continued  in  business  together  vnitil  the  death  of  the  former.  The  latter 
subsei|uently  went  to  New  York  city,  where  he  achieved  such  a  wide  reputa- 
tion that  a  full  account  of  his  career  becomes  impossible  in  these  local  notices. 
Henry  W.  Wells  is  perhaps  the  senior  member  of  the  Peoria  bar  in  active 
practice.  Having  received  his  early  education  at  Galesburg,  Illinois,  he  entered 
the  National  Law  School  ( then  at  Ballston,  but  afterward  removed  to  I'ough- 
keepsie.  New  York),  where  he  graduated  in  1853  and  was  admitted  to  the  New 
York  bar.  Returning  to  Illinois  he  continued  his  studies  in  the  law  office  of 
Messrs.  Johnson  and  Blakesley,  teaching  school  in  the  winter  seasons,  until  the 
year  1855,  when  he  entered  upon  the  practice  of  the  law  at  Cambridge,  Henry 
county,  Illinois,  and  very  soon  did  an  extensive  business.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in 
the  One  Hundred  and  Twelfth  Regiment  of  Illinois  Infantry,  as  a  private, 
and  was  afterward  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major.  He  continued  in  the  service 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  In  1865  he  returned  to  Peoria  and  resumed  the  prac- 
tice of  law.  He  was  well  known  to  the  profession  as  the  author  of  a  valuable 
treatise  entitled  Wells  on  Replevin,  which  is  accepted  as  standard  authority. 
In  i86g  he  was  elected  as  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention  and  vbd 
efficient  service  in  the  framing  of  our  present  constitution. 

John  T.  Lindsay  was  at  one  time  a  member  of  considerable  prominence  of 
our  bar  but  is  now  a  non-resident  of  our  county.  When  I  first  became  acquainted 
with  the  bar  of  Peoria  he  was  engaged  in  the  practice  of  the  law  in  company 
with  Henry  Lander,  formerly  a  partner  of  Julius  Manning,  in  Kno.x  county. 
Mr.  Lindsay  continued  the  practice  of  the  law  for  many  years  thereafter  and 
during  that  time  had  several  partners.  He  served  for  one  term  as  a  member 
of  the  house  of  representatives  and  one  term  in  the  state  senate.  While  a 
member  of  the  senate,  although  he  had  been  elected  as  a  democrat,  he  voted 
for  the  ratification  of  the  thirteenth  amendment  to  the  constitution  of  the  LT,iJte(l 
States. 

Charles  C.  Bonney  properly  belongs  to  Chicago,  where  his  re])utation  has 
been  achieved,  yet  it  is  true  that  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  for  several 
years  practiced  his  ])rofession  in  Peoria.  While  here  he  took  into  his  office  as  a 
student  a  penniless  Irish  boy  named  William  O'Brien,  who  afterward  became 
a  man  of  considerable  note  at  the  bar,  as  well  as  in  political  life.  He  was 
unfortunate  in  not  having  a  good  academical  education,  for  he  was  a  man  of 
natural  abilities  and  force  of  character.  As  a  successful  criminal  lawyer  he  had 
few  superiors  in  the  state.  He  was  a  forcible  speaker,  impulsive  in  the  argument 
of  his  cases  and  seemed  to  carry  his  point  by  mere  force,  rather  than  by  logical 
argument. 

He  was  an  ardent  democrat  and  adhered  t(j  the  anti-war  wing  of  his  party 
to  the  last.  He  was  elected  to  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature  in  1862  and 
took  a  prominent  part  in  the  action  of  that  body  which  linally  led  to  its  ad- 
journment by  the  proclamation  of  Governor  Yates.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the 
national  democratic  convention  which  nominated  Horatio  Seymour  for  president 
in  1868,  and  in  that  same  year  was  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  congressman 
for  the  state  at  large  against  General  John  A.  Logan,  the  successful  candidate. 


378  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

He  subsecjuently  removed  to  Chicago,  where  after  some  years  of  practice,  with 
varying  success,  he  died. 

In  addition  to  those  already  named  the  following  members  of  the  Peoria 
bar  have  been  members  of  the  legislature,  namely :  Senators,  Mark  M.  Bassett, 
one  term;  Andrew  J.  Bell,  two  terms;  Lucien  H.  Kerr,  one  term;  John  S.  Lee, 
two  terms;  John  M.  Neihaus,  one  term;  James  D.  Putnam;  representatives, 
Mark  M.  Bassett,  one  term;  Robert  S.  Bibb,  one  term;  Samuel  Caldwell,  one 
term;  Horace  R.  Chase,  one  term;  John  S.  Lee,  one  term;  John  M.  Neihaus, 
one  term;  William  E.  Phelps,  one  term;  IMichael  C.  Ouinn,  two  terms;  James 
M.  Rice,  one  term ;  Julius  S.  Starr,  two  terms. 

JUDGES    OF    THE    CIRCUIT    COURT 

Onslow  Peters  was  the  first  judge  of  the  sixteenth  circuit.  He  was  a  native 
of  Massachusetts  and  had  come  to  Peoria  as  early  as  the  year  1836.  Before  his 
accession  to  the  bench  he  had  enjoyed  a  practice  extending  over  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  northern  end  of  the  state.  He  was  a  man  of  great  public  spirit ;  had 
been  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention  of  1847,  ^"d  is  said  to  have 
been  the  author  of  our  system  of  township  organization.  He  was  a  strong 
advocate  of  popular  education  and  aided  much  in  the  establishment  of  our 
system  of  public  schools. 

He  was  reelected  in  1855,  but  occupied  the  bench  less  than  three  years  in 
all,  having  died  in  Washington  city,  February  28,  1856.  As  I  remember  him. 
Judge  Peters  was  rather  short  in  stature,  had  a  very  bald  head,  surrounded  by 
a  ring  of  dark  hair ;  had  a  broad  and  not  very  expressive  face,  and  was  burdened 
with  a  great  rotundity  of  person.  He  is,  by  one  historian,  said  to  have  been 
somewhat  pompous  in  his  manner,  but  never  having  heard  him  speak  except 
at  some  local  meetings  of  a  business  character,  I  am  not  able  to  add  my  testi- 
mony to  that  charge.  I  knew  him  as  a  good  natured,  genial  gentleman,  ever 
ready  to  do  a  kindness  or  to  render  friendly  advice  to  a  young  man  when 
needed. 

Upon  the  death  of  Judge  Peters,  Jacob  Gale  became  his  successor  for  a 
few  months.  Judge  Gale  had  not  been  engaged  in  the  active  practice  of  the 
law  for  some  years,  but  had  for  a  long  time  held  the  office  of  circuit  clerk  and 
by  that  means  had  kept  himself  well  informed  as  to  the  proper  administration 
of  the  law.  But  the  onerous  duties  of  the  bench  proving  distasteful  to  him,  he 
resigned  his  office  and  was  succeeded  in  November  of  the  same  year  by  Elihu 
N.  Powell. 

Judge  Powell  came  from  Ohio  at  a  very  early  day,  and  although  he  had  not 
the  advantage  of  a  thorough  education  in  early  life,  yet,  through  indomitable 
industry  and  perseverance  in  his  studies,  he  became  a  very  able  lawyer.  He 
had  as  a  partner  for  some  years  William  F.  Bryan,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Powell  &  P.rvan,  which  firm  attained  to  a  very  extensive  and  lucrative  practice. 
At  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1871,  Judge  Powell  was  considered  the  senior  mem- 
ber of  the  Peoria  bar.  He  had  the  rare  faculty  of  being  able  to  cite  from  mem- 
ory, giving  book  and  page,  any  reported  case  he  had  ever  read.  Neither  he 
nor  his  partner,  Bryan,  were  great  orators,  but  each  of  them  was  able  to  present 
his  case  to  court  or  jury  with  commendable  ability  and  force. 

Judge  Powell  was  succeeded  in  1861  by  Amos  L.  Merriman,  who  held  the 
office  until  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1863,  when  he  resigned  the  same  to  take 
up  the  then  growing  business  of  prosecuting  war  claims  against  the  government, 
for  which  purpose  he  removed  to  Washington  city.  As  before  stated,  he  had 
been  a  partner  of  his  brother  until  the  time  of  the  latter's  death,  in  1854,  after 
which  he  was  a  partner  of  Julius  INIanning  until  his  accession  to  the  bench. 
He  was  the  office  lawyer  of  both  firms  and  became  an  expert  in  the  preparation 
of  court  papers,  as  well  as  all"  other  documents  necessary  to  be  prepared  in  the 
office  of  an  attornev.     He  was  not  considered  a  very  able  advocate  but  was  an 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  379 

excellent  judge  of  the  law  and  discharged  the  duties  of  iiis  high  office  with 
ability  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  all.  Upon  the  retirement  of  Judge  Alerriman 
he  was  succeeded  by  Marion  \Yilliamson. 

Judge  Williamson  had  come  to  Peoria  about  the  year  1856.  He  was  a 
native  of  Ohio  and  had  received  only  a  common-school  education,  but  his  native 
talent  and  diligent  study  overcame  all  obstacles  and  placed  him  in  the  front 
rank  of  the  younger  members  of  the  bar.  After  coming  to  Peoria  he  was  first 
associated  for  three  years  with  Hon.  Hezekiah  M.  Wead,  after  which,  until  his 
accession  to  the  bench,  lie  practiced  alone.  It  was  truthfully  said  of  him,  "'He 
filled  the  office  with  honor  to  himself  and  benefit  to  the  community.  Plis  peculiar 
adaptaliility  to  the  position  made  him  one  of  the  best  officers  that  ever  sat  upon 
the  bench."  Upon  retiring  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Alexander  McCoy, 
Lorin  G.  Pratt  and  John  S.  Stevens,  which  was  terminated  by  his  death  the 
following  year.  Sabin  D.  Puterbaugh,  the  successor  of  Judge  Williamson,  was 
likewise  a  native  of  Ohio,  but  had  come  with  his  parents  to  Illinois  when  he  was 
live  years  old.  His  early  education  was  obtained  at  the  common  schools  of 
Tazewell  county.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  January,  1857,  and  at  once 
became  partner  of  lion.  Samuel  W.  Fuller,  then  state  senator  from  that  dis- 
trict. After  the  removal  of  Mr.  Fuller  to  Chicago,  Mr.  Puterbaugh  formeil  a 
partnership  with  Hon.  John  B.  Cohrs,  which  continued  until  1861.  Mr.  Puter- 
baugh then  entered  the  army  as  major  of  the  Eleventh  Illinois  Cavalry,  and 
remained  in  the  service  until  November,  1862,  when  he  resigned  and  removed  to 
Peoria.  In  1868  he  formed  a  partnership  with  E.  C.  &  R.  G.  IngersoU,  the 
former  of  whom  was  then  a  representative  in  congress.  This  firm  continued 
until  June,  1867,  when  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  cricuit  judge.  He  held 
this  office  until  March,  1873,  and  then  resigned  to  resume  the  practice  of  his 
profession.  As  a  judge  he  was  upright,  painstaking,  diligent  and  correct  in 
decisions,  and  discharged  the  duties  of  his  office  with  ability  and  fidelity.  He 
is  perhaps  best  known  to  the  profession  as  the  author  of  Puterbaugh's  Common 
Law  Pleadings  and  Practice  and  Puterbaugh's  Chancery  Pleading  and  Practice, 
both  of  which  works  are  accepted  as  standard  authority. 

Judge  Puterbaugh  also,  in  1877,  took  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  measures 
before  the  legislature  for  the  reorganization  of  the  judiciary,  and  the  creation 
of  the  appellate  courts.  To  his  efiforts  probably  more  than  to  those  of  any  other 
one  man  the  state  is  indebted  for  the  adoption  of  those  measures. 

In  politics  he  was  a  democrat  tmtil  the  outbreak  of  the  rebellion,  when  he 
identified  himself  with  the  republican  party,  and  he  was  one  of  the  presidential 
electors  in  1880,  at  which  time  he  cast  his  vote  in  the  electoral  college  for  James 
A.  Garfield  for  president,  and  Chester  A.  Arthur  for  vice  president.  He  con- 
tinued in  the  practice  of  the  law  until  his  death,  which  occurred  September  25, 
1892. 

Upon  the  resignation  of  Judge  Puterbaugh,  Henry  1!.  Hopkins  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  governor  to  fill  out  the  unexpired  term.  Although  an  excellent 
lawyer,  Mr.  Hopkins  did  not  give  promise  of  very  great  success  as  a  judge. 
The  trouble  seemed  to  be  that  he  was  too  cautious  and  too  considerate,  and 
consequently  too  slow  in  his  movements  for  the  speedy  dispatch  of  business. 
He  was  a  native  of  Vermont  and  had  for  many  years  been  a  partner  of  E.  G. 
Johnson.  He  was  exceedingly  laborious  and  painstaking  and  had  the  reputation 
with  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court  of  having  prepared  some  of  the  best  argu- 
ments ever  presented  to  that  tribunal.     He  died  in   1892. 

Joseph  \\'.  Cochran,  a  native  of  Ohio,  succeeded  Judge  Hopkins.  He  had 
come  to  Peoria  about  the  year  1858,  and  had  been  successful  as  a  lawyer  and 
master  in  chancery.  He  removed  from  here  to  Chicago.  At  the  same  election 
John  Burns,  of  Lacon,  Marshall  county,  was  elected  judge  of  the  adjoining  cir- 
cuit. Judge  Burns  had  been  engaged  in  successful  practice  for  many  years  in 
Marshall  and  adjoining  counties,  and  had  represented  his  district  in  the  con- 
stitutional convention  of   1862.     By  the  action  of  the  legislature  of  1877  these 


380  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

two  circuits  were  united,  and  David  AIcCuHoch  was  elected  as  the  third  judge 
of  the  now  circuit. 

At  the  election  of  1879  Judges  Burns  and  McCulloch  were  reelected  and 
Ninian  M.  Laws,  of  Marshall  county,  succeeded  Judge  Cochran.  Judge  Mc- 
Culloch was  immediately  assigned  to  the  appellate  bench  of  the  third  district 
which  position  he  continued  to  occupy  until  the  end  of  his  term. 

At  the  election  of  1885,  Thomas  M.  Shaw,  of  Marshall  county,  Nathaniel 
W.  Green,  of  Tazewell  county,  and  Samuel  S.  Page,  of  Peoria  county,  were 
elected.  Judge  Shaw  had  very  ably  represented  his  district  in  the  state  senate 
during  the  thirty-second  and  thirty-third  sessions  of  the  legislature,  and  had  at 
the  latter  session  Ijeen  honored  with  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  senators  of  his 
party  for  the  position  of  president  pro  tempore  of  the  senate. 

fudge  Green  was  immediately  assigned  to  the  bench  of  the  appellate  court, 
a  position  he  continued  to  occupy  until  his  retirement  in  1897.  Judge  Page  re- 
signed in  1890,  and  was  succeeded  for  the  remainder  of  the  term  by  Hon.  Law- 
rence W.  James.  At  the  election  of  1891,  Judges  Shaw  and  Green  were  re- 
elected and  Nicholas  E.  Worthington  succeeded  Judge  James. 

fudge  Worthington  had  ably  represented  the  tenth  district  for  two  terms 
in  the  congress  of  the  United  States  and  had  been  appointed  by  President 
Cleveland  as  a  member  of  the  labor  commission,  in  which  capacity  he  had 
made  and  presented  to  the  president  a  very  able  report. 

At  the  election  of  1897  Judges  Shaw  and  Worthington  were  reelected  and 
Leslie  D.  Puterbaugh  succeeded  Judge  Green.  Upon  his  reelection  Judge 
Worthington  was  immediately  assigned  to  the  bench  of  the  appellate  court  for 
the  fourtli  district. 

D.win  m'culi.och 

David  McCulloch  was  born  in  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania.  January  2^. 
1832,  and  died  September  17,  1907.  He  was  a  college-bred  man  and  taught 
school  about  six  months  in  his  native  village.  He  arrived  m  Peoria  on  the  23d 
day  of  April,  1853,  completing  his  journey  from  LaSalle  by  way  of  the  Illinois 
river.  Two  years  after  his  arrival  here  he  conducted  a  private  school;  in  the 
spring  of  1855  began  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Manning  &  Merriman, 
and  was  admiUed  to  the  bar  in  1857.  Previous  to  this,  however,  he  had  been 
elected  school  commissioner  of  Peoria  county — an  office  similar  to  that  of  the 
present  county  superintendency,  and  served  in  that  capacity  six  years.  After 
his  admission'  to  the  l^ar  he  formed  a  partnership  with  his  preceptor,  Julius 
Planning,  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  of  the  state.  This  business  associatioii  con- 
tinued until  Mr.  Alanning's  death,  July  4,  1862.  That  same  year  Mr.  JMcCulloch 
formed  a  partnership  with  Charles  P.  Taggert.  From  1870  to  1875  the  law  firm 
of  McCulloch  &  Stevens  existed,  and  1877  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  supreme 
judge,  in  which  he  served  for  eight  years.  He  was  assigned  by  the  supreme 
court  as  one  of  the  judges  of  the  appellate  court  for  the  third  district  in  1879, 
and  served  as  such  five  vears,  being  associated  with  Judges  Chauncey  L.  Higbee 
and  Oliver  L.  Davis.  Judge  McCulloch  retired  from  the  bench  in  1SS5  and 
formed  a  partnership  wilh  his  son.  E.  D.  AlcCulloch,  which  continued  until  the 
fudge's  death. 

Judge  McCulloch  was  reared  a  democrat  and  cast  his  first  presidential  vote 
for  Tames  Pjuchanan,  who  had  been  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  Marshall 
College,  which  was  Judge  McCulloch's  alma  mater.  In  1S60  he  voted  for 
.Steven  A.  Douglas. 

fudge  McCulloch  ranked  high  with  his  lirethren  of  the  bar,  both  as  a  lawyer 
and"  a  jurist.  This  was  indicated  by  the  fact  that  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  Par 
.Association  he  was  one  of  a  committee  composed  of  Judges  Sabin  D.  Puterbaugh, 
.Anthony  Thornton  and  himself,  which  devised  the  plan  and  drafted  the  bills 
which,  with  some  modifications,  became  laws,  whereby  the  judicial  system  was 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  381 

reconstructed  and  tlie  ai)i)ellate  courts  l)rought  into  existence.  He  was  the 
second  ijresident  of  the  association,  and  often  addressed  it  upon  important  topics 
and  acted  upon  its  most  important  committees. 

He  was  a  Presbyterian  in  his  religious  faith  and  for  many  years  acted  as  one 
of  the  ruling  elders  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  church  of  Peoria.  He  served 
for  several  years  as  one  of  the  directors  of  the  McCormick  Theological  Seminary 
at  Chicago.  On  the  2d  of  September,  1858.  judge  ^IcCulloch  was  married  to 
Aliss  ;\Iary  Fulton  Hemphill,  of  Shippenburg.  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  to  them  were  born  three  children,  now  living:  Edward  Dickinson  McCulloch, 
\\'illiam  Herron  and  Marv  Hemphill  McCulloch,  now  the  wife  of  Edward 
D.  .McDougal. 

PEORI.X    BAR    .\S.S()Cr.\TIOXS 

The  secretary  of  the  Peoria  Bar'  Association  has  a  minute  book,  which  con- 
tains the  complete  records  of  two  preceding  associations.  From  such  records  the 
writer  is  able  to  give  a  short  history  of  the  three  bar  associations  which  have  been 
organized  in  Peoria  county. 

The  first  association  organized  was  called  the  "Peoria  Bar  Association." 
On  November  10,  1879.  a  large  number  of  lawyers  met  in  the  Law  Library  rooms. 
The  late  Col.  James  M.  Rice  presided  at  the  meeting  and  he,  together  with  four 
other  lawyers,  were  selected  to  report  a  plan  of  organization.  On  November  18 
following,  at  a  meeting  called  for  that  purpose,  the  report  of  the  committee  was 
read  and  adopted.  A  constitution  and  by-laws  were  then  adopted.  Officers  were 
elected  and  committee  appointments  made  as  follows : 

David  McCulloch.  president ;  J.  K.  Cooper,  first  vice-president ;  S.  D.  Puter- 
baugh,  second  vice-president ;  H.  C.  Fuller,  secretary ;  Thomas  Cratty,  treasurer. 
Committee  on  grievances :  Rice,  Nye.  Alva  Loucks ;  committee  on  law  reform : 
A\'ells.  Jack  and  Stevens ;  committee  on  legal  biography ;  Sloan.  Wilson  and  Wead. 

The  members  of  the  executive  committee  were  the  president,  vice-president, 
secretary  and  treasurer.  The  members  of  the  committee  were  the  trustees  of 
the  association  and  had  power  to  appoint  all  standing  committees.  Meetings  were 
provided  for  each  month  of  the  year.  The  meetings  in  the  months  of  March, 
June,  September  and  December  were  to  be  held  to  transact  the  business  of  the 
association.  The  other  monthlv  meetings  were  held  for  the  purpose  of  moot 
courts,  moot  legislative  assemblies,  discussions  and  addresses  on  legal,  political, 
philosophical  and  historical  subjects  and  an  occasional  sup])er. 

The  only  meetings  of  this  association  as  shown  by  the  records  were  held 
December  10.  1879,  January  13,  1880.  February  10.  1880,  March  9,  1880.  April 
13,  1880,  May  II,  1880  and  June  8,  1880. 

At  the  meetings  addresses  were  made  on  a  number  of  subjects.  Judge  David 
McCulloch  delivered  his  inaugural  address  at  the  meeting  of  January  13,  1880.  the 
subject  being  "The  Objects  and  Benefits  of  a  Bar  Association."  At  this  meeting 
remarks  were  made  by  Messrs.  Starr,  Hopkins,  Cratty.  Karr.  Puterbaugh  and 
Worthington.  On  the  night  of  February  10,  1880,  a  paper  was  read  by  N.  G. 
Moors  on  "The  Anglo-Saxons  and  their  Speech."  Jonathan  K.  Cooper  spoke  on 
March  9,  his  subject  being  "Life  and  Services  of  Daniel  Webster."  The  meeting 
of  April  13  was  of  special  interest  to  lawyers  of  today,  as  the  principal  dis- 
cussion was  over  the  question  of  amending  the  Practice  Act,  a  subject  just  now 
of  much  interest  to  attorneys  and  to  laymen  as  well.  At  this  meeting  E.  G. 
Johnson  delivered  an  address  on  "The  Persona!  Recollections  of  Daniel  Webster" 
and  Colonel  James  AL  Rice  read  a  paper  on  "The  Pedigree  of  Our  Laws."  Judge 
N.  E.  Worthintrton  spoke  at  the  May  nth  meeting,  his  subject  being  "The 
Historical  Significance  of  the  Fourth  Year  of  James  ist."  The  June  meeting 
was  addressed  by  Josiah  Fulton,  who  spoke  u])on  "The  Early  Times  in  Peoria." 
At  this  meeting  the  by-laws  were  disregarded.  .An  adjournment  was  taken  over 
the  summer  months  and  into  history  went  the  Peoria  Bar  Association  of  1879, 
never  to  meet  again. 


382  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

The  signers  of  the  constitution  of  this  association  were:  S.  D.  Puterbaugh, 
D.  AlcCuUoch,  Thomas  Cratty,  Alva  Loucks,  Henry  C.  Fuller,  J.  K.  Cooper, 
M.  N.  Gish,  H.  B.  Hopkins,  John  W.  Karr,  F.  W.  Voight,  J.  M.  Tennery,  N.  E. 
Worthington,'  Chas.  A.  Cornwell,  Samuel  E.  Clark,  Wellington  Loucks,  G.  M. 
Tohnston,  Nicholas  Ulrich.  John  B.  Cones,  B.  Todd,  James  M.  Rice,  David  E. 
Powell. 

Of  the  above  list  only  four  now  live  in  Peoria,  Judge  N.  E.  \\  orthington 
still  on  the  circuit  bench,  Nicholas  Ulrich  and  D.  E.  Powell,  not  active  in  prac- 
tice, and  H.  C.  Fuller,  still  practicing  law. 

July  20,  1888,  finds  the  lawyers  of  this  county  again  in  a  meeting^  for  the 
purpose  of  organizing  a  bar  association.  At  this  meeting  James  H.  Sedgwick 
presided.  Judge  David  McCulloch,  Judge  H.  B.  Hopkins  and  James  H.  Sedg- 
wick were  "named  as  a  committee  to  report  a  constitution  and  by-laws.  On  July 
25,  1888,  another  meeting  was  held  and  a  constitution  and  by-laws  were  adopted. 
J.  H.  Sedgwick,  David  McCulloch  and  J.  S.'Lee  were  appointed  delegates  to  the 
National  Bar  Association  Convention. 

But  two  more  meetings  of  this  association  were  held,  one  on  July  28,  1888, 
and  one  on  August  14,  1888.  At  the  last  meeting  the  members  were  called  to 
order  and  an  immediate  adjournment  taken  till  September.  The  adjournment 
proved  to  be  final  as  no  further  meetings  were  ever  convened. 

Officers  were  elected  at  the  July  meeting  as  follows :  President,  James  _H. 
Sedgwick;  first  vice-president,  George  T.  Page;  second  vice-president,  J.  M.  Nie- 
haus;  secretary,  Arthur  Keithley;  treasurer,  David  McCulloch.  Judge  David 
McCulloch  was  selected  chairman  of  the  executive  committee  and  Arthur  Keith- 
ley,  W.  I.  Slemmons  and  J.  M.  Niehaus  were  named  as  the  committee  on  ad- 
missions. The  following  signed  the  constitution:  James  H.  Sedgwick,  Arthur 
Keithley,  W.  \'.  Tefift.  David  McCulloch,  J.  M.  Niehaus,  S.  D.  Wead,  George  T. 
Page,  VV.  I.  Slemmons,  L.  W.  James. 

The  following  paragraphs  taken  from  the  records  of  the  present  bar  asso- 
ciation briefly  show  the  steps  taken  for  organization : 

"The  Peoria  Bar  Association,  as  a  temporary  organization,  held  its  first  meet- 
ing with  seven  members  of  the  bar  at  the  Creve  Coeur  Club  on  November  20, 
igos-  On  November  27,  1905,  a  second  meeting  was  held  at  the  same  place,  at 
which  meeting  the  law  firms  of  Peoria  were  generally  represented.  Committees 
were  appointed  looking  to  the  formation  of  a  permanent  organization;  and  a 
third  meeting  was  called  and  held  at  the  same  place  on  January  8,  1906,  at  which 
time  the  several  committees  made  their  reports  and  the  permanent  organization 
wes  perfected.  The  officers  for  the  first  year  were  selected  as  follows:  President, 
Wm.  L.  Ellwood :  first  vice-president.  S.  D.  Wead ;  second  vice-president.  George 
B.  Sucher;  secretary.  Frank  T.  Aliller ;  treasurer,  E.  D.  McCulloch. 

The  association  "was  organized  by  the  younger  members  of  the  bar  but  in  this 
they  received  the  encouragement  and  active  support  of  the  older  lawyers  of 
Peoria,  without  whom  no  successful  organization  is  possible.  Among  these 
older  lawyers  most  active  were  John  S.  Stevens  and  George  T.  Page,  who,  in 
their  practice  and  as  members  of  the  State  Bar  Association,  have  been  for  years 
active  in  maintainincr  the  dignity  and  ethics  of  the  bar.  and  who  have  been  honored 
with  the  highest  office  in  the  latter  organization. 

The  seven  lawvers  mentioned  in  the  above  paragraphs,  who  met  for  the  ]nir- 
l)ose  of  organization  were  W.  L.  Ellwood,  George  Sucher.  Walter  S.  Horton, 
Hiram  E.  Todd,  Clvde  E.  Stone,  George  Jochem  and  Frank  T.  Miller. 

The  Bar  Association,  as  it  now  exists,  was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of 
the  State  of  Illinois  on  April  20,  iQofi,  the  incorporators  being  John  "SI.  Niehaus, 
Tames  M.  Rice.  Hiram  E.  Todd,  Edward  D.  ^McCabe,  Israel  C.  Pinkney,  John 
S.  Stevens.  Walter  H.  Kirk,  Wm.  L.  Ellwood.  Frank  T.  Miller  and  Edward  D. 
McCulloch. 

In  looking  over  the  minutes  of  this  association,  we  find  that  there  have  been 
many  interesting  meetings  held  during  the  past  seven  years.    The  association  has 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  383 

taken  an  active  jxirt  in  all  of  tb.e  measures  carried  out  or  proposed  by  the  State 
Bar  Association  and  the  various  committees  appointed  by  the  governor  of  this 
state  for  the  piirjiose  of  revising  the  "Practice  Act"  and  reforming  procedure 
and  practice  in  the  courts  of  this  state. 

A  number  of  times  the  association  has  been  called  together  in  special  meet- 
ings for  the  purpose  of  opposing  certain  acts  introduced  in  the  legislature,  which 
were  thought  to  be  prejudicial  to  the  best  interests  of  litigants,  as  well  as  to  at- 
torneys. Some  of  the  most  important  actions  taken  by  this  association  were 
resolutions  favoring  the  passage  of  an  act  requiring  the  publication  and  selling 
of  the  Illinois  Supreme  &  Appellate  Court  Reports  at  a  tigure  much  lower  than 
the  pulilishers  were  selling  the  same;  a  resolution  favoring  a  smaller  judicial 
circuit  and  seeking  to  have  Peoria  county  placed  in  a  circuit  with  only  one  addi- 
tional county  attached;  resolutions  opposing  the  passage  of  the  so-called  "Gil- 
bert bill." 

In  February.  191 1.  Judge  Samuel  D.  Wead  was  appointed  by  the  Peoria 
Bar  Association  as  a  member  of  the  committee  to  draft  a  bill  for  the  reform  of 
procedure  and  practice.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the  work  of  this  committee 
and  at  the  last  meeting  of  the  State  Bar  Association  the  committee's  report  was 
acted  upon  favorably.  The  various  bar  associations  of  the  state,  as  well  as  the 
State  Bar  Association,  are  now  trying  to  get  the  judges  of  the  circuit,  as  well 
as  the  sujireme  court,  to  adopt  rules  suggested  by  this  committee's  rejwrt.  It 
was  hoped  by  this  means  to  simplify  modes  of  procedure  and  to  do  away  with 
any  cause  there  might  be  now  for  complaint  because  of  uncertain  delay  and  ex- 
pense in  litigation. 

The  association  has  entertained  many  ]5roniinent  jurists  and  laymen,  among 
whom  have  been  Judge  J.  Otis  Humphrey,  of  the  United  States  district  court, 
who  addressed  the  association  on  the  "United  States  Supreme  Court ;"  Judge 
l*"rank  K.  Dunn,  of  the  supreme  court  of  this  state,  wdio  spoke  on  "Due  Process 
of  Law,"  and  Judge  John  P.  Hand,  also  of  the  Illinois  supreme  court,  who  ad- 
flressed  the  association  on  "Procedure  in  the  Illinois  Supreme  Court;"  Judge 
William  R.  Curran  spoke  on  the  "Illinois  Bar  Association;"  Judge  N.  E.  Wor- 
thington  on  "Practice  in  the  Circuit  Courts;"  Judge  L.  D.  Puterbaugh  on  "Prac- 
tice and  Procedure  in  Higher  Courts ;"  William  G.  ^IcRoberts  on  "State  By- 
laws;" J.  R.  Boulware  on  the  "New  Practice  Act;"  John  Dailey  spoke  on 
"Legislation  and  how  it  is  Procured  or  not  Procured  at  Springfield.  Illinois." 
Judge  David  McCulloch  addressed  the  association  on  "Members  of  the  Early 
Bar  of  Peoria  county." 

It  might  be  mentioned  to  the  credit  of  the  members  of  the  Peoria  Bar  .Associa- 
tion that  with  the  exception  of  two  of  its  members  no  action  has  been  taken  for 
the  purpose  of  condemning  their  methods  of  practice  in  our  courts. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  event  of  the  association  was  the  annual  meeting 
held  at  the  Jeliferson  hotel  April  q,  1912.  At  that  time  the  Peoria  Bar  Association 
had  the  pleasure  of  entertaining  all  of  the  members  of  the  supreme  court  of  the 
state  of  Illinois  as  well  as  Samuel  P.  Irwin,  the  official  reporter  of  the  supreme 
court.  The  reception  was  held  for  the  court  on  the  mezzanine  floor  of  the  hotel 
prior  to  the  b.mquet  which  was  given  in  the  main  dining  room.  Over  one  hun- 
dred members  and  their  guests  were  present.  Chief  Justice  Orrin  N.  Carter 
and  Justice  James  H.  Cartwright  addressed  the  banqueters. 

Under  the  rules  of  the  association  the  retiring  president  is  obliged  to  de- 
liver an  annual  address,  discussing  the  laws  passed  and  decisions  rendered  during 
the  year  of  his  incumbency,  and  the  members  have  had  the  privilege  of  listening 
to  splendid  addresses  from  the  retiring  presidents,  all  worthy  of  being  spread 
at  length  on  the  records  of  the  association. 

During  the  seven  years  the  association  has  been  in  existence  special  meetings 
have  been  held  and  resolutions  passed  upon  the  deatli  of  the  following  members: 
Judge  David  McCulloch.  Henry  W.  Wells.  Joseph  Wilhelm.  John  Culbertson, 
John  S.  Stevens,  Col.  James  M.  Rice  and  J.  M.  David.    The  association  has  also 


384  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

passed  resolutions  upon  the  death  of  Henry  M.  Sedgwick,  a  member  of  the 
Peoria  Bar  Association,  as  well  as  Thaddeus  S.  Simpson,  who  for  many  years 
was  alifiliated  with  the  bar  in  his  official  capacity  of  clerk  of  the  circuit  court. 

The  presidents  of  the  association:  William  L.  EUwood,  1906;  Samuel  D. 
Wead,  1907;  John  M.  Niehaus,  1908;  Winslow  Evans,  1909;  John  S.  Stevens, 
1910;  William  Jack,  191 1  ;  Hiram  E.  Todd,  1912. 

The  following  members  of  the  Peoria  bar  are  at  present  members  of  the 
association:  E.  J.  Abersol,  S.  F.  Atwood,  Oliver  J.  Bailey.  Hundley  B.  Baker, 
C.  N.  Barnes,  Chester  F.  Barnett,  Joseph  Bartley.  George  K.  Beasley,  Clyde 
Birkett,  George  W.  Black,  Leaton  C.  Boggess,  J.  R.  Boulware,  A.  H.  Burke. 
George  W.  Burton.  G.  W.  Campbell.  Clyde  Capron,  Delbert  A.  Covey,  Ira  J. 
Covey.  David  E.  Conigiskv,  David  T-  Cowan.  T.  J.  Crowder,  John  Dailey,  Charles 
C.  Dutch,  L.  O.  Eagleton,'  John  ]\I."  Elliott,  \\'illiam  L.  Ellwood,  Winslow  Evans, 
George  B.  Foster,  C.  W.  Frazier,  H.  C.  Fuller,  Joseph  \'.  Graff.  A.  J.  Grimes. 
W.  W.  Hammond.  Edward  U.  Henrv.  Clarence  W.  Heyl.  Isaac  M.  Hornbacker, 
W.  S.  Horton,  Jay  T.  Hunter,  Clifford  Ireland.  W.  T.  Irwin.  Robert  P.  Jack.  Wil- 
liam Jack.  A.  facobson.  George  Jochem,  William  S.  Kellogg.  Charles  A".  Kimmel, 
Tohn'B.  King,"Walter  H.  Kirk,  Herbert  T.  Landauer.  Isaac  J.  Levinson.  Thomas 
B.  Lewis,  Robert  H.  Lovett.  Henry  Mansfield,  Joseph  W.  IMaple.  Emmet  C.  May, 
E.  D.  McCabe.  Robert  N.  McCormick,  Edward  D.  McCulloch.  Shelton  F.  Mc- 
Grath.  C.  E.  McNemar,  W^  G.  McRoberts.  L.  F.  :\reek,  C.  X.  Mihigan.  Frank  T. 
Miller,  Harry  S.  Miller.  Charles  \'.  Miles,  H.  D.  IMorgan.  W.  H.  :\Ioore.  John 
Mosley.  Clarence  D.  Murphv.  John  M.  Niehaus.  F.  J.  O'Brien.  Arthur  'SI. 
Otman,  George  Page,  H.  C.  Pettit,  Chilli..  III.  I.  C.  Pinkney,  Leslie  D.  Puter- 
baugh.  Frank  T-  Ouinn,  A.  ^^  D.  Rousseau.  Scholes  Robert,  John  C.  Scully, 
Dan  R.  Sheen,"  W~  I.  Slemmons,  ludge  Starr.  Clvde  C.  Stone,  Joseph  Storey, 
Charles  S.  Stubbles,  George  B.  Sucher.  George  A.  Shurtleff,  W.  V.  Tefft,  Hiram 
E.  Todd,  Charles  E.  Ulrich,  Nicholas  Ulrich.  S.  D.  Wead.  Joseph  A.  Weil, 
Nathan  Weiss,  \\'.  T.  Whiting.  Hugh  E.  Wilson,  J.  B.  Wolfenbarger,  N.  E. 
\\''orthington. 

Robert  G.  Ingersoll  was  the  most  noted  man,  both  for  his  ability  and  person- 
ality, claimed  byPeoria  as  one  of  her  citizens,  and  his  fame  as  an  orator  became 
world-wide.  He  gained  distinction  as  a  lawyer,  soldier,  poet,  lecturer  and  hu- 
manitarian, and  as  a  citizen,  husband  and  father,  he  was  characterized  by  both 
friends  and  enemies  as  a  model.  When  at  the  prime  of  life.  Ingersoll  embodied 
all  that  goes  to  make  the  perfect  man  "physically. 

Robert  Green  Ingersoll  was  born  at  Dresden.  Oneida  county.  New  York. 
August  II.  1833.  His  father,  who  was  a  Presbyterian  minister,  removed  to  the 
west  when  Robert  was  ten  vears  of  age  and  the  lad  "grew  up"  in  the  states  of 
Wisconsin  and  Illinois.  At  Shawneetown  he  and  his  brother  Ebon  C.  read  law 
and  were  admitted  to  the  bar.  In  1837  they  took  up  their  residence  in  Peoria 
and  soon  made  their  presence  felt. 

In  i860  he  was  the  democratic  candidate  for  congress,  but  was  defeated  by 
his  republican  antagonist.  Judge  ^^'illiam  P.  Kellogg. 

On  the  22d  dav  of  April.  1861,  Ingersoll  sent  the  following  despatch  to 
Governor  Richard  Yates : 

"With  your  permission  I  will  raise  a  regiment  of  one  thousand  men  to  be 
ready  on  call.    \Y\\\  you  accept?" 

ROBERT   G.    INGERSOLL 

At  this  time  Ingersoll  was  twenty-eight  years  of  age  and  a  member  of  the 
democratic  partv.  His  patriotic  offer  could  not  then  be  accepted,  but  it  led  to 
the  formation  of  the  Eleventh  Illinois  Cavalry,  which  was  mustered  into  the 
United  States  service  on  the  20th  of  December  of  the  same  year,  and  shortly 
thereafter  Robert  G.  Ineersoll  received  his  commission  as  its  colonel  and  served 
his  countrv  with  distinction.     In  1864.  during  the  second  Lincoln  campaign,  he 


INGERSOM.    MitMMKXT 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  385 

became  idciititicci  with  the  republican  parly,  to  wliich  his  allegiance  never  swerved 
throughout  the  remainder  of  his  life.  In  18O7  he  was  appointed  the  first  attorney 
general  of  the  state  by  Governor  Richard  Oglesby.  In  the  '70s  he  joined  his 
brother,  Ebon  C.  Ingersoll,  in  the  practice  of  the  law,  at  Washington  city. 

IngersoU's  greatest  distinction  and  fame  arose  from  his  great  oratorical 
attainments.  It  is  probably  not  going  too  far  to  say  that  he  was  the  greatest 
orator  of  his  day  in  this  country.  His  services  in  political  campaigns  were  eagerly 
sought  by  the  leaders  of  his  party  and  his  great  reputation  as  an  orator  was  at 
once  made  by  his  nominating  speech  at  the  Cincinnati  convention  of  1876,  in 
which  he  ])laced  before  the  convention  the  name  of  James  G.  Blaine  for  the 
presidencv.  He  was  supremely  eloquent  and  his  fund  of  beautiful  thoughts, 
characteristically  expressed,  attracted  all  lovers  of  word  pictures.  Among  the 
many  of  his  great  orations,  which  add  to  his  fame,  may  be  mentioned  "The 
Dream  of  the  Union  Soldier,"  delivered  at  a  soldiers'  reunion  at  Indianapolis, 
his  eulogv  at  the  grave  of  his  brother  Ebon,  and  his  memorial  address  on  the 
occasion  of  the  death  of  Roscoe  Conkling.  He  was  designated  as  the  great 
agnostic,  and  among  his  publications  best  known  are  the  "Mistakes  of  Moses," 
"The  Brain  and  the  Bible,"  "The  Gods,"  "Ghosts,"  "Prose  Poems  and  Selec- 
tions." 

During  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life  Colonel  Ingersoll  made  his  home  at 
New  York  city.  His  death  occurred  from  heart  disease  at  his  summer  home, 
Dobb's  Ferry,  Long  Island,  July  21,  1859. 

THE    INGERSOLL    MONUMENT 

On  Saturday,  October  28,  igii,  a  beautiful  bronze  statue  was  unveiled  to  the 
admiring  eyes  of  a  vast  concourse  of  people,  at  Glen  (Jak  Park,  many  of  whom 
were  from  various  parts  of  the  country,  and  among  them  being  the  widow  of 
Colonel  Ingersoll,  and  her  daughters.  On  that  occasion  addresses  were  delivered 
by  men  of  national  prominence  and  letters  were  read  from  some  of  the  most 
eminent  personages  in  the  country,  all  admirers  of  Colonel  Ingersoll.  The  pro- 
ceedings of  the  unveiling  are  best  told  in  the  words  of  the  Peoria  Evening  Star, 
whose  editor,  E.  F.  Baldwin,  was  one  of  Colonel  IngersoU's  warmest  personal 
friends  and  admirers.     The  Star's  account   follows: 

In  the  presence  of  a  splendid  gathering  of  many  thousands  of  people,  with  a 
series  of  addresses  whose  brilliancy,  eloquence  and  feeling  have  never  been 
equalled  in  Peoria,  and  amid  evidences  of  such  sympathy,  enthusiasm  and  deep 
feeling  as  gave  rich  token  of  the  love  in  which  his  memory  is  held  in  this  city, 
the  statue  of  Robert  G.  Ingersoll  was  unveiled  at  Glen  Oak  Park. 

The  da\-  was  one  of  unexampled  splendor.  Skies  as  clear  and  blue  and  ra- 
diantly tender  as  the  eyes  with  which  the  great  philosopher  had  looked  out  upon 
the  world  he  did  so  much  to  free  from  fear  and  sadness — sunshine  as  gloriously 
rich  and  golden  as  the  smile  with  which  he  was  wont  to  greet  the  friends  he  loved, 
lent  their  enchantment  to  the  brilliant  .scene.  And  as  if  even  Nature  herself  had 
wished  to  do  honor  to  one  who  had  worshipped  so  ardently  at  her  shrine,  autumn 
had  touched  every  bush  and  shrub  and  tree  with  magic  fire. 

The  whole  hillside  which  rose  like  the  setting  of  a  stage  back  of  the  great 
bronze  figure  on  its  granite  pedestal,  was  aflame  with  gold  and  crimson,  and  the 
trees  which  bordered  the  driveways  on  either  side  of  the  statue  lifted  their 
shimmering  heads,  torchlike,  to  the  sky. 

The  great  moment  when  the  cord  pulled  bv  Robert  G.  Ingersoll  Brown,  In- 
gersoU's grandson,  the  flag  which  had  concealed  it  slowlv  fluttered  earthward 
and  the  splendid,  virile  figure  stood  revealed,  sharply  outlined  against  the  glory 
of  the  hills,  proved  poignantly  dramatic. 

As  if  impelled  by  a  single  impulse,  the  great  concourse  arose  to  its  feet. 
Every  head  was  bared  and  for  a  brief  instant  every  one  stood  silent  and  spell- 
bound, touched  to  the  heart  bv  ihe  sudden  apparition.    It  was  as  if  Ingersoll  him- 


386  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

self  all  at  once  stood  forth  before  them,  fearless  and  splendid  as  he  had  always 
stood  in  life.  Then,  suddenly  as  it  had  come,  the  spell  passed,  and  with  its 
passing  came  the  realization  of  the  art  which  had  caused  the  illusion,  and  the  as- 
semblage broke  into  applause  and  cheers. 

The  figure  of  Ingersoll  is  of  heroic  size,  seven  and  a  half  feet  in  height,  and 
stands  in  an  easeful  and  characteristic  pose — the  broad  shoulders  swung  back 
and  one  hand  thrust  into  the  pocket,  holding  back  the  familiar  frock  coat  which 
for  many  years  was  as  much  a  part  of  IngersoU's  personality  as  his  hearty  hand 
grip  and'  his  frank,  unaffected,  boyish  charm  of  manner.  If  the  artist  has  per- 
haps failed  in  a  measure  to  perfectly  reproduce  the  line  head  with  its  splendid 
forehead  on  which  heaven  had  set  the  unmistakable  seal  of  great  genius  he  has 
succeeded  admirably  in  depicting  the  full  sensitive  mouth  with  its  half  womanish 
charm,  the  delicate  nose,  tilting  slightly  upwards  at  the  tip,  and  the  eyes  which 
look  out  over  the  beautiful  prospect  stretching  before,  with  all  the  splendid,  fear- 
less frankness  those  who  knew  him  best  remember  so  well. 

The  figure  on  the  whole  is  a  striking  one,  full  of  vitality  and  force — a  work 
of  which  any  artist  might  well  feel  proud. 

Best  of  it  all,  it  represents  the  deep  and  abiding  affection  of  those  with  whom 
Ingersoll  spent  the  richest  and  fullest  years  of  his  life,  and  crowns  the  efforts 
of  a  little  band  of  his  closest  friends  who  have  labored  long  that  Peoria  might  do 
honor  to  herself  in  honoring  the  name  of  the  greatest  of  her  children. 

Tha  crowds  which  attended  the  dedication  began  to  gather  early,  and  when 
the  hour  set  for  beginning  had  arrived  every  chair  of  those  set  in  front  of  the 
statue  and  platform  was  filled,  and  hundreds  stood  throughout  the  ceremonies 
forgetful  of  fatigtie,  unheeding  the  chill  which  began  to  delicately  ice  the  air  as 
the  sun  sank  westward,  hanging  eagerly  on  every  word  of  the  speakers  and 
never  too  distant  or  distracted  to  give  spontaneous  response  in  applause  or 
laughter  to  each  golden  thought  or  flashing  play  of  wit.  For  the  wit  was  as 
plenty  as  the  eloquence  and  jests  crowded  the  flights  of  poesy  for  first  honors  in 
the  discourses.  Not  once  was  the  funeral  note  struck  during  the  afternoon. 
That  joy  whose  gospel  Ingersoll  had  so  eloquently  preached  and  gloriously  lived 
reigned  throughout  the  exercises,  and  the  tears  that  stung  the  eyes  at  some  loving 
word  or  tender  allusion  were  soon  dried  in  heart-whole  laughter. 

Eugene  F.  Baldwin,  as  president  of  the  Ingersoll  monument  Association, 
opened  the  exercises  with  an  address.  He  told  of  the  Robert  Ingersoll  of  long 
ago,  the  dear,  ardent,  impassioned  youth,  his  heart  warm  with  love  for  humanity, 
his  brain  aflame  with  genius,  his  spirits  always  poised  for  flights. 

With  swift,  sure  strikes  he  pictured  the  gradual  development  of  this  great 
personality — the  sure  triumph  of  the  ever  ripening  genius,  and  his  story  of  a  great 
success  which  only  enriched  instead  of  weakening  the  nature  of  him  of  whom  it 
had  been  granted,  was  sweet  indeed  to  hear.  After  the  dramatic  interval  wdiich 
marked  the  unveiling  of  the  statue  and  the  incidents  following  it,  Mr.  Baldwin 
then  introduced  Charles  Frederick  Adams,  of  New  York,  the  great  grandson  of 
John  Tuincy  Adams,  and  one  of  the  advanced  thinkers  of  our  times. 

As  soon  as  the  formal  part  of  the  program  was  over,  a  large  part  of  the 
audience  crowded  up  on  the  platform  to  shake  hands  with  Mrs.  Ingersoll  and 
her  daughters,  who  had  been  deeply  moved  spectators  of  the  proceedings.  Many 
were  the  warm  words  of  affection  for  the  dead  man  spoken  by  those  who  grasped 
the  hands  of  his  dearly  loved  wife  and  daughters,  and  .the  impromptu  reception 
added  the  finishing  touch  to  the  tender  sentiment  pervading  the  occasion. 

It  was  not  until  nearlv  an  hour  later  that  the  crowds  at  last  dispersed,  the 
ranks  of  carriages  and  motor  cars  thinned,  broke  and  disappeared.  Then  the 
statue  was  left  alone,  standing  where  it  will  stand  forever,  with  flowers  heaped 
about  its  feet  and  the  setting  sun  resting  like  a  benison  upon  its  head,  and  Peoria's 
great  day  was  over — a  day  planned  and  striven  for  and  achieved  in  love— that 
love  which  is  the  greatest  thing  on  earth  and  which  Robert  Ingersoll  knew  and 
understood  as  it  is  given  to  few  to  know  and  understand. 


CHAPTER  XX\  I 

the  public  schools  ok  peoria — bradley  polytechnic  institute peoria  pub- 
lic library — park  system hotels! — places  of  amusement. 

peoria  public  schools 
1;y  Rose  Pfeiffer 

The  people  of  I'eoria  point  with  pride  to  its  excellent  school  system.  Through 
the  earnest  efforts  of  its  educational  representatives,  the  members  of  the  school 
board,  and  the  hearty  support  of  its  citizens,  the  system  has  continued  to  grow 
in  strength  and  power  to  meet  the  problem  of  providing  school  buildings  and 
teachers  to  care  for  the  hundreds  of  children,  who  during  the  school  year  of  ten 
months,  daily  seek  admittance  to  the  educational  homes  of  our  city. 

Karly  records  inform  us  of  a  law  passed  in  1825,  through  the  efforts  of  Gov- 
ernor Duncan,  for  the  support  of  schools  by  public  tax.  The  common  peo])le, 
viewing  this  tax  in  the  light  of  an  unjust  hardship,  were  unwilling  to  bear  their 
part  of  the  burden.  The  wealthier  citizens  for  a  short  time  met  the  responsibility 
of  educating  the  children  of  their  less  financially  favored  neighbors. 

This  state  of  affairs  continued  for  a  time  but,  believing  the  continuation  of 
this  arrangement  an  injustice  to  themselves,  those  who  had  responded  at  first 
brought  about  a  repeal  of  the  law  in   1827. 

.Another  bill,  lacking  the  taxing  power,  was  introduced  in  1840.  The  legisla- 
ture refused  to  support  it. 

Strong  in  their  conviction  that  education  alone  was  the  hope  of  producing  a 
coming  generation  of  men  and  women  capable  of  preserving  the  high  standard  set 
for  this,  the  grand  state  of  Illinois,  men  were  willing  to  give  their  time  and  effort 
to  continue  in  the  fight  for  free  education  for  every  man,  woman  and  child  in  the 
state.  Consequently,  there  was  a  call  for  a  convention  at  Peoria  in  the  summer 
of  1844. 

This  meeting  was  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  a  memorial,  setting  forth  a 
claim  for  a  common  school  law  of  such  strength  in  its  character  that  it  would 
gain  the  thoughtful  attention  of  that  body.  The  names  of  those  who  were  promi- 
nent in  this  call  and  its  success  are  John  S.  Wright  of  Chicago,  H.  M.  Wead  of 
Lewistown,  and  Thomas  M.  Kilpatrick  of  Winchester. 

That  this  was  the  first  educational  convention  held  in  the  state  is  here  worthy 
of  note.  The  result  of  this  meeting  was  a  new  school  law  authorizing  the  levying 
of  a  school  tax  in  each  district.  Chicago  and  a  few  other  places  availed  them- 
selves of  the  privilege  of  the  new  law  but  the  result,  generally,  was  a  failure.  Re- 
tween  1844  and  1855,  the  latter  date  witnessing  the  adoiition  of  the  Free  School 
Law,  there  was  an  ever  increasing  interest  in  the  educational  movement  in  Peoria. 

Not  willing  to  wait  for  the  necessarily  slow  movement  of  the  legislature  in 
passing  a  law  acceptable  to  the  common  people,  many  of  whom  needed  to  be  edu- 
cated into  the  knowledge  of  the  real  value  of  a  free  school  law,  two  schools  were 
provided  under  an  act  of  the  legislature  authorizing  the  formation  known  as  The 
Female  School  Association  and  the  Roys'  Stock  School. 

During  the  years  1830  to  1854  both  of  these  schools  were  popular  and  aided 
much  to  arouse  the  interest  of  many  parents  who  had  heretofore  been  indifferent 
to  the  rights  of  their  children  to  an  educational  inheritance. 

387 


388  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

The  uncertainty  of  an  unfavorable  adoption  by  the  legislature  of  the  new  law 
for  a  general  school  system  in  1855,  led  representative  citizens  of  Peoria  to  take 
steps  for  the  inauguration  of  a  system  specially  adapted  to  our  own  city.  This 
movement  met  the  approval  of  the  legislature  and  was  sanctioned  by  the  governor. 
In  February,  1855,  the  first  board  of  school  inspectors  was  created.  The 
members  were  elected  in  the  following  month  of  April.  By  virtue  of  this  char- 
ter, the  board  of  school  inspectors  was  empowered  to  take  such  steps  as  would 
further  all  school  interests  in  the  city. 

The  power  vested  in  them  by  this  special  charter  has  been  the  means  to  for- 
ward the  work  of  progressiveness  which  today  marks  the  school  condition  of 
Peoria.  From  an  early  date  in  1856,  four  good  schoolhouses,  two  of  them,  the 
previously  mentioned  Female  Academy  and  Boys'  Stock  School,  purchased  ijy  the 
board,  were  provided. 

The  board  had  at  this  time  an  available  sum  of  money,  the  first  in  the  school 
treasury,  to  be  used  for  building  and  purchasing  purposes.  This  period  marked 
the  beginning  of  the  graded  school  system  in  Peoria.  The  increase  in  membership 
at  the  close  of  the  year  was  very  encouraging. 

The  next  ten  years  witnessed  a  steady  growth  in  the  public  schools.  At  this 
point  the  writer  would  personally  pay  tribute  to  Judge  Nicholas  K.  W'orthington. 
through  whose  efforts  the  first  advantages  of  teacher  training  were  aft'orded 
to  the  teachers  of  the  county. 

In  September,  1868,  after  a  strenuous  campaign  for  the  establishment  of  a 
Peoria  county  normal  school,  Judge  Worthington  was  rewarded  by  witnessing  the 
opening  of  this  school  under  "the  leadership  of  Samuel  H.  White,  of  Chicago,  as 
principal.  The  city  provided  and  cared  for  the  building  and  the  county  paid  the 
teachers'  salaries. 

To  Professor  White  today,  those  who  came  under  his  direction  bear  testimony 
to  the  debt  they  owe  him,  not  only  in  their  success  in  teaching  and  the  high  ideals 
held  up  for  his  pupils,  but  for  the  example  of  the  beautiful  life  he  lived  before 
them. 

Peoria  schools  and  teachers  still  feel  the  uplift  from  this  school,  which  con- 
tinued from  September.  1868,  to  June,  1879.  There  would  indeed  be  a  serious 
omission  in  this  article  if  reference  were  not  made  to  one  of  the  strongest  powers 
in  helpfulness,  in  the  guiding  of  the  Peoria  public  school  pupils  in  their  spiritual, 
moral  and  intellectual  education,  if  the  influence  of  the  Peoria  public  library,  under 
the  supervision  of  E.  S.  \Mllcox.  librarian,  received  no  mention. 

From  his  rich  store  of  knowledge  and  his  ever  cheerful  readiness  to  aid  teach- 
ers and  pupils  to  share  in  that  which  books  alone  can  supply,  we  turn  to  the  public 
library  for  the  richest  and  best  to  assist  us  in  our  work  of  guiding  the  children 
into  the  building  of  beautiful  characters  and  useful  lives. 

To  further  this  plan  of  helpfulness,  branch  libraries,  under  the  supervision  of 
the  public  library,  have  been  placed  in  the  school  buildings  farthest  removed  from 
the  center  of  the  city. 

It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  note  that  while  we  may  have  been  slower  than  some  of 
our  sister  cities  in  adopting  many  of  the  new  features  which  mark  our  school 
course  at  this  time,  there  was  never  a  backward  step  taken. 

When  Gerard  T.  Smith,  the  present  superintendent,  entered  upon  his  duties  in 
September,  iyo6.  he  found  school  buildings  with  seating  capacity  for  every  child 
of  school  age,  and  a  faithful  corps  of  principals  and  teachers  ready  to  cooperate 
with  him  in  the  work.  A  wide-awake,  progressive  educator,  realizing  that  the 
time  had  come  for  a  forward  movement  in  all  lines  of  work,  he  made  an  imme- 
diate eft'ort  to  bring  the  schools  together  as  a  real  system.  Telephones  were  in- 
troduced connecting  the  schools  with  the  office,  meetings  were  held,  and  every 
effort  possible  was  made  to  create  a  healthful  school  spirit. 

The  following  year,  1907,  the  kindergartens  were  introduced  into  the  system 
and  have  been  made  a  real  part  of  the  course  of  study.  They  have  increased 
from  six  to  fourteen  and  the  kindergarten  teachers  have  been  placed  on  the  same 


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HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  389 

footing  as  regular  grade  teachers.  The  moral  and  intellectual  effect  of  these 
kindergartens  upon  the  grade  school  work  is  just  beginning  to  be  fully  realized. 

Believing  that  the  efficiency  of  the  school  work  of  any  system  will  ultimately 
depend  upon  the  ability  and  training  of  incoming  teachers,  a  normal  department 
of  two  years  of  work  subsequent  to  high-school  graduation  was  established  and 
young  people  encouraged  to  enter.  This  normal  has  developed  into  a  most  effec- 
tive instrument  for  training  young  women  in  scholarship,  pedagogical  principles 
and  professional  attitude.  It  has  lacked  in  but  one  thing,  and  that  is  ])ractice 
teaching  plans,  which  are  now  well  under  way. 

The  salaries  of  grade  teachers  have  been  increased  over  thirty  per  cent  and 
coincident  with  the  salary  increase  and  in  harmony  with  the  development  of  the 
normal  school,  the  qualifications  of  incoming  teachers  have  been  materially 
strengthened. 

.\lso,  in  direct  line  with  the  effort  to  increase  school-room  efficiency,  the  num- 
ber of  pupils  per  teacher  has  been  gradually  decreased  until,  at  the  present  time 
the  average  number  of  pupils  per  teacher  throughout  the  system  is  less  than  thirty- 
livc.  The  high-school  work  has  1ieen  greatly  broadened  and  a  new  high  school  has 
been  constructed  and  ecjuipped  in  the  western  part  of  the  city. 

The  opportunity  offered  by  these  increased  facilities  have  been  appreciated  by 
the  citizens  of  Peoria  and  a  general  recognition  of  the  necessity  for  secondary 
education  in  meeting  the  demands  of  modern  civic  life  has  pervaded  the  whole 
city.  As  a  result,  our  high-school  attendance  has  doubled,  and  a  need  of  in- 
creased facilities  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  city  is  soon  to  materialize  in  a  new 
high-school  building. 

It  would  require  pages  to  elaborate  upon  these  high-school  courses  of  study 
in  showing  how  their  development  is  coming  to  meet  all  modern,  industrial  and 
social  needs. 

Another  important  factor  in  the  school  work  is  the  present  effort  to  make  it 
more  fully  meet  the  industrial  needs  of  all  the  children  of  the  city.  To  this  end, 
medical  ins])ection  has  been  established,  which  will  greatly  improve  the  physical 
condition  of  all  pupils. 

A  special  school  is  under  process  of  formation  at  this  time  for  sub-normal  chil- 
dren that  they  may  get  in  fuller  degree  the  work  adapted  to  their  needs  and  that 
they  may  not  be  a  hindrance  to  the  regular  school  work. 

Peoria  has  at  present  twenty-one  school  buildings,  with  a  total  enrollment  of 
10,418  pupils  distributed  as  follows:  Peoria  high  school,  609;  Normal  training 
high  school,  368 ;  Peoria  public  grade  schools,  8,333 ;  Peoria  public  kindergarten 
schools,  1,108. 

The  following  is  the  personnel  of  officers,  superintendent,  supervisors  and 
principals  for  the  year  ending  June  21,  1912: 

Officers  of  the  board  of  school  insi)ectors — E.  D.  McCullough,  president ;  Anna 
Rynearson,  secretary ;  William  \'.  Williamson,  treasurer ;  Jennie  E.  Stouft'er,  tru- 
ant officer;  C.  H.  Brown,  superintendent  of  repairs;  Ida  I\l.  Myers,  stenographer; 
Mary  Bourke,  telephone  operator  and  supply  clerk ;  sui)erintendent  of  schools, 
Gerard  T.  Smith. 

Supervisors — Carl  Graner.  physical  culture ;  Clara  Daily,  music ;  Nama  A. 
Lathe,  art;  A.  P.  Laughlin,  manual  training;  Bertha  Case,  cooking;  Minnie  M. 
Peterson,  sewing. 

Schools  and  principals — Peoria  high  school,  A.  W.  Beasley;  Manual  training 
high  school,  W.  N.  Brown ;  Blaine,  E.  B.  Couch ;  Columbia,  Edna  A.  Nowland ; 
Douglas,  H.  P..  Beecher;  Franklin,  C.  B.  Baymiller ;  Garfield,  .Anna  E.  Martin; 
Glen  Oak,  C.  A.  Dille ;  Greeley,  W.  T.  Van  Buskirk  ;  Harrison,  A.  H.  Hiatt :  Irving, 
Abbie  A.  Hunter;  Lee,  Ella  Beseman ;  Lincoln,  C.  H.  Kamman ;  Longfellow, 
Kate  Rutherford ;  Loucks,  R.  E.  Stowell ;  McKinley,  T.  H.  Meek ;  Sumner,  Ivan 
Deach  ;  Washington,  Minnie  B.  Love  ;  Webster,  J.  C.  Scullin  ;  White,  Hester  Craw- 
ley ;  Whittier,  Rose  Pfeiffer ;  kindergartens,  Lucy  B.  Way. 


390  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

The  following  is  a  list  of  those  who  have  served  as  presidents  of  the  board  of 
school  inspectors  from  the  time  of  its  organization  in  February,  1855,  to  June. 
1912: 

A.  P.  Bartlett,  Thomas  L.  Davis,  H.  G.  Anderson,  Washington  Cockle,  Jacob 
Gale,  Charles  Flinse,  Chauncy  Nye,  Enoch  P.  Sloan,  George  H.  Mcllvaine,  Henry 
Binnian,  E.  S.  W'illcox.  C.  C.  Boring,  Edward  Hine,  E.  ].  Case,  William  Jack,  B. 
Meals,  P.  B.  Miles,  J.  W.  Maple,  D,  S.  Long,  E.  D.  McCullough. 

HRADLEV   POI.YTF.CIIXIC 

Bradley  Polytechnic  Institute,  Peoria,  III,  was  founded  in  1897.  It  occupies 
a  campus  of  about  twenty  acres  upon  Institute  Place  between  Main  Street  and 
Bradley  avenue.  The  Institute  is  named  after  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tobias  S.  Bradley 
who  after  discussing  many  forms  of  philanthrophy  to  which  they  might  devote 
their  large  estate  and  which  might  serve  as  a  memorial  to  their  deceased  chil- 
dren, reached  the  decision  that  a  school  would  be  the  most  useful  and  fitting 
form.  The  sudden  death  of  Mr.  Bradley  in  1867  delayed  action.  Mrs.  Bradley 
was  for  many  years  fully  occupied  by  the  care  of  the  estate  and  also  felt  that 
it  should  increase  substantially  before  it  could  prove  adequate  for  the  plans 
which  had  been  formed.  Tlius  nearly  thirty  years  passed  while  the  estate 
more  than  doubled  in  value.  It  was  Mrs.  Bradley's  original  intention  to  provide 
for  a  school  to  be  inaugurated  after  her  death  but  in  1896  she  decided  to  endow 
it  at  once.  She  sent  her  representative  to  various  schools  corresponding  in  type 
somewhat  to  that  which  she  proposed  to  found  and  after  thorough  consideration 
formulated  her  wishes  substantially  as  they  are  now  expressed  in  the  Institute. 

The  general  purpose  of  the  founder  may  be  seen  in  the  following  extract 
from  the  charter  of  the  Institute : 

"The  objects  for  which  this  corporation  is  formed  are  to  organize  and  main- 
tain, forever,  a  school  for  the  education  of  young  people  of  both  sexes  in  all 
practical  and  useful  arts,  sciences  and  learning  usually  taught  in  polytechnic 
schools,  including  a  department  in  ethics,  in  which  instruction  shall  be  given 
in  the  principles  of  morality  and  right  living  as  exemplified  in  the  life  and  teach- 
ings of  Jesus  Christ ;  and,  so  far  as  the  resources  of  the  Institute  shall  warrant, 
there  shall  be  added  such  courses  of  study  and  means  of  instruction  in  science, 
literature  and  art  as  may  be  deemed  advisable  by  the  trustees,  but  the  chief 
aim  of  the  institute  shall  be  to  furnish  its  students  with  the  means  of  living 
independent,  industrious,  and  useful  lives  by  the  aid  of  practical  knowledge 
of  the  useful  arts  and  sciences. — Neither  in  the  terms  of  admission  nor  in  the 
treatment  of  students,  the  selection  of  officers,  agents  or  instructors  nor  in  the 
appointment  of  trustees,  nor  in  any  matter  whatever  connected  with  this  insti- 
tute, shall  there  be  any  distinction  made  or  preference  given  on  account  of  sect, 
creed,  nationality,  politics  or  party;  but  with  a  review  to  its  greater  usefulness, 
this  institute  shall  be,  and  ever  remain,  non-sectarian,  non-political  and  non- 
partisan." 

In  November,  1896.  a  board  of  trustees  was  selected  by  Mrs.  Bradley  and  the 
Institute  organized  under  the  University  Act  of  the  State  of  Illinois.  Work  was 
begun  in  April,  1897,  on  two  buildings — Bradley  Hall  and  Horology  Hall.  The 
formal  dedicatory  exercises  were  held  on  October  8th  and  that  day  is  observed 
annually  as  Founder's  Day.     Mrs.  Bradley's  death  occurred  in   icp8. 

Bradley  Institute  offers  two  quite  distinct  lines  of  work  occupying  separate 
buildings : 

I.  The  Horological  Department  gives  instruction  in  watchmaking,  jewelry, 
engravings  and  optics.  It  is  a  continuation  of  a  school  started  at  LaPorte,  Ind., 
in  1886  and  brought  to  Peoria  by  Mrs.  Bradley  in  1893.  At  the  founding  of 
the  institute  it  was  made  one  of  its  departments.  It  is  one  of  the  oldest  and 
most  successful  trade  schools  in  the  United  States.  Its  session  is  continuous 
throughout  the  vear  and  students  may  enter  at  any  time  since  the  instruction  is 
given  individually  rather  than  in  classes.     It  is  the  only  school  of  its  kind  in  the 


m 

.    'Si-  K 

P'Hj'"3¥lS?IlWlW|; 


-7  /  1 


lioidlujiV       ll^lll 


Hnirllcv    Hall 


Power    PhiMt 


Xoitl,     .\lM,m;,I     An,     lluil.linj;  Cvmna^ium 

r.i;AI)I.KV    1>()I,VI'K(  IIXIC'    IXSIIITTE 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  391 

country  occupying  a  building  especially  erected  for  its  purposes  and  its  superior 
equipment  has  made  it  pre-eminent  in  its  line.  Students  come  to  it  from  every 
state  in  the  Union,  from  Canada,  South  America  and  even  more  distant  foreign 
lands.  Horology  Hall  was  planned  to  accommodate  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  but  the  rooms  gradually  became  so  crowded  that  in  1910  a  large  addition 
was  made  nearly  doubling  the  capacity  of  the  building.  For  the  past  few 
years  the  average  attendance  has  been  about  three  hundred.  A  faculty  of  seven 
members  devote  their  entire  time  to  instruction. 

II.  The  School  of  Arts  and  Sciences  occupies  Bradley  Hall  and  buildings 
which  have  been  added  later.  The  curriculum  provides  for  six  years'  work, 
four  years  academy  and  two  years  of  strictly  college  grade.  Various  groups 
are  outlined  so  that  one  may  secure  at  Bradley  preparatory  training  and  two 
years  of  college  work  in  science,  engineering,  classics,  literature,  mechanic  arts, 
domestic  science  and  manual  training.  This  work  in  general  education  is  divided 
into  eleven  departments — biology,  chemistry,  domestic  science,  English,  German, 
and  French,  history,  Latin  and  Greek,  manual  training,  mathematics,  physical 
training,  and  physics.  The  ecjuipment  and  teaching  force  are  such  as  to  admit 
of  most  thorough  and  efficient  work.  Graduates  who  wish  to  continue  their 
studies  go  with  two  years  of  college  credit  to  the  leading  colleges  and  universi- 
ties. Many  young  people  of  Peoria  and  the  surrounding  community  who  would 
otherwise  have  found  a  college  education  impossible,  have  taken  advantage  of 
the  opportunities  which  Bradley  Institute  presents.  The  college  enrollment  for 
the  past  vear  places  Bradley  among  the  larger  of  the  fifty  or  more  institutions 
of  Illinois  bearing  the  title  of  "college."  Unusual  effort  is  made  at  Bradley  to 
develo])   self-reliant,  upright  character   in   every  student. 

From  the  founding  of  the  institute  special  emphasis  has  been  placed  upon 
domestic  science  and  manual  training.  Indeed  the  school  may  be  regarded  as 
one  of  the  pioneers  in  these  subjects  and  has  wielded  an  important  influence  to- 
ward their  rapid  introduction  throughout  the  middle  west.  Thorough  technical 
courses  are  ofifered  for  those  desiring  to  become  teachers  of  -manual  training 
and  also  for  those  preparing  to  teach  domestic  economy.  These  courses  have 
grown  in  popularity  and  at  ])resent  a  large  number  of  students  attend  Bradley 
for  the  purpose  of  fitting  themselves  to  teach.  These  come  largely  from  the 
middle  west  but  many  are  from  more  distant  states. 

Although  from  the  first  the  Mechanic  Arts  Group  has  been  somewhat  indus- 
trial in  its  character,  the  institute  has  not  heretofore  offered  distinctively  voca- 
tional work,  but  yielding  to  an  increasing  demand  it  has  just  organized  four 
such  courses  so  that  at  present  one  may  secure  at  Bradley  a  four-year  course 
preparatory  to  drafting,  a  two-year  course  fitting  one  for  trade  work  in  wood, 
a  similar  course  or  two  years  in  metal,  and  a  two-year  course  adapted  to  the 
needs  of  farmers  and  confined  to  the  three  winter  months  of  each  school  year. 
The  institute  also  offers  evening  courses  in  mathematics,  machine  shop,  wood- 
work, mechanical  drawing,  electricity  and  magnetism,  art  metal  and  other  prac- 
tical lines. 

Since  1904  a  summer  school  has  been  held  lasting  five  weeks  and  devoted 
exclusively  to  manual  training  and  domestic  economy.  It  has  been  patronized 
chiefly  by  teachers  and  these  have  come  from  every  part  of  the  United  States. 

The  record  of  the  first  fifteen  years  has  been  one  of  constant  growth.  The 
faculty  has  increased  from  thirteen  members  for  Bradley  Hall  and  five  in 
Horologv  Hall  for  the  year  1897-98  to  fortv  at  liradley  Hall  and  seven  at 
Horology  Hall  for  the  year  1911-12.  This  large  increase  in  the  size  of  the 
student  body  has  involved  changes  in  the  material  equipment.  For  the  first  seven 
years  Bradley  Hall  and  the  Horological  building  were  the  only  ones  upon  the 
campus.  In  1904  a  station  of  the  United  States  Weather  Bureau  was  estab- 
lished at  the  north  end  of  the  campus.  In  1909  a  gymnasium  was  erected  at 
the  cost  of  nearly  $80,000  containing  a  gymnasium  for  men,  another  for  women, 
bowling   alleys,    swimming   pool    and    a    series   of    rooms    for    social    purposes. 


392  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

During  the  summer  of  191 1  owing  to  the  crowded  condition  at  Bradley  Hall 
the  shops  which  had  occupied  the  wings  of  the  main  building  were  transferred  to 
two  large  l)uildings  on  Bradley  avenue  owned  by  the  estate  but  occupied  for 
many  years  by  an  automobile  industry.  The  removal  of  the  shops  made  it  pos- 
sible to  utilize  the  space  left  vacant  to  relieve  the  extremely  crowded  condition 
in  other  classes  at  Bradley  Hall.  During  the  summer  and  fall  of  191 1  a  power 
plant  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $65,000  located  at  the  corner  of  Clara  and  Laura 
streets,  furnishing  light,  heat  and  power  for  all  the  buildings  connected  with 
the  institute  and  with  a  capacity  to  meet  all  future  demands.  Plans  are  nearly 
completed  for  a  girls'  dormitory  to  be  erected  on  Clara  street  during  the  next 
school  year. 

Bradley  Institute  has  had  but  two  directors.  Mr.  Edward  O.  Sisson  was  in 
charge  from  1897  to  1904  when  he  resigned  to  continue  his  studies,  later  accept- 
ing a  ]3osition  in  the  department  of  education  at  the  University  of  \\'ashington. 
Theodore  C.  Burgess  became  director  in  1904  and  still  continues  in  charge  of 
the  institute.  jMr.  Burgess  has  been  a  member  of  the  faculty  since  the  founding 
of  the  institute  and  for  several  years  had  served  as  dean  of  the  higher  academy 
and  college.  He  is  a  graduate  of  the  State  Normal  School  of  Fredonia  (N.  Y.) 
and  of  Hamilton  College  (N.  Y.)  and  for  a  number  of  years  was  the  head  of 
the  department  of  ancient  languages  at  the  state  normal  school  from  which  he 
graduated.  He  severed  his  connection  with  the  normal  school  to  continue  his 
studies  at  the  university  of  Chicago,  gaining  the  doctor's  degree'  from  this  insti- 
tution in  1898.  For  some  eight  years  he  acted  as  professor  of  Greek  at  the 
university  of  Chicago  during  the  summer  quarter.  His  doctor's  thesis  "Epideic- 
tic  Literature"  was  published  by  the  university  as  one  of  its  studies.  He  is  also 
the  author  of  an  elementary  book  in  Greek,  and  various  contributions  to  educa- 
tional journals. 

Mrs.  Lydia  Moss  Bradley,  founder  of  Bradley  Polytechnic  Institute,  was 
born  at  Vevay.  Indiana,  on  the  31st  of  July,  1816.  Her  grandfather,  Nathaniel 
Moss,  served  as'chaplain  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  Her  father,  Zealy  ?\Ioss, 
served  in  the  same  war  in  the  commissary  department  and  at  its  close  entered 
the  Baptist  ministry.  He  lived  for  many  years  in  Virginia  where  he  married 
Jeanette  Glasscock.  Their  daughter  Lydia  was  married  to  Tobias  S.  Bradley 
in  1837.  Their  children,  two  boys  and  four  girls,  died  in  early  youth  and  Mr. 
Bradley  in  1867.  Soon  after  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bradley  moved  from 
Indiana  to  Peoria  where  Mr.  Bradley  opened  a  wool  yard  and  sawmill.  He 
soon  formed  a  partnership  with  Mrs.  Bradley's  brother  William  S.  Moss  and  in 
addition  to  the  business  carried  on  by  this  firm  he  managed  a  steamboat  line 
from  Peoria  to  St.  Louis  and  secured  a  large  interest  in  the  First  National 
Bank.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  had  amassed  a  fortune  of  about  a  half  a 
million.  Mr.  Bradley  died  suddenly  without  an  opportunity  to  leave  instruc- 
tions in  regard  to  his  business  afi'airs.  Mrs.  Bradley  had  devoted  her  entire 
time  to  the  affairs  of  the  household  but  assumed  the  burdens  and  responsibilities 
of  managing  this  large  estate  without  experience  to  guide  her  and  through  her 
native  good  judgment  and  careful  management  she  not  only  preserved  the  orig- 
inal estate  but  in  the  next  thirty  years  increased  it  more  than  fourfold.  She  died 
after  a  brief  illness  on  the  i6th  of  January,  1908. 

Mrs.  Bradley  always  took  a  deep  interest  in  everything  which  pertained  to 
the  permanent  betterment  of  the  city  in  which  she  had  resided  during  the  greater 
part  of  her  life.  She  relieved  the  Bradley  Memorial  church  on  Main  street 
from  a  $30,000  mortgage.  She  donated  the  site  of  the  St.  Francis  hospital  and 
it  was  called  the  Bradlev  hospital  until  about  ten  years  ago  when  the  donation 
was  refunded.  She  built  and  helped  to  maintain  the  Home  for  Aged  Women 
on  Main  street  and  assisted  in  many  other  charitable  enterprises. 

The  two  greatest  gifts  remain  to  be  mentioned.  At  her  suggestion  in  i8gi, 
a  Park  Board  was  organized  as  one  of  the  conditions  upon  which  she  would  do- 
nate to  the  city  the  land,  including  about  one  hundred  acres,  which  now  forms 


Wi'hstcr    Sclidiil 


Hhiinc    Sfliool 


r^   nt   «"iT.^-^^^ 

q[.^^ 

Loriofclliiu-    Scliool 


W'liitlim-   School 


PEORTA    in  T.I.IC    SCIIiidL   BllLDINGS 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


393 


NUMBER  SECURING  INSTITUTE  DIPLOMAS 


1897-8 

1898-9 

1899-0 

19110-1 

1901-2 

1902-3 

1903-4 

GROUPS 

C 
V 

E 

o 

"n 
o 

2 

o 

0 

c 

o 

c 

s 

c 

E 
o 

1 

s 
s 

c 

e 

o 

o 

d 

V 

£ 
> 

c 

c 

E 

0 

H 

Engineering 

Science 

.. 

1 
1 

2 

1 
1 

~2 

1 

3 

2 

1 

2 

2 

~5 

2 
5 
4 

11 

3 

1 

i 
1 

4 

4 
2 

4 
10 

4 
3 
1 

1 
1 

4 

3 
2 

"9 

2 
4 
1 

2 

1 
10 

3 
4 
9 

16 

2 
7 
5 

11 
1 

26 

4 
5 
2 
2 

13 

3 
3 
4 

10 

4 

8 

Classics 

5 

Literature 

1 
1 

1 

1 

6 

Mechanic  Arts 

Totals 

~ 

23 

1904-5 

1905-« 

1906-7 

1907-8 

1908-9 

1909-10 

1910-11 

GROUPS 

S 

V 

c 
0 

,0 

c 

V 

c 

5 
0 

"rt 
0 
H 

c 

1 

"5 
.0 

c 

c 

E 

0 

5 

2 

B 

0 

n 
0 
h 

c 

B 

E 

0 

e2 

c 

c 
0 

0 

Engineering 

Science 

4 
1 

3 

3 
2 

6 

4 
4 

2 

9 

2 
9 

1 
12 

"2 

1 
12 

15 

2 
11 

1 
12 

1 

27 

ri 
0 

2 
5 

1 
1 

8 
10 

4 
3 

8 

15 

6 
3 
2 
3 
1 

15 

3 
3 

7 

13 

6 

6 

5 

10 

1 

28 

8 
7 
2 
2 

19 

2 
1 

8 
11 

8 

9 

3 

10 

30 

7 
6 

1 

14 

3 

1 

11 

15 

7 

9 

1 

12 

29 

9 
5 

14 

1 
11 

12 

9 
6 

Classics 

Literature 

11 

Mechanic  Arts 

Totals 

~8 

11 

19 

26 

NUMBER  SECURING  TEACHERS'  CERTIFICATES 


1905-6            1906-7 

1907-8      ,       1908-9      |      1909-10 

1910-11 

Manual  Training 

Domestic  Sciunce 

Totals 

2 
2 

2 
4 

6 

4 
4 

8 



1 
5 

1 
5 

~6 

5 

2 
1 

7 
1 

8 

15 
15 

4 

8 

12 

19    7    5 
8  ..  14 

27    7  19 

12 
14 

10 
10 

2 
15 

17 

12 
15 

97 

TOTALS 


Men 

Women 

Tolal 

Engineering 

42 
52 
17 
16 
3 

T30 

39 

23 
19 

84 

42 

Science 

75 

Classics  

36 

Literature                                

100 

Mechanic  Arts              

3 

Totals 

126 

16 
47 

256 

Manual  Training             

55 

Domestic  Science    . .        

47 

Totals  

89 

68 

102 

394 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 


CD 

2 

0 

i 

CI 

i 

n 
01 

I 

i 

1908-7 
1907-8 

o» 

0 

S 

at 

Lower  Academy 

Meu  

82 
20 

140 

70 

129 

78 

no 

106 

98 

88 

88 
90 

71 
90 

102 

89 

96 

68 

76 
92 

78 
114 

88 
105 

92 
92 

91 

Women 

82 

Total 

102 

19 
11 

210 

31 
11 

207 

42 
42 

216 

57 
54 

186 

56 
51 

178 

41 
59 

161 

55 
64 

191 

62 
61 

164 

75 
63 

168 

69 

48 

192 

58 
43 

198 

62 
55 

184 

60 
54 

173 

Higher  Academy 

Men 

64 

Women 

73 

Total 

30 

42 

16 
11 

84 

19 
19 

111 

16 

21 

107 

23 
31 

100 

31 

42 

119 

25 

28 

123 

27 
42 

138 

39 
42 

117 

39 
55 

101 

49 
51 

117 

66 
65 

114 

60 
93 

137 

College 

Men 

66 

Women  . . 

114 

Total    . 

27 

1 
12 

13 

38 

1 

17 

18 

37 

3 

8 

54 
8 

73 

4 
5 

53 

1 
7 

69 

4 

81 

3 
13 

94 

4 

42 

100 

3 
33 

181 

3 
36 

153 

18 
27 

ISO 

Unclassified  Special 
Men 

1 
11 

'12 

Women 

Total  

11 

1 
1 

3 
3 

9 

2 
2 

8 

1 
1 

4 

1 

16 
3 

46 

3 

7 

36 

1 
2 

39 

1 

6 

45 

3 

1 

Graduate 

Men  

3 

11 

Women 

Total  

2 

187 
190 

377 

3 

177 
176 

353 

4 

166 
198 

364 

2 

153 
190 

343 

3 

192 
198 

890 

3 

213 
189 

402 

10 

191 
244 

435 

3 

189 
243 

432 

7 

220 
267 

487 

4 

233 
267 

14 

224 

280 

Total  School  of  Arts 
and  Science 
Men 

102 
42 

144 

85 
35 

120 

188 
104 

292 

191 
156 

847 

Women 

Total 

500 

504 

42 
22 

Evening  School 

Men 

Women 

— 



Total 

64 

108 
66 

Summer  School 

Men 

29 
26 

55 

116 

2 

118 
4 

512 

88 
32 

70 

93 
4 

97 

7 

550 

50 
30 

80 

134 
2 

136 

5 

613 

50 

48 

55 
43 

79 
47 

91 
45 

Women  . . 

Total 

98 

194 
4 

198 
9 

722 

98 

126 

136 

174 

Horological  School 

Men 

92 

1 

93 

98 
98 

113 

2 

115 

Women 

Total 

281 
10 

801 

310 
17 

906 

320 
20 

936 

296 

Deduct  counted  twice 

4 
260 

32 

Grand  Totals 

292 

347 

470 

451 

479 

1006 

Lincoln    SdnHil 


Harrison   Sehool 


1    ^4^-  -^ 

^j  stSh 

!_  ^_JI1„ -;  ir: 

■■■■-   :ir:i          .  i  11    ti  ,4  1 

M 

White  School 


Irving  School 


GROUP   OF    PUBLIC    SCHOOL   BiaLDlNGS 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  395 

r.radk-y  I'ark.  Its  location  and  its  natural  beauty  render  this  one  of  the  finest 
parks  in  the  country,  a  gift  which  will  prove  of  increasing  value  to  the  city  of 
Peoria. 

The  last  and  most  important  of  her  benefactions  was  the  founding  of  Bradley 
Polytechnic  Institute  in  1897.  This  she  endowed  with  her  entire  estate.  This  is 
one  of  the  most  notable  gifts  to  education  in  the  history  of  education  in  America, 
and  one  which  will  bring  inestimaljle  benehts  to  the  city  which  has  been  fortunate 
enough  to  receive  it. 

Mrs.  P)radley  was  an  ideal  benefactor.  When  once  she  had  made  her  gift, 
conmuinicating  with  it  her  intent  and  wishes,  she  left  the  execution  of  her  plans 
to  others  whom  she  had  chosen  to  carry  them  out  and  whose  training  and  ex- 
perience had  especially  fitted  them  for  it.  For  eleven  years  after  the  founding 
of  the  institute  she  lived  to  enjoy  the  results  of  her  beneficence.  She  was  a  fre- 
quent visitor  in  its  halls  and  took  an  active  interest  in  all  of  its  work.  It  was 
a  common  remark  among  her  friends  that  the  institute  had  made  her  young 
again  :  life  had  taken  on  a  new  meaning  as  the  plan  so  long  cherished  and  labored 
for  took  visible  form  before  her  eyes. 

Xo  one  who  knew  Mrs.  Hradley  could  fail  to  be  impressed  with  her  intellectual 
(|ualities.  Like  most  girls  at  that  early  period,  she  had  only  an  elementary  school 
training,  but  she  possessed  a  mind  of  extraordinary  clearness  and  strength. 
Her  judgment  in  regard  to  politics,  religion  and  social  questions  was  remarkai)ly 
sane  and  her  conversation  full  of  shrewd,  epigrammatic,  well-balanced  comments 
gave  constant  proof  of  her  strong,  wholesome  common  sense.  Her  remarkable 
business  ability  and  practical  wisdom  were  proved  in  her  successful  management 
of  her  large  estate.  1  ler  great  wealth,  however,  had  no  power  to  disturb  her 
principles  or  conduct :  ajjplause  and  flattery  never  for  a  moment  turned  her  head. 
She  manifested  that  confidence  in  her  chosen  agents  and  representatives  which 
only  a  strong  mind  can  maintain.  The  city  of  Peoria  and  surrounding  commu- 
nity will  realize  more  and  more  as  years  advance,  the  debt  which  they  owe  to 
Mrs.  Lydia  Moss  Bradley. 

PEORI.\    PlTPUr    I,ir.R.\RY 
BY 

Er.vstus  S.  Wilco.x,  Libr.-vrian 

The  Peoria  Public  Library  traces  its  genealogy  back  fifty-six  years,  to  the 
autumn  of  1855.  when  two  rival  liljraries  were  started  here  at  the  same  time — the 
Mercantile  Library  and  the  Peoria  Library.  The  Rev.  J.  R.  ]\IcFarland  was  the 
moving  spirit  of  the  first,  and  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Cracraft  of  the  second. 

Prominent  in  the  organization  of  this  first  Mercantile  Library  were  B.  L.  T. 
Bourland,  Onslow  Peters,  A.  P.  Bartlett,  A.  j.  Hodges,  D.  M.  Cummings,  G.  F. 
Harding,  C.  C.  Bonney,  Dr.  J.  D.  Arnold,  Isaac  Underbill,  Timothy  Lynch,  Philo 
Holland,  G.  W.  Fridley  and  E.  B.  Elwood ;  and  in  the  Peoria  Library.  A.  G.  Tyng. 
George  T.  Metcalfe,  A.  G.  Curtenius.  E.  N.  Powell,  H.  B.  Hopkins,  George  C. 
Bestor,  X.  B.  Curtiss,  Jacob  Gale,  Dr.  R.  Rouse,  Dr.  T-  C.  Frye,  Wellington 
Loucks  and  }.  P.  Hotchkiss;  the  two  libraries  embracing  thus  in  their  organization 
nearly  all  of  the  leading  men  of  the  city  at  that  time. 

One  naturally  inquires  why  two  separate  libraries  were  started  here  at  the 
same  time.  It  was  a  c|uestion,  I  am  told,  between  the  so-called  "liberals"  and  the 
"orthodox,"  incited  by  the  Evil  One  himself,  we  might  suppose,  but  mark  how — 

"There's  a  divinity  that  shapes  our  ends. 
Rough-hew  them  how  we  will." 

I  doubt  if  the  most  cunning  ingenuity  could  have  contrived  a  more  effective 
plan  for  starting  a  library  in  a  small  town,  as  Peoria  then  was,  than  by  fanning 
just  such  a  hot  rivalry  between  opposing  theological   forces.     The  whole  town 


396  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

was  stirred  from  end  to  end;  everyljody  took  sides  and  joined  in:  everyljody 
brought  books  or  money  to  his  favorite  liljrary;  and,  as  a  consequence,  when,  a 
year  later,  the  two  libraries  were  very  sensibly  consolidated  under  the  name  of 
the  Peoria  City  Library,  they  had  as  choice  a  collection  of  some  1,500  volumes 
as  probably  any  young  library  ever  had  in  a  city  of  our  then  size. 

When  I  first  became  a  director  in  the  City  Liljrary.  in  January,  1865,  the 
initiation  fee  was  $2,  the  annual  dues  were  ^2.  and  the  memliership  considerably 
less  than  200.  It  was  a  good,  well-selected  library  for  the  time  and  the  place. 
I  think  I  enjoved  access  to  those  few  choice  books — some  2,000  of  them — as  much 
as  I  do  to  our  75,000  now,  for  you  cannot  very  well  master  more  than  2,000 
standard  books  in  ten  years. 

In  the  spring  of  1865  a  new  board  of  younger  men  seized  the  reins,  and  a 
fresh  impetus  was  given  to  the  library  by  incorporating  it  as  the  Peoria  Mer- 
cantile Library  Association.  The  charter  was  obtained  by  our  then  member  of 
the  legislature,  Alexander  AlcCoy,  and  the  charter  members  were  Tobias  S. 
Bradley,  [ohn  L.  Griswold,  Lewis  Howell,  D.  C.  Farrell.  Matthew  Griswold.  Lorin 
Grant  Pratt,  H.  G.  Anderson,  Asahel  A.  Stevens,  John  Boyd  Smith  and  E.  S. 
Willcox,  only  two  of  whom  are  still  living  here. 

While  the  charter  was  on  its  passage  through  the  legislature,  meetings  were 
held  and  a  subscription  started  to  raise  funds,  and,  largely  through  the  personal 
solicitation  of  L.  G.  Pratt,  ably  seconded  by  the  entire  board,  the  very  handsome 
sum  of  $13,262.50  was  secured,  with  $10,000  of  which  the  John  L.  Griswold 
propertv,  corner  of  Main  street  and  Jefferson  avenue  was  bought. 

It  was  a  splendid  showing  for  those  days.  It  laid  the  foundation  for  all  the 
success  which  mav  attend  our  public  library  in  the  future.  Peoria  owes  her  new 
Library  building  originally  to  one  hundred  and  forty-five  different  individuals 
and  firms  from  among  her  own  hard-working  and  public-spirited  professional 
and  business  men,  contributing  in  comparatively  small  sums,  according  to  their 
several  means.  She  does  not  owe  it  to  any  one  millionaire,  eager  to  seize  so  rare 
an  opportunity  for  perpetuating  his  family  name.  There  is  no  name  carved  over 
our  door  but  the  one  name  which  belongs  to  us  all — PEORIA. 

After  the  purchase  of  the  Griswold  property,  our  library  had  its  rooms  free 
of  rent,  but  received  very  little  help  from  rents  of  offices  in  the  building,  which 
went  toward  paying  for  the  new  building  erected  on  the  same  spot  in  1868. 
For  an  income  it  was  still  dependent  on  the  meagre  sums  derived  from  member- 
ship dues  and  miscellaneous  entertainments.  Our  friends,  David  McKinney, 
Eliot  Callender,  T.  C.  Hansel,  John  S.  Stevens,  John  Birks,  Dr.  I.  W.  Johnson 
and  E.  W.  Gov  ("now  of  Cincinnati),  will  not  soon  forget  the  hard  work  we  did, 
running  lecture  courses,  concerts,  spelling  Bees,  "Drummer  Boy  of  Shiloh,"  etc., 
in  order  to  eke  out  our  small  income  of  four  dollars  apiece  from  about  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  subscribers,  in  the  days  when  that  estimable  lady,  Mrs.  Sarah  B. 
Armstrong,  constituted  our  entire  library  staff.  It  is  enough  to  say,  that  it  was 
our  experience  here  in  this  Peoria  library,  of  the  utter  inadequacy  of  a  sub- 
scription library,  to  provide  for  the  literary  wants  of  the  people,  that  first  sug- 
gested the  idea  of  supporting  public  libraries,  like  public  schools,  by  public 
taxation,  and  which  resulted  in  placing  on  the  statute  book  of  our  state  in  1872, 
our  present  Free  Librarv  law — the  first  comprehensive  and  vitalizing  law  of  the 
kind  in  any  state  of  our' Union.  Under  this  law,  in  1880,  Colonel  John  XVarner, 
then  mayor  of  our  city,  started  our  present  public  library  by  nominatmg  the 
first  board  of   directors. 

The  first  librarian  in  our  public  library  was  Fred  J.  Soldan.  He  began  without 
a  book  on  his  shelves,  in  a  bare  room  over  a  store  on  Adams  street.  He  planned 
and  brought  into  good  running  order  all  the  multifarious  details  so  necessary  to 
the  smooth  working  of  the  modern  public  library,  and,  at  his  untimely  death  in 
1891,  left  a  well  selected  and  well  organized  library  of  40,000  volumes  and  a  well 
trained  corps  of  assistants.     He  was  succeeded  by  the  present  librarian. 


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HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  397 

April  19,  i88i,  the  German  liljrarv  gave  its  line  collection  of  i,yoo  \olunics  to 
the  Public  Library,  and,  in  the  spring  of  icS82,  the  Mercantile  Library  Association 
turned  over,  as  a  gift  to  the  Public  i,ii)rary,  its  entire  collection  of  some  12,000 
volumes,  and  leased  its  rooms  to  the  same  for  a  term  of  years. 

Early  in  1894  the  over-crowded  condition  of  the  library  had  become  so  press- 
ingly  noticeable  that  an  agitation  was  begun  to  purchase  another  site  and  erect  a 
new  building  exclusively  for  library  purposes.  The  conditions  were  favorable. 
The  Mercantile  Library  Association  owned  valuable  property,  which,  with  the 
growth  of  the  city  and  by  careful  management,  had  risen  in  value  from  $10,000 
to  $75,000,  less  a  debt  of  $11,000  to  $12,000,  which  yet  remained  to  be  ex- 
tinguished, and  the  Pul)lic  Library  owned  50,000  Iwoks.  There  was  no  good 
reason  why  the  two  should  not  now  unite  in  the  common  oloject  of  giving  Peoria 
a  great  library  to  be  proud  of,  provided  some  method  could  be  devised  for  effect- 
ing the  union  satisfactorily  to  all  parties. 

A  proposition  to  this  effect  was  made  by  the  directors  of  the  Mercantile  Li- 
brary to  the  city  council,  and  was  met  with  immediate  and  hearty  approval  by 
Mayor  Miles  and  the  entire  council.  This  proposition  was,  that  if  the  city  would 
buy  the  lots,  the  Mercantile  Library  Association  would  would  sell  its  property, 
corner  of  Main  and  Jefferson  streets,  and  devote  the  proceeds  to  the  erecting  of  a 
building. 

In  June,  iNi)4,  the  directors  of  the  Public  Library,  supported  by  the  action  of 
the  city  council,  purchased  for  $16,000,  three  lots  on  Monroe  street,  nearly  oppo- 
site the  government  building.  108  feet  front  by  171  feet  deep,  and  on  December 
24,  1894,  the  directors  of  the  Mercantile  Library  sold  their  property  at  the  corner 
of  Main  and  Jefferson  streets,  for  $75,000.  On  July  10,  1895,  the  contract  for  the 
erection  of  the  new  library  building  was  let. 

The  building  is  78  feet  front,  135  feet  deep,  three  stories  high,  the  stack  room 
five  stories,  and  will  accommodate  some  200,000  volumes.  The  total  cost  of  the 
building,  not  including  land,  for  which  the  city  paid  $16,000,  nor  counting  such  im- 
provements as  paving,  etc. — that  is,  the  cost  of  the  building  proper — was  $67,- 
856.34.  and  this  amount  was  paid  entirely  by  the  Peoria  Mercantile  Library  Asso- 
ciation from  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  their  property. 

The  library  was  finally  closed  for  removal,  January  25.  1897,  and  the  entire 
collection  of  60,000  volumes  was  transferred  a  distance  of  three  blocks  and  put  in 
order  in  the  new  building  in  six  days  by  two  men,  seven  high-school  boys  and 
one  team,  at  a  total  cost  of  $221.91,  or  less  than  three-eighths  of  a  cent  ]5cr 
volume. 

The  building  is  on  Monroe  street,  nearly  opposite  the  postoffice,  half  way  be- 
tween ]\Iain  and  Hamilton  streets.  It  was  not  placed  on  a  corner  lot  for  the 
reason  that  corner  lots  cost  much  more  than  inside  lots,  and  a  public  edifice  on  a 
corner  would  require  at  least  two  architecturally  finished  fronts  instead  of  one. 
This  would  have  involved  an  additional  cost  in  land  and  building  of  not  less  than 
$20,000,  which,  in  their  circumstances,  the  committee  felt  bound  to  take  into  con- 
sideratiiin. 

But  there  was  another  weighty  reason,  besides  that  of  economy,  for  choosing 
the  site  they  did.  Business  men  do  not  plan  and  locate  their  workshops  and 
warehouses  with  a  view  to  an  imposing  architectural  effect  on  strangers  visiting 
the  city,  but  rather  with  the  more  practical  object  of  best  serving  their  purpose 
as  workshops  and  warehouses.  Now,  a  library  is  preeminently,  and  more  so 
than  most  public  buildings,  a  warehouse  and  a  workshop. 

As  a  warehouse,  its  function  is  to  store  books  conveniently  and  safely;  as  a 
workshop,  it  is  a  place  for  quiet  reading  and  study ;  and  for  both  purposes  it 
ref|uires,  above  all  things,  protection  from  noise  and  dust  of  street  traffic. 
These  objects  are  better  secured  on  an  inside  lot  than  on  a  corner  lot;  and  if, 
as  in  our  case,  ample  space  for  light  and  air  is  jirovidcd  on  both  sides  of  the 
building,  it  would  seem  that,  for  Peoria  at  least,  no  better  choice  of  location 
could  have  been  made. 


398  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

The  annual  report  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  May  31,  191 2,  shows  a  member- 
ship of  9,470 — all  memberships  expiring  at  the  end  of  two  years. 

The  number  of  volumes  in  the  library  in  active  circulation  is  110,779,  besides 
duplicates  and  pamphlets,  21,331 — a  grand  total  of   132,110. 

Number  of  volumes  issued  during  the  year,  213,351.  Of  this  amount  127,150 
volumes  were  issued  from  the  main  library,  42,761  from  the  children's  room, 
37,902  from  the  Lincoln  branch  on  Lincoln  avenue,  and  5,538  from  school 
libraries. 

This  new  Lincoln  branch  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city  was  opened  July  i, 
191 1,  in  an  attractive  building,  costing  $10,000,  the  gift  of  Andrew  Carnegie. 

The  bindery,  located  in  the  main  library  building,  employs  five  persons  the 
year  round.     The  library  service  consists  of  a  librarian  and  twelve  assistants. 

E.  S.  Willcox,  the  venerable  custodian  and  librarian  of  the  Peoria  library, 
adds  color  and  vigor  to  a  word  picture  of  Peoria,  which  is  deemed  a  fit  setting 
to  the  array  of  plain  facts  heretofore  displayed  in  these  pages.  His  description 
of  the  city  and  its  surroundings  is  not  overdrawn  but  on  the  contrary  true  to 
the  life,  and  for  that  reason  it  is  made  a  part  of  this  chapter  and  follows  below : 

"Peoria,  the  second  city  of  the  state  in  population,  is  in  two.  not  uninmportant 
particulars,  easily  the  first — in  the  beauty  of  its  name  and  the  beauty  of  its  loca- 
tion. It  would  be  difficult  to  find  among  all  the  names  of  cities,  American  or 
European,  a  happier  union  of  vowels  and  liquids  than  go  to  form  the  names, 
which  we,  who  make  this  city  our  home,  have  the  privilege  of  writing  on  our 
cards  and  letter  heads — Peoria,  Illinois.  Both  names  are  of  pure  Indian  origin 
molded  by  the  facile  lips  of  the  early  French  explorers  into  their  present  har- 
monious form. 

"But  if  the  name  is  one  agreeable  to  the  ear,  no  less  is  the  location  of  the  city 
a  delight  to  the  eye.  The  great  river  which  lends  its  name  to  the  state,  here 
broadened  into  a  lake,  sweeps  by  in  a  gentle,  outward  curve  seven  miles  long, 
from  the  narrows  above  to  the  converging  and  wood-crowned  heights  below. 
Between  these  two  points  of  entrance  and  exit,  the  lake  in  front  and  a  wall 
of  commanding  bluffs  behind,  lies  the  broad  plateau,  a  smiling  meadow  of  wild 
flowers  and  native  grasses  when  the  white  man  saw  it  first  more  than  two 
hundred  years  ago,  and  evidently  designed  by  nature  as  the  seat  of  a  great  and 
prosperous  city.  There  are  few  more  charming  landscapes  on  the  earth  than  that 
which  greets  the  eye  from  the  brow  of  these  high  bluffs. 

"Below  is  the  busy  city  extending  far  up  and  down  between  blufi^s  and  river, 
its  shaded  homes,  its  stores  and  shops  and  public  buildings,  its  broad  streets 
full  of  stirring  life,  its  street  cars  gliding  like  a  weaver's  shuttle  in  and  out,  its 
great  mills  and  factories  along  the  river  bank,  its  moving  railroad  trains,  its 
steamboats  at  the  landing,  the  silent  expanse  of  lake  and  the  still  more  silent 
wooded  bluffs  on  the  farther  shore — all  these  offer  to  him  who  takes  delight 
in  the  works  of  nature  and  of  man  and  especially  to  one  who  first  emerges  upon 
the  scene  from  the  level  prairie  land  behind,  a  landscape  of  quiet  beauty  that  can 
never  be  forgotten. 

"And  there  is  yet  another  view  hardly  less  fascinating  which  is  needed  to 
complete  the  picture — to  look  back  at  the  bluffs  from  the  city  below,  to  let  the 
eye  wander  for  miles  along  their  magnificent  fronts  now  crowned  with  noble 
residences  with  all  their  appointments  of  shade  trees  and  garden  plats. 

"A  famous  traveler,  familiar  with  many  cities  and  many  lands,  when  he  first 
beheld  this  scene  some  years  ago,  exclaimed :  'It  is  the  finest  site  for  a  city  I 
ever  saw !'  " 

PEORIA    P.\RK    SYSTEM 

The  citizens  of  Peoria  take  a  great  pride  and  extract  untold  pleasures  from 
their  parks,  and  the  system  adopted  by  those  in  authority  is  becoming  more 
developed  as  the  years  go  by.  The  following  facts  relating  to  these  beauty  and 
pleasure  spots  have  been  gathered  through  the  courtesy  of  W.  J.  Murray,  sec- 
retary of  the  park  board : 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  399 

The  Peoria  park  system  dates  from  the  year  iSy^.  At  that  time  a  nunilier 
of  ]irominent  citizens  Ijegan  the  agitation  of  a  park  system  and  the  result  was 
that  petitions  were  circulated  asking  S.  D.  Wead,  then  county  judge,  to  call  a 
special  election  for  the  purpose  of  allowing  the  people  to  vote  on  the  cjuestion  of 
establishing  a  park  district.  The  project  proved  popular  and  a  number  of  meet- 
ings were  held.  The  petitions  were  filed  with  the  county  court  on  February 
6,  1894.  On  the  14th  of  the  same  month  Judge  Wead  called  a  special  election 
and  set  the  date  for  March   13. 

The  vote  cast  was  not  as  large  as  might  have  been  expected  considering  the 
extraordinary  interest  in  the  proposition.  When  the  I)allots  had  been  counted 
it  was  found  that  2,672  persons  had  voted  for  the  establishment  of  the  park 
system  and   1,110  had  voted  against  it. 

Events  then  moved  forward  with  considerable  rapidity.  Mayor  Miles  was 
then  in  office  and  a  meeting  was  arranged  for  between  the  mayor  of  South 
Peoria,  Averyville,  North  Peoria  and  the  committee  on  public  grounds  and  city 
property  of  the  city  council  of  the  city  of  Peoria.  The  park  caucuses  were  set 
for  Wednesday,  April  11,  and  the  convention  for  the  following  night  at  Rouse's 
Hall,  at  that  time  the  only  available  jilace  for  holding  such  a  convention  in  the 
city. 

The  c|uestion  of  nominations  was  left  to  the  committee  named  above,  the 
mayors  of  Peoria  and  suburbs  and  the  committee  of  aldermen  as  follows :  For 
the  city,  E.  S.  Easton,  acting  mayor ;  for  the  village  of  Averyville,  R.  P.  Stitt ; 
for  the  village  of  South  Peoria,  William  Inman ;  for  the  village  of  North  Peoria, 
Oliver  J.  I'.ailey ;  for  the  city  council,  Charles  J.  Off,  J.  E.  F.  Fischer  and  Frank- 
lin Dudley. 

The  convention  made  O.  J.  Bailey  chairman  and  John  Warner  nominated  the 
late  John  H.  Francis  for  president.  The  following  nominations  were  made 
unanimously  for  trustees:  H.  H.  Fahnestock,  Henry  Triebel,  John  D.  McClure, 
B.  F.  Cartwright  and  William  Seibold.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  Cartwright, 
whose  subsequent  fate  is  known  to  our  readers,  became  identified  with  the  park 
system  at  its  very  inception  and  it  may  be  added  that  he  never  let  go  until  he  was 
Juried  loose  and  sent  to  the  penitentiary. 

The  election  was  set  for  the  15th  of  May  and  was,  of  course,  a  merely  per- 
functory proceeding,  the  candidates  being  unopposed.  The  first  meeting  of  the 
trustees  was  held  in  the  office  of  I.  C.  I'lnkney.  The  board  organized  for  busi- 
ness. Mr.  Francis  was  chosen  president,  P>en  Cartwright  was  made  secretary, 
H.  H.  Fahnestock,  treasurer,  and  I.  C.  Pinkney,  temporary  attorney.  The  board 
then  engaged  quarters  in  rooms  218-21  Woolner  building  and  on  May  29th 
announced  itself  as  ready  for  business. 

The  first  official  step  was  to  engage  Herman  &  Evans  to  make  a  map  of  the 
district  and  the  next  was  to  fix  the  beginning  of  the  fiscal  year  as  June  i.  The 
board  then  advertised  for  park  sites  and  was  immediately  overwhelmed  with 
them.  The  first  offer  came  from  W.  E.  Stone  and  W.  H.  Binnian,  who  oiTered 
one  hundred  and  eight  acres  of  the  tract  now  known  as  Madison  park  for  $50,000. 
Later,  as  it  proved,  this  was  the  first  park  purchased,  for  on  September  6,  1894, 
the  board  took  over  a  fraction  more  than  eighty-six  acres  and  the  park  system 
of  Peoria  may  be  said  to  have  been  under  way. 

Then  in  rapid  succession  the  board  received  ofTers  from  Dr.  G.  A.  Zeller, 
who  offered  a  tract  above  Al  Fresco  park ;  the  Prospect  Heights  Land  Associa- 
tion offered  the  tract  along  the  brow  of  the  bluff  and  still  later  ofifered  the  site  of 
the  present  village  of  Peoria  Heights.  William  Giles  and  G.  W.  H.  Gilbert  had 
sites  and  so  did  Mrs.  Caroline  Gibson,  who  ofifered  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres 
for  $rx),ooo.  Jacob  Woolner  offered  his  Keller  station  farm  for  $43,000;  W. 
Darst  offered  thirty-four  acres ;  Thomas  Purtscher  offered  a  tract  in  Richwoods 
township  and  so  did  Bourland  &  Bailey. 

The  Birketts  then  came  forward  .with  an  ofifer  of  what  is  now  Glen  Oak  park, 
which  had  for  fifty  years  been  known  as  I5irkett's  Hollow.    They  offered  seventy 


400  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

acres  more  or  less  for  $100,000  and  offered  to  give  the  park  district  twenty  years' 
time  in  which  to  pay  for  it  at  a  suitable  rate  of  interest.  This  tract  excited  the 
acute  interest  of  the  trustees  and  the  public  from  the  first,  but  everyone  agreed 
that  the  price  was  too  high.  Then  followed  a  long  period  of  "dickering"  and  on 
October  ist  it  was  announced  that  the  board  had  purchased  a  trifle  more  than 
seventy-two  acres  for  $60,000  cash.  On  December  5th  of  the  same  year  the 
board  purchased  from  D.  S.  Brown  and  J.  S.  Starr  fourteen  and  five-tenths  acres 
for  $20,000.  Sixteen  years  later  the  board  purchased  ten  acres  adjoining  from 
the  German  estate  for  $13,150,  a  remarkably  cheap  price,  or  else  the  price  paid 
in  1894  was  too  high. 

On  the  5th  of  May  in  the  year  following  the  board  purchased  from  the  Flem- 
ing estate  five  acres  for  $8,000.  South  Park  was  purchased  from  the  late  Mathew 
Griswold.  September  29,  1894,  for  $7,500.  This  was  therefore  the  second  park 
bought. 

Laura  Bradley  Park,  the  largest  in  the  Peoria  system,  was  the  gift  of  the  late 
Lydia  Bradley  and  is  named  after  her  daughter,  who  died  many  years  ago. 
When  Mrs.  Bradley  came  to  cast  about  as  to  the  best  manner  in  which  to  dispose 
of  her  immense  fortune  two  plans  presented  themselves — the  establishment  of  a 
school  and  presenting  the  city  with  a  park.  The  park  idea  is  said  to  have  been 
the  result  of  a  sudden  inspiration  one  day  when  the  general  subjectof  parks 
was  under  discussion.  She  owned  most  of  the  land  now  known  as  West  Bluff, 
and  realized,  with  the  thrift  that  enabled  her  to  accumulate  millions,  that  the 
establishment  of  a  city  park,  in  the  hills  and  hollows  through  which  the  stream 
known  as  Dry  Run  winds  its  way,  would  be  of  benefit  to  the  property  adjoining 
it  owned  by  the  estate.  It  would,  moreover  perpetuate  the  name  of  Bradley  and 
give  joy  to  untold  thousands  in  the  future. 

Mrs.  Bradley  summoned  some  of  the  piark  trustees  and  through  her  agent, 
W.  \V.  Hammond,  informed  them  of  her  desire.  The  only  condition  imposed  upon 
the  park  district  was  that  at  least  $5,000  a  year  should  be  spent  in  improving  the 
park.  The  trustees  readily  assented  to  this  and  the  transfer  was  made  soon  after. 
In  two  different  tracts  Mrs.  Bradley  presented  the  city  with  some  one  hundred 
and  forty  acres  of  land  and  it  was  named  after  her  deceased  daughter.  This  was 
about  the  year  1901  and  completed  the  present  magnificent  chain  of  parks  and 
gave  to  the"  city  of  Peoria  a  system  of  driveways  and  pleasure  grounds  unequalled 
in  the  west.  There  now  remained  but  one  thing  to  make  it  compare  favorably 
with  the  finest  in  the  United  States  and  that  was  the  acquisition  of  what  is  now 
known  as  Grand  View  drive.  For  a  distance  of  more  than  two  miles  along  the 
hills  overlooking  the  upper  lake  the  vista  is  said  to  be,  with  the  single  exception 
of  the  Hudson  river  vallev  viewed  from  the  Catskills,  the  finest  rural  scene  in 
the  United  States.  And  many  enthusiastic  easterners  have  declared  that  the 
view  from  the  point  overlooking  Al  Fresco  Park  is  not  excelled  anywhere  on  the 
Hudson. 

The  agitation  looking  to  the  purchase  and  acquisition  of  a  driveway  along  the 
brow  of  this  wondrous  bluff  began  about  the  year  1902  and  within  a  year  or  so 
later  was  completed  and  the  work  of  improvement  begun.  It  was  finished  and 
first  used  bv  the  public  in  the  fall  of  1904. 

But  while  nature  has  done  much  for  Peoria  parks,  much  of  their  beauty  is 
due  to  the  untiring  skill  and  genius  of  one  man — the  late  Oscar  F.  Dubuis.  For 
twenty  years  before  coming  to  Peoria  in  1895,  or  about  that  time.  ]ilr.  Dubuis 
had  been  in  the  employ  of  the  West  Park  Board  in  Chicago,  and  when  political 
changes  in  the  state  government  deprived  him  of  his  position  there,  he  was 
eagerly  sought  and  engaged  by  the  Lincoln  park  board.  It  was  while  he  was 
there  that  the  Peoria  park  board  engaged  his  services  and  he  planned  and  per- 
sonally saw  to  it  that  most  of  the  projects  for  beautifying  and  improving  the 
local  parks  were  carried  to  a  successful  conclusion. 

Mr.  Dubuis  brought  to  his  duties  in  this  city  a  mind  trained  to  his  life  work 
and  an  artistic  conception  valuable  indeed.     Here  he  found  to  his  hand  a  nat- 


I'AVILIOX  AT  LALRA  BRADLEY  PARK 


XATURE  AT  HER  BEST  IN  BRADLEY  PARK 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  401 

unil  park  system,  unfashioned,  but  only  waiting  the  hand  of  the  master  to 
transform  it'  into  a  wonderland  of  beauty,  and  out  of  the  rude  hills  and  hollows 
of  the  Peoria  park  tracts  he  evolved  parks  that  today  stand  unrivaled  in  the 
United   States. 

But  while  the  credit  for  the  beautification  of  the  park  system  must  be  given 
to  -Mr.  Dubuis,  he  was  not  the  first  engineer  engaged.  His  predecessor  was 
R.  R.  Zingsem,  of  Chicago,  who  came  to  this  city  and  gave  the  park  board  his 
ideas  on  laying  out  the  system  and  how  best  to  beautify  it.  However,  he  was 
not  permanently  engaged  and  Mr.  Dubuis  was  hired  soon  after. 

The  finances  that  made  possible  the  transformation  of  the  land  into  beau- 
tiful parks  have  been  freely  furnished  by  the  citizens  of  the  park  district,  who 
have  never  complained  of  the  park  tax.  The  first  money  secured  was  a  bond 
issue  authorized  November  i,  1895,  for  $200,000.  This  money  was  used  to  pay 
for  the  various  tracts  of  land  which  had  hitherto  been  purchased  by  the  trus- 
tees. The  tax  levy  for  the  first  year  yielded  $58,695.57.  The  annual  sum 
realized  is  now  in  the  neighborhood  of  $85,000. 

The  whole  amount  realized  from  all  sources  including  bond  issues  has  been 
to  date,  $1,562,577.72.  It  must  be  said,  however,  that  this  includes  one  refund- 
ing bond  issue.  The  total  expense  of  the  park  system  for  eighteen  years  has 
been  $1,543,747.65. 

It  aft'ords  an  interesting  comparison  to  note  the  cost  to  date  of  the  dmerent 
parks.  Glen  Oak  is  thus  far  the  only  one  that  has  exceeded  half  a  million. 
The  figures  taken  from  the  books  of  the  secretary  of  the  park  board  show  the 
cost  to  be  as  follows. 

Glen    Oak    park  ' $578,856.76 

Bradlev  park   237,827.96 

Madison  park   74.701.73 

South  park  55,843.07 

Grand  \'iew   drive    145,980.54 

SOME    PEORIA    HOTELS 

Among  Peoria's  numerous  hotels  are  at  least  a  half  dozen  that  are  especially 
worthy  of  mention.  The  Jefiferson  opened  in  February,  191 2,  and  was  erected 
at  a  cost  of  $400,000.  It  is  ten  stories  in  height  and  contains  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  rooms.  This  magnificent  structure  is  owned  by  a  stock  company, 
composed  of  Robert  Clarke,  president;  G.  J.  Jobst,  vice  president;  J.  W.  Mc- 
Dowell, secretary  and  treasurer.  The  hotel  is  operated  by  a  company  consisting 
of  W.  E.  Hull  as  president,  and  Arthur  E.  Lehman,  secretary  and  treasurer. 

Tlie  pioneer  hotel  of  Peoria  was  known  as  the  "Travelers'  Rest,"  a  tavern 
opened  in  1825  by  John  L.  Bogardus,  who  was  not  only  known  as  the  first  boni- 
face  of  the  town  but  was  also  a  lawyer  and  land  speculator.  The  "Travelers' 
Rest"  was  a  double  log  house,  located  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  between  Main  and 
Hamilton  streets.  As  a  matter  of  course  one  end  of  the  building  was  devoted 
to  conviviality,  which  was  made  possible  by  the  inevitable  bar  of  those  days. 

In  1827  Seth  Fulton  ojiened  a  tavern  on  Water  street  above  Eaton.  "Fulton 
Tavern"  had  a  larger  and  more  popular  bar  than  the  "Travelers'  Rest."  The 
house  was  much  better  furnished  with  furniture  that  had  been  bought  in  stores 
and  not  hand  made.     It  was  the  hotel  of  Peoria  and  lasted  until  about  1834. 

"Eads  Tavern"  was  opened  in  1829.  The  building,  a  two-story  frame,  stood 
on  Water  street,  and  in  its  size  and  appointments  surpassed  any  of  its  com- 
petitors. William  Eads  was  the  landlord  of  this  hostelry  until  1834.  when  he 
sold  out  to  Tacob  Slough.  The  house  eventually  came  under  the  management 
of  Captain  Patterson,  an  old-steamboat  man.  who  ran  the  place  until  1849.  The 
building  subsequently  was  remodeled  into  store  rooms  and  was  finally  burned 
down. 


402  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

There  were  numerous  others  who  contributed  to  the  hotel  history  of  Peoria. 
In  1834  John  Hamlin  moved  a  large  frame  stable  to  the  corner  of  Main  and 
Wasliintjton  streets,  to  which  he  built  an  extensive  addition  and  after  other 
changes'the  place  was  opened  as  the  "Peoria  Hotel,"  under  the  management  of 
Colonel  O.  A.  Garrett.  The  Colonel  became  prosperous  and  in  1838  built  the 
"Planters  House,"  subsequently  known  as  the  "Peoria  House,"  which  was  opened 
in  February,  1840.  At  that  time  it  was  considered  the  largest  and  best  hotel  m  the 
state  of  Illinois  and  noted  as  the  leading  hotel.  This  hostelry  was  located  at  the 
northeast  corner  of  Hamilton  and  Adams  streets  and  within  its  walls  many  noted 
people  were  entertained,  among  them  being  President  Martin  Van  Buren. 

The  "Clinton  Plouse"  was  built  in  1837  by  John  R.  Caldwell— a  three-story 
l)rick  structure,  which  stood  on  the  corner  of  Adams  and  Fulton  streets.  John 
King  was  the  first  landlord,  who  made  an  excellent  reputation  as  such  and  accu- 
mulated considerable  money  from  the  venture.  By  the  year  1849  the  Warners 
were  in  possession,  the  first  one  of  the  name  being  John  B.  Warner.  This  house 
was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1853.  Another  hotel  of  note  of  the  early  days  was  the 
"Franklin  House,"  which  stood  on  Main  street,  between  Adams  and  Washing- 
ton, and  was  first  under  the  management  of  Mrs.  Lindsay,  mother  of  J.  T.  Lind- 
say. This  building  was  remodeled  and  drifted  into  other  uses.  The  "Farmers 
Hotel"  built  in  1849  by  A.  P.  Loucks,  stood  on  the  lower  corner  of  Main  and 
Water  streets.  This  burned  down  in  1852  and  made  way  for  a  brick  building, 
part  of  which  was  set  aside  for  the  use  of  the  Central  Bank. 

The  "Mitchell  House"  was  opened  in  1846  by  W'illiam  :\Iitchell.  This  build- 
ing stood  on  the  corner  of  Jefferson  and  Fulton  streets.  Not  proving  a  success 
as  a  hotel,  it  finally  came  into  possession  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and 
was  converted  into  a  female  seminary.  This  was  also  a  failure  and  the  buildmg 
was  again  opened  as  a  hotel  and  after  having  several  landlords  it  became  known 
as  "The  Arctic,"  then  as  "The  Massasoit"  and  the  "Remington  House."  In  1858 
George  Wilson  became  proprietor  and  named  the  hostelry  the  "Fulton  House." 
The  building  was  finallv  burned  in  1866. 

The  "Farmers  House"  was  built  in  1853  by  James  McFadden.  It  stood  on 
Harrison  street.  In  i8fx>  John  E.  Phillips  became  manager  and  changed  the 
name  to  the  "Central  House." 

The  "Buckeye  House,"  an  old-timer,  was  running  in  i860  as  was  also  the 
"City  Hotel,"  which  subsequently  became  known  as  the  "New  Buckeye  House," 
under  the  management  of  William  Brady,  and  stood  on  the  corner  of  Adams 
and  Bridge  streets.  After  the  war  the  house  was  opened  by  General  Otto  Funk 
as  "Funk's  Hotel."  The  building  many  years  ago  was  converted  into  business 
rooms.  The  "Metropolitan"  stood  on  the  corner  of  Fulton  and  W'ater  streets 
and  was  a  well  known  hotel  in  post-bellum  days.  Part  of  the  building  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire  in  1868  but  was  rebuilt,  and  in  1872  became  known  as  the  "Pacific 
Hotel."  Later  its  name  was  changed  to  "Conaghan's  Hotel."  It^  is  now  used 
for  business  purposes.  There  were  also  the  "Merchants  Hotel,"  Washington 
street,  just  below  Main,  1874,  later  known  as  the  "Leland,"  "The  Ingersoll," 
north  corner  of  court  house  square,  built  in  1877.  This  property  was  built  by 
Washington  Cockle  and  later  sold  to  Robert  G.  Ingersoll.  Ingersoll  sold  to 
Charles  H.  Deane,  who  opened  the  house  as  "The  Ingersoll."  Later  the  build- 
ing was  removed  north  on  the  adjoining  lot  and  has  been  for  some  years  past 
used  by  the  Lewis  Company,  cigar  manufacturers.  Upon  the  site  vacated  by 
The  Ingersoll  was  erected  a  splendid  building,  which  was  opened  as  the  "National 
Hotel,"  in  the  fall  of  1887.  It  was  five  stories  in  height  and  became  the  leading 
hostelry  of  the  city.  For  many  years  the  sixth  story  was  set  apart  and  used  by 
the  Elks.  In  the  fall  of  191 1  the  National  Hotel  was  totally  destroyed  by  fire 
and  in  the  summer  of  191 2  the  ground  was  purchased  by  the  McKinley  Traction 
System  for  depot  purposes. 

There  are  other  hotels,  whose  doors  are  constantly  open  to  the  incoming 
guests,  worthy  of  mention  in  this  article.     The   "Lud"   is  a  modern   building, 


Ui\:l:\    m     NATIdXAL  HOTEL  BEFOUE  TlIK    Mi;iO 


RUIXS   OF   THE   NATIOXAL   HOTEL   AFTER   THE   FIRE 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  403 

located  in  the  lOO  block  ut  .Main  street;  the  "Mayer,"  Hamilton  and  Adams; 
"Niagara,"  lOO  block  South  Jefferson;  "Fey,"  Liberty  and  Adams;  "Majestic," 
on  the  opposite  corner  of  Liberty  and  Adams;  Knox  Inn,  728  Main  street; 
"Pfeift'er  Hotel,"  north  end  of  the  city;  "Regis."  Chestnut  and  South  Adams 
streets. 


H.\LLS   .AND  TIIK.\TRE.S 


Before  the  year  1850  no  public  hall  was  known  to  have  existed  in  Peoria, 
and  when  a  strolling  minstrel  "aggregation"  or  other  "play  actors"  came  to 
town,  they  entertained  their  audiences  in  the  spacious  ball  rooms  or  dining 
rooms  of  the  Planters,  the  Clinton  and  other  hotels. 

As  early  as  the  winter  of  1837-8  a  theatre  was  advertised  in  the  local  paper. 
About  that  time  the  "Lyceum"  was  in  full  sway  and  its  members  entertained 
on  occasion,  principally  by  way  of  holding  a  debate  in  one  of  the  churches. 
There  was  also  the  Peoria  Temperance  Society,  before  whom  Elihu  N.  Powell 
delivered  a  lecture,  at  the  court  house,  on  state  license. 

About  the  year  1850  a  hall  was  built  by  W.  H.  Haskell,  on  the  corner  of 
Madison  avenue  and  Jeft'erson  street,  where  Kuhl's  grocery  store  now  stands, 
which  was  long  known  as  Haskell's  hall.  The  next  hall  was  in  a  building 
erected  by  Justus  B.  Fleck,  on  Water  street,  between  Bridge  and  Walnut  streets. 
This  hall,  on  the  second  floor  of  the  building,  was  used  a  long  time  by  the 
German  singing  and  dramatic  societies  and,  as  is  probable,  this  was  the  first 
threatre  in  Peoria,  for  traveling  theatrical  companies  appeared  here  and  the 
Germans  gave  both  operatic  and  dramatic  performances  upon  its  stage.  In 
1854  Henry  S.  Austin  put  up  a  business  block  on  the  corner  of  Adams  and 
Fulton  streets,  where  the  W'oolner  block  now  stands,  and  the  upper  story  was 
converted  into  a  hall,  first  known  as  Austin's  hall  and  later  as  Boetger'.s  hall. 
Theatrical  perform  inces  were  given  here  and  on  one  occasion  Maggie  Mitchell, 
well  known  to  fame,  appeared  and  delighted  an  admiring  audience  with  an  ex- 
hibition of  great  dramatic  talent.  Then  there  was  the  Turn-\'erein  building, 
on  Washington  street,  below  Chestnut. 

In  1858  Dr.  Rudolphus  Rouse  erected  a  hall  on  Main  street,  which  became 
very  pojjular.  Many  noted  people,  actors,  lecturers,  opera  singers  entertained 
in  this  place  and  for  years  the  hall  was  used  for  conventions  by  both  democrats 
and  repuljlicans  and  many  men  of  note  in  public  life  spoke  to  large  audiences 
from  the  stage. 

Parmely's  hall  was  built  at  about  the  same  time  of  Rouse's.  The  building 
stood  on  North  Adams  street,  adjoining  the  Peoria  House,  and  the  hall  was 
much  used  for  political  gatherings.  In  1873  the  "Academy  of  Music"  was 
Iniilt  on  Adams  street,  between  Fayette  and  Jackson,  but  has  long  since  dis- 
appeared. 

The  Grand  Opera  house  was  erected  in  188 1-2,  on  Hamilton  street,  opposite 
the  court  house,  and  was  the  first  pretentious  structure  built  for  amusement 
purposes.  A  corporation  had  been  formed,  with  a  capitalization  of  $40,000.  and 
on  September  4,  1882,  the  handsome  (then)  theatre  was  thrown  open  to  the 
public  and  for  many  years  was  the  principal  show  house  of  the  city.  But  it 
has  been  cast  aside  and  now-  stands  a  seedy  wreck  of  former  greatness,  and  in 
the  words  of  a  former  ])resident,  it  has  gone  into  "innocuous  desuetude." 

Since  the  advent  of  the  moving  i)icture,  many  places  of  entertainment  have 
sprung  up  in  the  city  in  the  past  decade,  devoted  to  that  form  of  diversion. 
And  the  city  has  also  been  embellished  with  two  modern  theatre  buildings,  one 
the  Majestic,  devoted  mainly  to  what  is  termed  the  legitimate  class  of  dramatic 
and  serio-comic  performance,  and  the  Orpheum.  which  is  given  over  entirely 
to  vaudeville.  The  Majestic  adjoins  the  Jefiferson  Iniilding  on  the  south  anil 
the  Orpheum  stands  in  the  middle  of  the  block  on  Madison  street,  north  of 
Main. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

the  peoria  press the  first  editor  a  scholarly  man trials  and  tribula- 
tions of  the  pioneer  printer- — sketches  of  the  various  newspapers  of 
the  city — the  papers  of  the  day  vie  with  any  in  the  state. 

Chas.  T.  Lambert 

Rich  in  the  names  that  adorn  its  records  is  the  history  of  the  Peoria  press. 

In  the  beginning,  when  the  town  was  in  its  swaddling  clothes,  in  fact  one 
year  before  the  town  of  Peoria  was  organized,  "there  were  giants  in  those  days." 
Abram  S.  Buxton,  Peoria's  first  editor,  was  a  scholarly  man  and  a  vigorous 
writer,  and  his  trenchant  pen  ran  forcibly  and  fluently  until  his  fingers  dro])ped 
nerveless  when  touched  by  death. 

Then  on  the  roster  come  the  names  of  James  C.  Armstrong,  Jacob  Shewalter, 
Samuel  H.  Davis,  John  S.  Zieber,  William  Rounseville,  T.  J.  Pickett,  James 
Kirkpatrick  and  Enoch  Emery,  among  the  dead  and  gone  who  were  connected 
with  the  English  press,  and  those  of  Alois  Zotz  and  Hon.  Edward  Rumniel, 
editors  of  i)ublications  in  the  German  language.  All  were  men  of  strong  indi- 
viduality and  marked  personality  who  from  the  beginning  saw  with  prophetic 
vision  the  grandeur  of  Peoria's  future,  inspired  its  people  with  alluring  hopes 
and  in  the  path  of  progress  led  the  way. 

Tiie  pioneer  editor,  and  the  pioneer  printer  whom  he  brought  with  him, 
were  men  of  superior  character  and  skill  and  of  infinite  resourcefulness.  It  was 
in  the  days  of  hand  composition,  more  than  half  a  century  before  the  linotype 
was  dreamed  of,  and  the  printer  took  as  much  joy  in  his  work  in  putting  the 
expressed  thoughts  of  the  editor  into  type  as  the  editor  did  in  transcribing  them 
to  paper.  They  worked  side  by  side  in  their  little  offices  and  it  was  no  uncom- 
mon thing  for  the  editor  to  pull  the  tail  of  the  old  fashioned  hand  press  and 
run  its  crude  mechanism,  while  the  printer  fed  the  dampened  sheets  into  it 
and  withdrew  them  after  each  impression.  It  was  slow  and  laborious  work 
all  the  way  through,  but  the  men  who  engaged  in  it  labored  nobly  and  well  and 
all  that  we  have  today  in  the  way  of  typesetting  machines  and  mighty  presses 
is  but  the  development  of  their  humbler  means,  methods  and  eflforts.  The  cheer- 
ful, enterprising  and  encouraging  spirit  which  they  exhibited  still  lives  and  it 
is  one  of  our  priceless  heritages.  The  old  editor  and  the  old  printer  have  gone, 
but  though  dead  they  yet  speaketh. 

PEORIa's    FIRST    NEWSPAPER 

It  was  in  the  year  of  grace  1834  that  the  first  editor  and  the  first  printer 
came  to  Peoria.  The  editor  was  Abram  S.  Buxton  who  came  hither  from 
Louisville,  Ky.,  where  he  had  been  a  partner  of  George  D.  Prentice  who  later 
became  celelirated  as  the  editor  of  the  Louisville  Courier-Journal.  He  brought 
with  him  TIenrv  W'olford,  a  skilled  printer,  and  on  the  tenth  day  of  March, 
1834,  they  launched  the  first  issue  of  "The  Illinois  Champion  and  Peoria  Herald." 
It  was  a  small  weekly  paper  of  four  pages,  with  five  columns  to  the  page,  but 
it  was  so  ably  edited  and  so  well  printed  that  it  immediately  jumped  into  popular 

405 


406  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

favor  and  had  a  large  circulation,  for  those  days,  throughout  this  section  of  the 
state.  Buxton  was  a  staunch  whig,  but  for  a  time  he  published  the  Champion 
as  a  neutral  paper.  His  whig  principles,  however,  dominated  and  encouraged 
with  its  success  he  eventually  devoted  it  exclusively  to  the  whig  interest.  This 
did  not  affect  its  popularity  and  while  he  was  climbing  to  fame,  if  not  to  fortune, 
he  was  seized  with  consumption  and  went  down  to  the  grave,  writing  to  almost 
his  expiring  breath.  He  died  on  September  i,  1835,  having  ably  conducted  his 
paper  only  one  and  one-half  years. 

PEORIA  REGISTER  AND   NORTHWESTERN   GAZETTEER 

Henry  Wolford,  the  printer  then  sold  Peoria's  original  press  enterprise  to 
James  C.  Armstrong  and  Jacob  Shewalter  and  returned  to  Louisville,  Ky.  The 
new  proprietors  engaged  Jerome  L.  Alarsh  as  printer  and  conducted  the  paper 
until  the  early  part  of  1837,  when  they  sold  it  to  Samuel  H.  Davis  who  came 
here  from  Virginia.  Davis  changed  its  name  to  "The  Peoria  Register  and 
Northwestern  Gazetteer"  and  enlarged  it  from  five  to  six  columns  to  the  page 
and  also  lengthened  the  columns.  He  conducted  it  as  a  neutral  paper  until 
the  campaign  of  1840  when  it  came  out  openly  in  the  whig  interest  and  supported 
General  Harrison  for  the  presidency.  In  this  campaign  it  achieved  a  fair  measure 
of  success  and  in  1842  he  sold  it  to  Samuel  and  William  Butler,  who  had  tormeny 
worked  in  the  printing  establishment  of  Harper  Brothers  in  New  York  city.  On 
assuming  control  of  the  paper  the  Butler  Bros,  dropped  the  latter  part  of  the 
title  and  named  it  the  Peoria  Register  and  retained  Samuel  H.  Davis  as  editor. 
It  was  still  published  in  the  whig  interest  supporting  Henry  Clay  in  1844,  but 
when  an  anti-abolition  riot  occurred  at  the  Presbyterian  church  on  Main  street 
and  the  proprietors  refused  to  permit  him  to  rebuke  the  outrage  Davis  resigned 
and  the  Butler  Bros,  sold  it  to  Thomas  J.  Pickett,  who  changed  its  name  to  the 
Weekly  Register. 

Peoria's   first  daily   newspaper 

Thomas  J.  Pickett  was  a  man  filled  with  the  spirit  of  enterprise  in  adyance 
of  his  times  and  it  was  his  ambition  to  establish  a  daily  newspaper.  He  formed 
a  partnership  with  H.  K.  W.  Davis,  a  son  of  the  former  publisher  and  editor, 
and  started  in  connection  with  the  Peoria  Register  a  daily  paper  which  they 
called  the  Daily  Register  and  the  first  number  was  issued  on  June  28.  1848. 
but  its  life  was  short.  Still  infected  with  the  daily  issue  idea  Pickett  started 
another  daily  in  the  following  year  and  called  it  The  Champion  in  memory  of 
the  first  Peoria  newspaper  established  by  the  ill-fated  Abram  Buxton.  The  first 
number  of  this  second  daily  was  issued  on  December  13,  1849,  and  it  a])pears 
that  there  must  have  been  something  fateful  in  its  name,  for  in  the  following 
month,  on  January  26,  1850,  the  building  in  which  it  was  published  was  wrecked 
by  an  explosion  of  combustible  liquids  and  William  Pickett,  brother  of  the  pro- 
prietor and  James  Kirkpatrick.  publisher  of  the  Peoria  .-Vmerican,  a  publication 
which  will  be  referred  to  further  on,  were  killed  by  falling  walls.  Their  office 
was  in  the  second  story  of  a  brick  building  on  the  corner  of  Main  street  and 
what  was  known  at  that  time  as  Printers'  .\lley,  between  Washington  and  Water 
streets.  William  Pickett,  the  brother  of  the  proprietor,  lost  his  life  in  an  effort 
to  save  the  books,  while  Kirkpatrick  was  caught  under  the  falling  walls  as  he 
was  passing  through  the  alley. 

the   PEORIA    republican 

Although  he  had  lost  his  brother  and  almost  all  his  worldly  possessions  in 
this  disaster  Thomas  J.  Pickett  was  undismayed.  He  bought  a  new  outfit  and 
established  the  Weekly  Republican  and  its  first  issue  appeared  on  June  i,  1850. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  407 

It  was  well  edited  and  [jriuted  and  was  devoted  to  the  whig  interest  until  the 
old  party  lines  began  to  break  up  between  1854  and  1856  and  then  it  espoused 
the  principles  of  the  rising  republican  party.  Issued  tirst  as  a  weekly  it  eventu- 
ally became  a  daily,  tri-weekly  and  weekly  and  ran  successfully  until  1856  when 
Pickett  became  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  circuit  clerk  and  the  paper  passed 
into  the  possession  of  Samuel  L.  Coulter,  who  endeavored  to  run'  it  in  the  whig 
interest,  but  the  whig  party  was  rapidly  going  to  pieces  and  two  years  later  the 
Peoria  Republican  went  out  of  existence.  Pickett,  having  been  defeated  for 
office  went  to  Rock  Island  where  he  conducted  the  Rock  Island  Register  and 
during  the  Civil  war  was  instrumental  in  raising  regiments.  After  the  war  he 
went  to  Paducah,  Ky.,  where  he  established  a  paper  called  the  Federal  Union, 
was  appointed  postmaster  and  later  clerk  of  the  United  States  district  court. 
In  1879  h^  went  to  Nebraska  where  in  the  course  of  fifteen  years  he  founded 
three  papers  in  as  many  different  cities  and  died  at  Ashland,  Wis.,  at  the  home 
of  his  son  on  December  24,  1891,  at  the  age  of  seventy  years.  In  his  day 
he  was  one  of  the  most  active  of  newspaper  men,  full  of  ambition  and  blessed 
with  a  remarkable  energy,  but  appeared  throughout  his  life  to  have  been  the 
football  of  fate.  In  the  course  of  his  career  he  founded  a  dozen  newspapers 
and  died  in  the  harness  assisting  in  the  publication  of  a  newspaper  conducted 
by  his  son. 

PEORIA    DEMOCR.\TIC    PRESS 

Thus  far  has  been  given  the  history  of  Peoria's  first  newspaper,  which  al- 
though ]niblished  under  difl:"erent  titles  and  conducted  under  various  managers, 
was  practically  a  continuation  of  the  parent  paper  founded  in  1834  by  Abram 
Buxton  and  expired  under  the  name  of  the  Peoria  Republican  in  1858. 

To  give  the  history  of  the  Peoria  newspapers  in  chronological  order  it  will 
be  necessary  to  go  back  to  1840  when  John  S.  Zieber  established  the  "Peoria 
Democratic  Press"  and  issued  the  first  number  on  February  20  of  that  year. 
Zieber  came  to  Peoria  from  Somerset  county,  Md.,  where  he  had  published  the 
"People's  Press"  and  he  brought  with  him  his  brother-in-law,  Enoch  P.  Sloan, 
who  had  learned  the  printer's  trade  under  him  iu  their  eastern  home.  Two 
years  later  iMr.  Sloan  became  a  partner  in  the  enterprise  and  while  working 
as  a  printer  also  rendered  valuable  assistance  as  assistant  editor.  As  its  name 
indicated  it  was  a  distinctively  political  paper  and  as  such  was  the  first  party 
organ  established  in  Peoria.  Messrs.  Zieber  and  Sloan  conducted  it  until  June 
I,  1846  when  it  was  sold  to  Thomas  Phillips,  who  came  here  from  Pittsburg, 
Pa.,  where  he  had  published  the  "American  Manufacturer."  Phillips  published 
the  paper  for  three  years  and  then  sold  it  to  Washington  Cockle,  leaving  Peoria 
for  .St.  Louis  where  he  became  a  partner  with  his  brother  in  publishing  the  "St. 
Louis  Union."  Cockle  conducted  it  for  a  little  more  than  one  year  and  then 
sold  it  to  Enoch  P.  Sloan,  one  of  its  original  owners  and  who  during  its  several 
changes  had  remained  with  it.  This  transfer  was  made  in  the  fall  of  185 1  and 
on  January  5,  1854,  Mr.  Sloan  issued  the  first  number  of  a  daily,  the  third 
attempt  to  establish  a  daily  newspaper  in  Peoria.  In  this  he  was  fairly  successful 
and  published  the  sheet  as  a  daily  and  tri-weekly  until  the  fall  of  1856,  when 
he  was  elected  circuit  clerk  of  Peoria  county,  defeating  Thomas  J.  Pickett,  a 
rival  editor  and  candidate.  With  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Sloan  to  enter  upon 
the  duties  of  his  office  the  paper  was  sold  to  Leonard  P).  Corinvell  who  had  been 
sheriff  of  Peoria  countv  and  who  retained  John  McDonald  as  its  editor.  It 
was  a  strong  supporter  of  -Stephen  A.  Douglas,  but  when  I'uchanan  was  elected 
the  partv  patronage  went  to  its  rival,  the  "Peoria  Daily  News.''  published  by 
George  W.  Raney  and  later  the  two  papers  were  merged. 


408  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

PEORIA    DAILY    NEWS 

When  George  W.  Raney  appeared  on  the  local  scene  of  action  he  proved  to 
be  a  new  and  altogether  different  factor  in  Peoria  journalism.  The  men  who 
had  conducted  Peoria  newspapers  up  to  the  time  of  his  advent  were  men  of 
some  learning  and  high  character  and  lent  a  dignity  to  the  profession,  but  Raney 
was  of  another  stamp.  Had  he  been  working  in  these  later  days  his  style  of 
journalism  would  have  been  designated  "yellow."  He  was  essentially  a  com- 
mercial journalist  and  conducted  the  business  solely  from  the  box  office  point 
of  view  and  with  a  glittering  eye  on  political  patronage. 

George  W.  Raney  established  the  Peoria  Daily  News  and  issued  the  first 
number  on  May  26,  1852  and  followed  soon  after  with  the  Weekly  and  Tri- 
Weekly  News.  He  adopted  a  slashing,  buccaneering  style,  which  while  it  may 
have  tickled  the  ears  of  the  groundlings  and  made  the  judicious  grieve  gave  his 
sheet  the  popularity  which  attends  originality  and  he  got  everything  in  sight. 
President  liuchanan  appointed  his  postmaster  and  his  sheet  became  the  recog- 
nized organ  of  the  democratic  party  and  obtained  all  the  party  patronage  and 
absorbed  the  rival  paper.  In  the  winter  of  1857-8  Raney's  whole  establishment 
was  destroyed  by  tire  but  he  took  what  remained  of  the  "F'eoria  Democratic 
Press"  and  began  the  publication  of  the  "Democratic  Union"  which  became  the 
leading  democratic  paper  in  this  section  during  the  campaign  of  i860.  In  that 
campaign,  however,  Raney  retired  from  the  editorial  chair  and  its  management 
was  turned  over  to  William  Trench,  who  as  an  ardent  supporter  of  Douglas 
conducted  the  sheet  in  his  interests  during  the  campaign  and  at  its  close,  which 
ended  in  the  defeat  of  Douglas  and  the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  Raney 
went  back  to  his  editorial  duties  and  conducted  the  sheet  tmtil  September  1862 
when  he  obtained  a  position  in  the  army  and  with  his  departure  the  "Democratic 
Union"  went  out  of  existence.  This  was  the  end  of  the  ''Peoria  Democratic 
Press"  founded  in  1840  by  John  S.  Zieber,  which,  like  the  first  of  Peoria's  news- 
papers, changed  managers  and  names,  but  led  a  continuous  existence  for  many 
years. 

THE    nltRRVJNI.VNDER 

Again  in  chronological  order  we  are  compelled  to  turn  back  to  the  year  of 
grace  1843  when  Simeon  DeWitt  Drown  started  the  German  "Gerrymander." 
This  sheet  was  merely  a  burlesque  but  still  it  exerted  a  specific  influence.  The 
legislature  had  divided  the  estate  into  seven  congressional  districts  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  form  but  one  whig  district,  the  seventh.  This  appealed  to  the 
risibilities  of  Drown  and  in  the  interest  of  the  whigs  he  published  the  Gerry- 
mander, the  first  number  of  which  appeared  on  March  22,  1843  and  was  issued 
weekly  during  the  campaign  of  that  year.  Each  issue  was  illustrated  with  cari- 
catures representing  the  shapes  of  the  several  congressional  districts,  Init  at  the 
end  of  the  campaign  its  usefulness,  or  otherwise  ended. 

THE   PEORIA    AMERICAN 

This  newspaper  was  founded  in  the  whig  interest  by  James  Kirkpatrick  in 
July  1845,  who  claimed  tlie  distinction  that  it  was  the  first  newspaper  in  the 
state  to  place  the  name  of  General  Zachary  Taylor  under  the  title  of  "Rough 
and  Ready"  at  the  head  of  its  columns  as  a  candidate  for  the  presidency  of  the 
United  States.  He  conducted  the  sheet  for  four  and  one-half  years  until 
January  26,  1850,  when  he  was  killed  under  the  falling  walls  by  the  explosion 
which  wrecked  his  office  and  that  of  the  Champion  as  previously  recorded.  With 
his  death  the  "Peoria  American"  died  with  him.  Previous  to  his  death  the 
"Nineteenth  Century."  a  national  reform  paper,  had  been  started  in  September, 
1848  by  J.  R.  Watson  and  D.  D.  Irons  and  after  it  had  run  for  a  few  month.'; 
it  was  sold  to  Kirkpatrick  and  merged  with  the  "American." 


}iimi^ 


:-ii55i.?:':*, 


uluai.i'; 


-iinii  ADAMS  SI  i;kkt  at  xiciri' 


PKOKIA   MH.ISK.r.M 


\ii;\\   di'  i'i;ni;iA  iKdM   I  111:  im  uiiuusi'; 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  409 

PEORIA    DAILY    TRANSCRIPT 

We  have  now  reached  the  period  which  presents  the  line  of  demarcation 
between  the  old  order  of  Peoria  journalism  and  that  which  obtains  at  the  present 
time.  And  it  is  a  melancholy  fact  that  the  Peoria  newspaper  which  grew  from 
the  primordial  germ,  as  it  were,  that  first  received  press  dispatches  and  was  the 
first  in  Peoria  to  adoi)t  the  linotype  and  rise  above  the  deficiencies  and  restric- 
tions of  hand  composition,  should  have  so  far  lost  its  identity  as  to  be  remem- 
bered only  at  the  further  end  of  a  hyphen  in  the  appellation :  Herald-Transcript. 
In  its  day  and  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  it  was  the  leading  newspaper 
in  Peoria  and  the  stalwart  organ  of  the  republican  party  in  the  interests  of 
which  it  was  founded.  Like  all  the  other  Peoria  newspapers  which  preceded 
it,  and  many  with  which  it  was  contemporary  it  had  its  periods  of  youth,  manhood 
and  decay  and  was  finally  merged  with  a  paper  started  at  a  later  date  and  which 
first  eclipsed  and  then  absorbed  it. 

The  Peoria  Transcript  was  founded  at  the  instance  of  William  Rounseville, 
who  at  that  time  was  pastor  of  the  Universalist  church,  Grand  master  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  of  this  state  and  a  man  of  marked  literary 
ability  who  had  previously  published  a  magazine  in  Chicago.  N.  C.  Nason,  who 
had  been  previously  connected  with  the  "Peoria  Republican"  and  was  a  practical 
printer,  was  also  prominent  in  the  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  in  1854  was 
engaged  in  merchandising  at  Wesley  City,  then  a  river  town  of  some  importance. 
Rounseville  visited  him  with  the  view  of  establishing  an  Odd  Fellows'  magazine 
in  Peoria,  and  the  enterprise  seeming  feasible  Xason  went  to  Philadelphia  and 
purchased  printing  supplies  amounting  to  a  value  of  $2,000.  When  the  supplies 
arrived  the  office  was  established  on  the  third  floor  of  a  new  brick  building 
now  known  as  202  Main  street  where  it  remained  until  the  fall  of  1855  when 
Rounseville,  who  had  an  itch  for  the  newspaper  business  urged  the  starting  of 
a  daily  newspaper  in  the  republican  interest  to  which  Nason,  after  much  delibera- 
tion assented.  The  type  used  in  the  publication  of  the  Odd  Fellows'  magazine 
was  set  up  into  newspaper  columns  and  the  first  number  of  the  Peoria  Tran- 
script from  its  quarters  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Water  streets  to  which  the 
office  was  transferred  was  issued  on  December  17,  1885.  It  was  well  edited  and 
well  printed  but  its  finances  were  badly  managed  and  the  enterprise  soon  got 
into  deep  water.  Aid  which  had  been  promised  did  not  appear  and  at  the  end 
of  two  months  when  all  the  resources  of  the  projectors  had  been  exhausted 
the  late  Caleb  Whittemore  stepped  in  and  assumed  obligations  on  behalf  of  the 
concern  to  the  amount  of  $4,000  and  was  compelled  to  take  the  property  to 
save  himself.  During  his  ownership  he  never  took  active  charge  of  the  establish- 
ment l.nit  continued  in  his  regular  lousiness  of  locksmith  and  gunsmith.  In  the 
latter  part  of  1857  Whittemore  sold  the  concern  to  J.  G.  Merrill,  a  farmer 
living  in  this  county  who  conducted  it  unsuccessfully  for  one  year  and  then 
sold  it  to  Nathan  C.  Geer,  who  had  previously  edited  the  Waukegan  Gazette. 

In  1859  Enoch  Emery,  who  had  gained  his  newspaper  experience  on  Boston 
publications,  came  to  Peoria  and  was  employed  by  Geer  as  city  editor  and 
Peoria  gained  a  thorough  newspaper  man.  In  i860  the  paper  passed  into  the 
possession  of  Enoch  Emery  and  Edward  A.  Andrews  and  it  at  once  entered 
upon  a  successful  career.  Emery's  short,  terse,  epigrammatic  sentences  and 
vigorous  stvle  of  writing  was  at  once  recognized  and  it  became  the  most  influ- 
ential republican  organ  throughout  central  Illinois.  In  the  campaign  of  i860 
and  during  the  Civil  war  and  the  administration  of  Abraham  Lincoln  the  paper 
was  a  staunch  supporter  of  all  the  measures  of  the  republican  party  and  just 
before  he  was  assassinated  President  Lincoln  appointed  Emery  postmaster,  but 
did  not  live  to  sign  his  commission.  That  came  later  from  President  Johnson. 
In  a  little  over  a  year  and  in  consequence  of  the  opposition  of  the  "Transcript" 
to  his  policy  President  Johnson  removed  Emery  from  the  position  of  postmaster 
and  appointed  Gen.  D.  W.  Magee.     In  1869  Mr.  Emery  purchased  the  interest 


410  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

of  his  partner  and  conducted  the  business  alone  until  a  stock  company 
was  formed  entitled  "The  Peoria  Transcript  Company"  with  Mr.  Emery  re- 
maining at  the  head  of  the  concern  as  president  and  general  manager.  In,  that 
year  Mr.  Emery  was  appointed  collector  of  internal  revenue  by  President  Grant 
and  held  the  office  for  two  years,  when  in  consequence  of  his  opposition  to 
Gen.  Logan  the  latter  caused  him  to  be  removed.  Enoch  Emery  was  a  positive 
man  and  did  not  hesitate  to  express  his  opinions,  and  it  was  the  assertion  of  the 
courage  of  his  convictions  which  caused  him  to  lose  the  postoffice  and  the  internal 
revenue  collectorship  in  turn. 

In  the  seventies  Enoch  Emery  left  the  editorial  chair  to  devote  his  attention 
to  the  business  office  and  his  brother  was  installed  as  editor.  The  change 
was  disastrous  to  the  sheet  in  both  departments.  The  editorial  page  missed 
Emery's  forceful  writings  and  in  the  business  department  he  was  out  of  his 
element.  In  January  1880  a  new  organization  was  formed  with  R.  H.  Whiting 
prsident,  R.  A.  Culter.  treasurer,  and  James  M.  Rice,  secretary,  and  Emery 
went  back  to  the  editorial  chair.  In  the  following  year  he  was  removed  and  he 
started  an  afternoon  publication  known  as  "The  Peorian,"  but  it  had  an  ephem- 
eral existence  and  Emery,  broken-hearted,  died  on  May  30,  1S82.  His  was  a 
vigorous,  forceful  character  and  during  his  editorial  career  he  did  much  for 
Peoria  and  his  memory  implores  the  passing  tribute  of  a  sigh. 

After  the  removal  of  Enoch  Emery  from  the  Transcript  Alexander  S.  Stone 
came  here  from  Keokuk,  Iowa,  and  purchased  a  controlling  interest  in  the 
concern  and  soon  after  assuming  control  changed  the  form  of  the  paper  from 
a  folio,  or  four  pages,  to  the  modern  quarto,  a  style  that  later  was  adopted  by 
all  the  Peoria  papers.  Stone  attended  the  financial  management  of  the  paper 
and  in  the  editorial  chair  Enoch  Emery  was  succeeded  by  Welker  Given,  who 
in  turn  was  followed  by  William  Hoyne,  who  later  was  placed  at  the  head  of 
the  law  department  of  Notre  Dame  University ;  Col.  E.  P.  Brooks  of  Washing- 
ton, who  had  been  consul  at  Cork,  Ireland;  Major  William  S.  Brackett  and  R 
M.  Hanna,  who  died  in  191 1. 

THE    HERALD-TRANSCRIPT 

On  March  i,  1893  a  new  company  was  organized,  chiefly  by  parties  from 
Ohio  with  J.  N.  Garver  as  president  and  treasurer;  Thomas  R.  Weddell  of 
Chicago,  vice-president  and  editor;  James  L.  Garver,  secretary.  Weddell,  the 
editor  came  from  the  Chicago  Inter  Ocean  and  attempted  innovation  of  a  metro- 
politan character  but  which  did  not  take  with  the  Peoria  public  and  after  run- 
ning it  for  five  years  it  was  sold  to  H.  M.  Pindell  of  the  Herald  who  merged  it 
with  his  paper  and  gave  it  the  hyphenated  name  which  it  now  bears — the  "Herald- 
Transcript."  In  1892  the  Herald-Transcript  was  sold  to  a  syndicate  of  repub- 
licans headed  by  P.  G.  Rennick,  collector  of  internal  reveaiue  and  ex-postmaster 
W.  E.  Hull  who  operated  the  paper  until  1904  when  Rennick  bought  the  control- 
ling interest.  On  November  of  that  year  he  sold  the  paper  to  Charles  H.  May 
and  W.  Sisson  and  in  the  following  year  its  publication  office  was  removed  from 
Main  street  to  its  present  (|uarters  in  the  200  block  South  Jefl:'erson  avenue. 
Charles  H.  May,  as  the  head  of  the  present  management  has  made  a  number 
of  improvements  in  the  mechanical  plant,  including  the  installation  of  a  sextuple 
press  and  as  the  only  morning  newspaper  now  published  in  Peoria  has  brought 
it  strictly  up  to  date.  It  is  ably  edited,  is  bright,  clean  and  progressive  and 
after  all  the  vicissitudes  through  which  both  papers,  that  are  embodied  in  its 
hyphenated  name,  have  passed,  it  is  evident  that  in  the  old  expression  attached 
to  newspapers,  it  has  come  to  stay. 

THE    PEORIA    HERALD 

In  giving  the  history  of  the  "Peoria  Transcript"  and  the  circumstances  which 
led   to   its  absorption  by  the  "Peoria   Herald"   and   the   adoption  of   the   name 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  411 

"Herald-Transcript,"  it  is  eminently  proper  to  revert  to  the  circumstances  con- 
nected with  the  founding  of  the  "Herald." 

In  i88S  the  democratic  party  in  Peoria  was  without  an  organ.  The  "Na- 
tional Democrat"  which  followed  the  series  of  newspapers  beginning  with  the 
Peoria  Democratic  Press  was  established  in  the  summer  of  1865  by  Colonel  W. 
T.  Dowdall  who  came  here  from  Alton,  Illinois.  He  found  the  democratic 
newspaper  business  in  a  bad  condition.  After  the  Democratic  Press  had  come 
the  "L'nion,"  the  "Star"  and  the  "Post,"  but  all  had  been  short-lived  and  only 
their  names  remain  to  attest  that  they  ever  existed.  Colonel  Dowdall  took  over 
the  small  plant  of  the  "Post"  and  provided  an  entirely  new  outfit.  He  con- 
ducted the  "National  Democrat"  from  1865  until  1887  when  he  was  appointed 
postmaster  under  the  Cleveland  administration  and  sold  out  to  a  stock  com- 
pany in  which  the  late  Joseph  Irwin  of  Pekin  and  John  Schofield  of  this  city 
were  the  principal  stockholders.  Under  their  management  the  paper  proved 
unsuccessful  and  in  a  year  died  from  inanition. 

Early  in  the  year  1889  H.  AI.  Pindell,  who  had  been  city  treasurer  of  Spring- 
field and  had  a  large  state  political  acc,|uaintance  came  to  this  city  at  the  invita- 
tion of  Andrew  Jackson  ilell.  who  had  been  state  senator  and  a  candidate  for 
lieutenant  governor.  Bell  expressed  the  opinion  that  conditions  were  ri|5e  in 
Peoria  for  the  establishment  of  a  newspaper  which  should  be  recognized  as  tiie 
organ  of  the  democratic  party.  Air.  Pindell  after  looking  over  the  field  became 
convinced  of  that  fact  and  on  March  7,  1889,  the  first  number  of  the  Peoria 
Herald  was  issued.  It  proved  successful  from  the  start  and  gradually  in- 
vaded the  morning  field  which  up  to  that  time  had  been  controlled  by  the 
"Transcript."  It  was  well  edited  and  it  adopted  a  high  moral  tone  which  made 
it  distinctive.  Pindell  proved  to  be  an  astute  business  manager  and  it  was  not 
long  before  the  "Herald"  was  in  'possession  of  a  flourishing  advertising  patron- 
age and  a  rapidly  extending  circulation  and  in  the  meantime  the  "Transcri]it" 
was  perceptibly  declining.  Primarily  a  democratic  organ,  it  was  Air.  Pindell's 
idea  to  make  it  a  newspaper  in  all  that  the  term  implies,  a  medium  for  the  dis- 
semination of  news,  and  the  results  of  his  enterprising  spirit  soon  became  mani- 
fest. The  period  of  rivalry  with  the  "Transcript"  was  drawing  to  a  close  and 
the  end  came  on  December  28,  1S98,  when  Air.  Pindell  purchased  the  entire 
right,  title  and  interest  in  the  "Transcrijjt"  and  on  the  following  day  the  "Herald" 
appeared  as  the  "Herald-Transcript."  The  remainder  of  its  history  has  already 
been  recorded. 

THE    PEORI.\    JOURN.\L 

In  the  list  of  Peoria  newspapers  it  is  an  indisputable  fact  that  the  evening 
publications  have  achieved  the  greater  measure  of  success.  This  was  early 
recognized  by  the  managers  of  newspapers  published  in  the  German  language 
and  from  the  start  all  of  their  publications  have  been  of  the  evening,  or  more 
properly,  the  afternoon,  issue.  Feeble  attempts  had  been  made  in  by-gone  years 
to  establish  an  afternoon  daily,  but  they  all  failed.  In  1870  P.  W.  Sheldon 
and  E.  F.  Baldwin,  the  latter  the  present  proprietor  of  the  "Peoria  .Star" 
launched  the  first  evening  newspaper  worthy  of  the  name  and  called  it  the 
"Review."  It  ran  until  Jantiary  1873  and  then  to  get  rid  of  the  competition  it 
was  bought  by  Enoch  Emery  of  the  "Transcript"  and  Colonel  Dowdall  of  the 
"National  Democrat."  Colonel  Dowdall  ran  it  for  some  years  as  an  afternoon 
reprint  of  the  "National  Democrat"  and  when  he  stepped  out  of  the  editorial 
chair  in  1887  to  take  the  office  of  postmaster  the  "Review"  was  dropped. 

The  next  evening  newspaper  to  come  into  the  field  was  the  Peoria  Journal 
established  by  J.  B.  Barnes  and  E.  F.  Baldwin  who  issued  its  first  number  on 
December  3,  1877.  The  office  of  the  paper  was  in  the  Zeigler  building  on 
Hamilton  street  just  below  .'\dams.  The  first  week  its  circulation  was  1,700 
copies  but  it  steadily  grew  and  ran  up  in  two  years  to  4.000  and  two  years  later  to 


412  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

7,000.  It  established  an  unusual  record  from  the  fact  that  it  met  all  expenses  and 
yielded  a  profit  from  the  start.  After  the  expenditure  of  the  original  capital  it 
did  not  sink  a  cent.  It  was  independent  in  politics  and  E.  E.  Baldwin,  now 
the  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Peoria  Star,  had  the  happy  faculty  of  present- 
ing the  local  news  of  the  day  in  a  bizarre  and  original  style  that  caught  the 
public  fancy,  while  his  editorials,  written  on  the  same  day,  carried  with  them 
the  scholarly  weight  and  the  masterful  style  which  is  still  characteristic  of  all  his 
writings.  In  1S94  the  Journal  was  organized  as  a  stock  company  at  a  capitali- 
zation of  $100,000  of  which  Barnes  and  Baldwin  held  $40,000  each  and  AI.  N. 
Snider  and  Charles  H.  Powell  $10,000  each.  In  1891  Messrs.  Baldwin  and 
Powell  engaged  in  other  business  and  dropped  out  of  the  Journal  leaving  Barnes 
the  sole  owner  of  all  the  stock,  and  who  during  the  first  Bryan  campaign  ran 
the  sheet  as  a  free  silver  paper.  Barnes  conducted  the  paper  until  February  i, 
1900,  when  he  sold  it  to  H.  M.  Pindell,  who  in  the  organization  of  a  stock  com- 
pany assigned  40  shares  to  Charles  Carroll,  20  shares  to  J.  E.  Elder  and  re- 
tained 40  shares  for  himself.  Two  years  later  Mr.  Pindell  bought  the  shares 
of  his  partners  and  assumed  full  control  and  made  considerable  additions  to 
the  plant  equipment.  From  1882  the  paper  had  been  published  in  the  Grand 
opera  house  building,  but  when  that  structure  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  early 
morning  of  December  14,  1909,  it  was  removed  to  temporary  quarters  and  sub- 
sequently found  a  permanent  home  in  the  Jefferson  building  on  the  corner  of 
Jefl'erson  avenue  and  Fulton  streets.  The  Journal  is  bright  and  progressive  and 
is  the  recognized  democratic  organ  in  Peoria,  but  asserts  its  independence  when 
the  occasion  demands. 

THE    PEORI.\    ST.\R 

No  other  newspaper  published  in  Peoria  at  any  time  has  equalled  the  suc- 
cess which  has  attached  to  the  Peoria  Evening  Star.  It  leaped  into  public  favor 
with  its  first  issue  on  September  27,  1897,  and  it  has  continued  to  maintain 
the  advantages  gained  in  its  early  career. 

It  was  established  by  E.  F.  Baldwin  and  Charles  H.  Powell,  who  had  a 
limited  capital  but  a  world  of  enterprise  and  energy.  Its  circulation  of  3,400 
on  the  day  of  its  first  issue  reached  3,000  by  the  end  of  the  week  and  it  grew  so 
fast  that  the  chief  concern  of  the  publishers  was  to  get  the  paper  into  the  hands 
of  the  subscribers  promptly.  For  weeks  the  routes  of  the  carriers  were  changed 
daily  to  meet  the  increasing  demand  and  in  the  meantime  its  country  circulation 
extended  in  a  like  ratio  and  at  the  end  of  six  months  the  total  circulation  had 
reached  20,000.     It  has  now  an  average  daily  circulation  of  22,000. 

Its  phenomenal  success  is  due  mainly  to  the  personality  of  its  editor.  E.  F. 
Baldwin,  which  is  reflected  in  all  his  writings.  An  omniverous  reader  and  as 
close  a  student  as  he  ever  was  in  his  youth  and  early  manhood,  with  a  memory 
as  accurate  and  as  tenacious  as  a  phonographic  record,  a  master  of  satire  and 
gifted  with  a  strong  sense  of  humor,  his  work  as  a  writer  has  a  distinctive 
originality  which  at  once  attracts  and  commands  attention.  When  the  reader 
once  gets' the  flavor  of  it  he  wants  more  and  that  is  the  secret  of  the  remarkable 
success  of  the  Peoria  Evening  Star. 

Editor  Baldwin  is  now  on  Easy  street,  but  in  his  moments  of  relaxation  he 
enjoys  reverting  to  the  past  when  he  had  an  up-hill  struggle.  Before  he  started 
the  "Star"  he  had  made  and  lost  two  fortunes  but  he  still  retained  his  indomit- 
able will.  When  the  "Star"  project  came  up  he  declares  that  neither  he  nor 
his  partner  had  any  money.  They  found  an  "angel"  in  Chicago  who  sold  them 
a  press  on  credit  and  when  it  came  to  Peoria  they  did  not  have  the  necessary 
$21  to  pay  the  freight.  They  raised  it,  however,  and  as  soon  as  that  press  be- 
gan to  revolve  the  foundations  of  their  fortunes  were  laid.  Mr.  Powell  died 
in  1902  and  E.  F.  Baldwin  is  now  the  sole  owner. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  413 

The  "Star"  is  now  worked  off  on  a  four-deck  Goss  pL'rfccting  press  with  a 
capacity  of  24,000  sixteen-page  papers  per  hour,  folded  and  counted.  Its  cir- 
culation is  the  largest  in  the  state  outside  of  Chicago ;  its  advertising  business 
ranks  with  its  circulation  and  it  is  the  most  popular  newsjiaper  in  central  Illi- 
nois. Editor  Baldwin  has  gathered  about  him  a  force  wliich  shares  his  enthu- 
siasm, and  his  benign  influence  permeates  all  departments.  In  no  other 
newspaper  office  in  this  state,  or  probably  anywhere  else,  is  there  a  more  pro- 
nounced expression  of  "esprit  de  corps,"  the  working  of  all  to  a  common  end. 
than  is  exhibited  in  the  office  of  the  "Peoria  Star."  It  is  a  perfect  piece  of 
altruistic  mechanism  in  which  everyone  employed  takes  a  joy  in  his  or  her  work 
and  contributes  to  the  success  of  the  enterprise.  As  the  latest  of  the  dailv  news- 
papers to  be  established  in  Peoria  the  Star  stands  for  the  last  word  in  Peoria 
journalism. 

THE    GERMAN    PRESS 

People  from  Germany  began  to  settle  in  Peoria  as  early  as  1835  and  spread 
out  into  the  adjacent  counties  where  they  took  up  farms  and  eventuallv  became 
an  important  factor  in  the  population  of  this  growing  section  of  the  state.  It 
was  not  long  before  they  represented  one-third  of  the  population  of  this  im- 
mediate territory  and  it  is  shown  by  census  statistics  that  this  ratio  holds  good 
today,  one-third  of  the  po]nilation  of  Peoria  county  being  German  by  birth  or 
descent. 

The  German  revolution  of  1848  increased  emigration  from  the  fatherland 
rapidly  and  brought  over  a  very  intelligent  class  among  whom  were  a  number 
of  learned  and  professional  men,  ripe  from  the  German  universities.  Stran- 
gers in  a  strange  land,  those  who  had  not  studied  other  professions  looked  about 
them  for  opportunities  in  the  newspaper  business  and  a  boom  was  created 
for  German  publications.  In  1852  Alois  Zotz,  an  able  and  learned  man,  whose 
memory  is  still  held  in  reverence  came  to  Peoria  and  established  the  "Illinois 
Banner,"  as  a  weekly  publication.  The  first  number  appeared  on  February 
18,  1852,  and  it  was  hailed  with  delight  by  the  German-speaking  element  in  the 
community.  Zotz  was  a  profound  philosopher  and  a  student  of  the  conditions 
as  they  existed  in  the  old  world  and  the  new  and  he  kept  his  compatriots  in 
touch  with  them.  He  was  an  intense  democrat  and  his  style  of  writing  was 
lofty  and  above  the  heads  of  the  majority  of  his  readers,  although  it  was  much 
admired   by  his  cultured  clientele. 

In  1858  Mr.  Zotz  sold  the  publication  to  Edward  Rummel  who  was  an  ardent 
republican.  He  changed  its  name  to  "Deutsche  Zeitung"  and  swung  it  into  the 
republican  column  and  supported  Abraham  Lincoln  for  the  presidency  in  i860. 
Rummel  conducted  the  paper  until  1868  when  he  was  elected  state  secretary  of 
Illinois  and  before  leaving  for  Springfield  sold  the  paper  to  Captain  Edward 
Fresenius  who  conducted  it  for  three  years  and  in  1871  sold  it  to  Rudolph 
Eichenberger  who  ran  it  for  seven  years  and  in  1878  sold  it  to  Bernard  Cremer 
&  Bros,,  who  had  previously  acquired  a  rival  paper  known  as  the  "Demokrat" 
and  it  was  merged  with  the  latter  paper. 

THE    PEORI.X    DEMOKR.\T 

The  "Peoria  Demokrat"  was  established  during  the  campaign  of  i860.  After 
Alois  Zotz  had  sold  the  "Illinois  Banner"  to  Rummel,  who  changed  its  name  and 
its  politics,  the  German  democrats  found  themselves  without  an  organ  and  in- 
duced Mr.  Zotz  to  establish  the  daily  and  weekly  "Demokrat."  He  conducted 
the  paper  until  1864,  when  Bernard  Cremer,  the  present  proprietor  purchased 
it  and  assumed  the  control  which  he  has  maintained  ever  since.  Mr.  Cremer 
is  an  astute  business  man  who  has  not  only  made  his  newspaper  remarkably  suc- 
cessful, but  has  engaged  in  various  enterprises  with  signal  results  and  is  re- 
garded as  the  wealthiest  newspaper  publisher  in  central  Illinois.     His  paper  re- 


414  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

fleets  the  sterling  character  of  its  editor,  enjoys  a  wide  circulation  composed  of 
subscribers  who  stick  to  it,  has  a  lucrative  advertising  ])atronage  and  stands 
in  the  front  rank  of  German  daily  newspapers  in  this  state. 

PEORIA    DIK    SONNE 

During  the  early  career  of  the  "Illinois  Banner."  the  "Deutsche  Zeitung" 
and  the  "Demokrat,"  other  German  papers  were  started  including  the  "\'olks- 
blatt"  and  the  "Courier"  but  they  were  short-lived  and  later  came  "Der  Volks- 
freund"  and  the  "Sonntags  Post"  to  join  the  innumerable  caravan  which  marches 
to  the  pale  realms  of  shade.  In  1877  a  new  man  appeared  in  Peoria  to  create 
a  name  and  a  place  in  its  journalism  in  the  person  of  Louis  Philip  Wolf.  Hav- 
ing received  an  excellent  education  in  Germany  he  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1868  and  after  occupying  several  positions  as  teacher  of  modern  languages, 
his  last  engagements  being  in  the  German-American  institute  in  Chicago  and  the 
Academic  Francaise  he  drifted  into  journalism  and  established  at  Lincoln.  Illi- 
nois, the  "Volksfreund,"  and  at  the  time  of  its  first  issue  in  1875  it  was  the 
only  German  republican  paper  in  this  state.  In  1877  he  came  to  Peoria  to  be- 
come editor  of  the  "Deutsche  Zeitung,"  but  when  it  was  sold  to  the  "Demokrat" 
he  found  himself  again  a  free  agent.  In  the  spring  of  1879  he  established  Die 
Sonne  with  Joseph  Wolfram  and  William  ISrus  as  partners.  Wolf  is  a  vigorous 
writer,  his  diction  scholarly  and  eminently  correct,  and  under  his  masterful 
editorship  Die  Sonne  has  become  a  powerful  ally  of  the  republican  party.  In 
April,  1910,  the  Peoria  Sonne  Publishing  company  was  organized  with  L.  Ph. 
Wolf,  president;  Louis  Herrmann,  vice-president;  Hermann  Goldberger,  sec- 
retary and  William  C.  Grebe,  treasurer,  Mr.  Wolf  retaining  the  editorial  chair 
with' Hermann  Goldberger  as  city  editor  and  they  constitute  a  strong  team. 
"Die  Sonne"  is  fearless  in  its  expressions  of  opinion,  has  always  worked  for  the 
best  interests  of  Peoria  and  has  always  been  found  on  the  side  of  right  and 
justice.  It  is  these  qualities  that  have  given  it  its  commanding  prestige  and  its 
deserved  popularity. 

WEEKLY  PUBLICATIONS 

While  Peoria  journalism  had  its  beginning  in  weekly  publications,  which 
eventually  gave  way  to  the  dailies,  it  was  a  long  continued  practice  for  the  daily 
newspapers  to  issue  weekly  editions  and  for  many  years  the  tri-weekly  idea 
prevailed.  In  the  course  of  time  these  weekly  editions  were  dropped  and  are 
now  confined  to  the  German  publications.  With  the  newspapers  published  in 
the  English  language  the  Sunday  edition  has  taken  the  place  of  the  old  weekly. 
There  was  a  time,  however,  when  there  was  an  open  and  profitable  field  for 
weekly  papers,  not  connected  with  the  dailies,  and  which  were  not  newspapers 
in  the  strict  meaning  of  the  term.  They  were  known  as  "society  and  literary" 
publications  and  for  twenty  years  between  1870  and  1890  they  had  a  great 
vogue.  They  devoted  their  columns  to  topics  not  touched  upon  by  the  daily 
press,  chiefly  social  and  personal,  and  they  occupied  a  field  exclusively  their  own. 
Gradually  the  Sunday  editions  of  the  daily  newspapers  encroached  upon  their 
field  and'  in  the  end  supplanted  them.  The  weekly  society  sheet  could  not  cope 
with  publications  which  gave  substantially  the  same  information,  and  in  addi- 
tion published  the  news  of  the  day.  and  it  became  a  victim  to  the  remorseless  law 
of  the  survival  of  the  fittest. 

S.\TURDAY    EVENING    CALL 

The  most  pretentious  and  successful  of  these  weekly  society  publications 
was  the  Saturdav  Evening  Call  which  was  founded  by  three  men  who  came  to 
this  city  from  Terre  Haute,  Indiana  and  issued  the  first  number  on  April  7, 


I 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  415 

1877.  The  original  proprietors  were  Simeon  R.  Henderson,  who  was  the  editor, 
J.  D.  Weaver,  business  manager,  and  J.  W.  Clifton  was  superintendent  of  the 
mechanical  department.  They  published  a  remarkably  attractive  paper  which 
for  some  years  enjoyed  a  wide  circulation.  Henderson,  the  editor,  had  a  rare 
judgment  in  selecting  the  literary  material  and  was,  himself,  an  able  writer. 
Charles  \V.  Taylor,  who  for  the  past  twenty-five  years,  has  written  the  humor- 
ous sketches  which  appear  on  the  editorial  page  of  the  Chicago  Tribune  under 
the  caption  "In  A  JNlinor  Key"  was  for  several  years  connected  with  the  Call 
and  contributed  much  of  the  qualities  that  made  it  popular.  Later,  William 
Hawley  Smith,  who  subsecjuently  became  a  partner  of  the  late  Bill  Nye  on  the 
lyceum  platform,  bought  an  interest  in  the  sheet  and  was  its  managing  editor 
for  two  years.  In  1885  the  Call  was  sold  to  W.  Livingston  and  George  Sylves- 
ter, who  one  year  later  sold  it  to  Fred  Patee  and  Charles  \'ail.  Livingston 
went  to  Laramie,  Wyoming  and  edited  the  Boomerang  on  which  Bill  Nye  first 
rose  to  fame.  In  1866  the  paper  was  sold  to  Samuel  McGowan,  who  has  since 
become  noted  as  a  manager  of  Indian  schools  in  the  west  and  finally  it  passed 
into  the  possession  of  A.  M.  May  who  conducted  it  for  three  years  only  to  see 
it  gradually  expire. 

THE   SUND.W    MIRROR 

In  1902  R.  M.  Hanna,  who  at  that  time  was  holding  an  editorial  position  on 
the  Transcript,  with  A.  S.  Stone,  who  had  retired  from  the  management  of  the 
same  paper,  and  W.  W.  Welch,  a  reporter,  established  the  Sunday  Mirror.  They 
made  a  distinctive  local  sheet  and  traversed  the  entire  field  of  local  gossip,  con- 
stituting an  entertaining  and  attractive  publication.  Charles  B.  Smith  bought 
the  interest  of  Stone  and  Welch  and  after  conducting  it  for  eighteen  months  it 
was  sold  to  J.  W.  Hill,  J.  W.  Burton  and  Dr.  Eggleston  who  left  the  Herald  to 
become  the  editor  of  the  Mirror.  All  three  of  these  men  were  advocates  of  the 
single  ta.x  idea  and  it  was  run  in  that  interest  for  a  few  months,  but  unsuccess- 
fully and  in  1905  passed  out  of  existence. 

PEORIA   L.\nOR  GAZETTE 

The  only  weekly  publication  in  Peoria  at  the  present  time,  not  connected 
with  a  daily,  is  the  "Peoria  Labor  Gazette,"  which,  as  its  name  implies,  is  de- 
voted to  the  interests  of  the  union  labor  organizations.  It  was  established  in 
1895  '^y  George  Wilson  Bills  and  after  changing  ownership  two  or  three  times 
it  passed  into  the  possession  of  its  present  publisher,  Walter  H.  Bush,  who  has 
lieen  prominently  identified  with  union  labor  organizations  in  this  city  for  the 
past  twenty  years.  Being  a  practical  printer,  a  man  of  superior  intelligence  and 
having  a  thorough  knowledge  of  labor  conditions  he  has  established  the  Peoria 
Labor  Gazette  on  a  sound  financial  basis  which  assures  its  permanency.  It  is 
the  organ  of  the  Peoria  Trades  and  Labor  Assembly,  has  an  extensive  circula- 
tion and  lucrative  advertising  patronage  and  has  assumed  the  position  of  the 
leading  labor  paper  in  central    Illinois. 

THE    PRE.SS   OF   TODAY 

There  have  been  a  number  of  weekly  and  monthly  publications  started  in 
Peoria,  other  than  those  alluded  to,  in  the  ccnirse  of  the  past  half  century,  but 
they  had  merely  an  ephemeral  existence  and  have  long  been  forgotten.'  The 
press  of  Peoria  as  it  exists  today  is  confined  to  three  English  newspapers,  one 
morning  and  two  evening,  and  two  German  newspapers  having  weekly  editions. 
The  Herald-Transcript  is  issued  in  the  morning  and  the  Star,  journal,  Demokrat 
and  Die  Sonne  in  the  afternoon.  They  are  all  well  and  ably  edited,  occupy 
the  front  rank  in  provincial  journalism  and  hold  their  own  against  metropolitan 
competition.  They  represent  the  vital  interests  of  this  city  and  have  done,  and  are 
still  doing,  all  that  within  them  lies  to  advance  its  interests,  keeping  ever  an 
eye    upon    the   goal — "Greater    Peoria." 


I 


CHAPTER  XX\I]1 

ORC.ANIZATIONS OLD    SETTLERS'    ASSOCIATION — THE    PEORIA     WOMEN's     CHRISTIAN 

HOME     MISSION JOHN     C.     PROCTOR     ENDOWMENT^ — YOUNG     MEn's     CHRISTIAN 

ASSOCIATION YOUNG    WOMEN's   CHRISTIAN    ASSOCIATION— WOMAN's    CLUIl   AND 

OTHERS — DEACONESS    HOSPITAL — FRATERNAL  ORDERS. 

OLD    settlers'     ASSOCIATION 

Tlie  Old  Settlers'  Association  was  organized  at  a  meeting-  held  in  the  court 
house,  July  4,  1866.  John  Hamlin,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  county,  acted  as 
chairman,  and  Charles  Uallance,  pioneer  lawyer  and  local  historian,  secretary. 
There  was  a  large  attendance,  principally  of  the  old  people,  and  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  initial  assembly  presaged  many  more.  George  C.  Bestor,  Edward  F. 
Xowland  and  Charles  Hallance  were  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  a  con- 
stitution and  by-laws,  which  was  submitted  at  the  meeting  held  on  the  27th 
of  July,  1867,  and  adopted.  John  Hamlin  was  chairman  of  this  meeting  and 
Charles  Ballance  was  secretary. 

It  was  decided  to  style  the  association  the  "Old  Settlers'  Union  of  Peoria 
and  X'icinity,"  and  under  the  constitution  a  residence  of  thirty  years  in  the 
state  of  Illinois  prior  to  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  was  required  of  each 
person  applying  as  members  of  the  society.  This  provision  was  amended  at  the 
annual  meeting,  July  4,  1869,  so  as  to  read  as  follows:  "That  every  person  who 
has  resided  in  the  state  of  Illinois  prior  to  A.  D.  1840,  who  is  now  a  resident 
of  Peoria  or  this  vicinity,  shall  be  entitled  to  become  a  member  of  this  society 
by  signing  the  constitution  and  paying  the  initial  fee ;  and  the  children  of  any 
person  who  is  a  member  of  the  society  shall  be  entitled  to  membership  at  any 
age." 

A  number  of  the  very  early  settlers  signed  their  names  to  the  constitution, 
namely:  John  Hamlin,  1823;  Samuel  B.  King.  1831;  John  Todhunter,  1834; 
Matthew  Taggart,  1835;  Jacob  Hepperly,  1831  ;  Edward  F.  Nowland,  1835; 
John  C.  Flanagan,  1834;  John  T.  Lindsay,  1836:  .-Mvah  Dunlap,  1834;  Alvin 
W.  Bushnell,  1837;  George  W.  Fash,  1835;  Charles  Ballance,  1831  ;  John  Waugh. 
1836;  Samuel  Tart,  1834;  Joseph  J.  Thomas,  1837;  Thomas  Mooney,  Jr.,  1835; 
Daniel  Trail,  1834;  C.  M.  F"razier,  1834;  Elihu  N.  I^owell,  1836;  Lyman  J. 
Loomis,  1834;  George  W.  H.  Gilbert,  1837;  Allen  L.  Fahnestock,  1S37. 

In  addition  to  the  above  over  three  hundred  persons  joined  the  society  who 
dated  their  residence  in  the  county  back  to  1840,  most  of  whom  are  now  de- 
ceased. 

The  constitution  was  again  changed  in  1886,  so  as  to  admit  persons  to  mem- 
bership who  had  been  residents  of  Peoria  or  this  vicinity  for  a  period  of  thirty 
years  i)rior  to  that  date.  Provision  was  also  made  for  the  election  annually 
of  a  president,  two  vice  presidents,  recording  and  corresponding  secretaries  and 
a  treasurer,  and  since  the  beginning  of  the  society  annual  reunions  have  been 
held  at  various  places,  principally  in  the  public  parks  and  groves,  which  have 
been  attended  at  various  times  by  persons  of  prominence  throughout  the  state. 

One  of  the  most  noteworthy  events  in  the  history  of  the  association  was  the 
dedication  of  a  log  cabin  in  Glen  Oak  Park  at  the  annual  reunion  of  1897.     -'^ 

Vol.  1—2  7 

417 


418  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

cabin  had  been  erected  in  one  of  the  picturesque  spots  of  beautiful  Glen  Oak 
Park,  and  instead  of  a  corner  stone  laying,  the  event  was  celebrated  by  the 
laying  of  the  first  course  of  logs  on  the  21st  day  of  April,  1897.  The  meeting 
was  a  highly  successful  one.  Isaac  W.  Crandall,  builder  of  the  cabin,  was  the 
master  of  ceremonies.  Logs  were  used  for  seats  and  a  barrel  of  cider  was  on 
tap  during  the  exercises,  the  old  folks  and  young  using  a  primitive  gourd.  In 
the  cabin  at  that  time  were  placed  an  old  fashioned  organ,  a  spinning  wheel,  an 
old  style  bed,  made  up,  chairs  to  harmonize  with  their  surroundings  and  a  clock, 
sixty-five  years  old,  made  by  Ely  Terry,  the  first  clock  maker  in  the  country. 
Dried  apples,  dried  pumpkin,  catnip,  peppers  and  "yarbs"  were  suspended  from 
the  rafters,  as  was  the  wont  of  early  days.  Since  the  year  1895  Glen  Oak  Park 
has  been  the  regular  place  for  holding  these  reunions  which  occur  every  year 
and  at  many  of  them  the  assemblages  have  numbered  several  thousand  souls. 

THE    I'EORI.X    women's    CHRISTI.\N    HOME    MISSION 

Mrs.  E.  S.  Willcox 

It  was  in  the  year  of  1875,  at  the  close  of  a  series  of  Bible  readings  by  Rev. 
Henry  Morehouse  of  England,  that  a  number  of  Christian  women,  wishing  to 
enter  on  some  definite  service  for  the  Master,  organized  the  "Women's  Chris- 
tian Association,"  for  ministry  among  the  poor.  They  took  for  their  motto— 
"The  Pove  of  Christ  Constraineth  Us,"  and  they  went  forth  to  do  with  their 
mio-ht  whatever  their  hands  found  to  do  for  both  souls  and  bodies  of  the  poor 
and  needy.  It  was  during  the  same  year,  that  this  association  united  with 
another  of  like  purpose  which  had  been  organized  longer  in  the  Universalist 
church,  and  to  this  united  society  was  given  the  name  of  the  "Women's 
Christian  Home  Mission."  Its  first  work  was  the  systematic  visitation  of  the 
afflicted  poor.  The  city  was  divided  into  twelve  districts — two  visitors  serving 
in  each.  In  a  few  of  the  larger  ones  there  were  three.  Each  case  was  care- 
fully investigated  and  immediate  want  relieved.  Food,  clothing,  friendly  sym- 
pathy and  advice  given — the  prime  object  being  to  encourage  and  assist  those  in 
poverty  or  misfortune  to  become  self  supporting.  This  work  was  carried  on 
by  representatives  from  all  the  churches,  and  the  entire  work  of  the  mission 
from  the  beginning  has  been  strictly  non-sectarian.  It  is  to  the  faithful  work 
of  these  early  founders  of  the  Mission,  and  the  wise  leadership  of  its  presidents, 
Mrs.  Erastus  O.  Hardin  and  Mrs.  Lucie  B.  Tyng,  that  this  Association  owes 
its  broad  foundation  and  its  constantly  enlarged  powers  for  good  in  our  city. 

Its  second,  and  no  less  important  branch  of  work,  was  the  establishing  of  an 
industrial  school,  where  sewing  was  taught  to  girls  of  six  to  fourteen  years  of 
age.  Between  three  and  four  hundred  children  were  annually  enrolled  in  this 
school,  and  it  did  a  grand  work  through  a  competent  and  faithful  corps  of 
volunteer  teachers.  This  school  was  carried  on  for  many  years,  until  the 
formation  of  similar  ones  in  the  various  churches  rendered  it  no  longer  necessary. 

Meantime  the  need  of  a  temporary  home  for  friendless  women  and  children 
became  urgent.  The  first  experiment  in  this  line  was  the  opening  of  small 
c|uarters  (two  or  three  rooms)  on  Merriman  street,  which  served  our  needs 
for  one  year.  Then,  Peoria's  benefactress,  the  late  Mrs.  Lydia  Bradley,  came 
to  our  assistance  and  gave  us  the  rent  of  a  small  house  on  Seventh  street,  which 
answered  the  purpose  for  several  years.  It  only  accommodated  a  family  of  six 
or  eight,  but  it  proved  a  great  aid  in  the  work,  serving  not  only  as  a  home  for 
the  friendless,  but  as  a  depot  for  receiving  and  distributing  clothing  and  an 
employment  bureau,  and  fully  demonstrated  the  need  for  .larger  quarters  to 
meet  the  demands  for  the  growing  work.  In  1880  the  valuable  property,  corner 
of  Main  street  and  Flora  avenue,  was  offered  for  sale  at  a  very  low  figure. 
It  was  pleasantlv  situated  with  ample  grounds  (150  by  249  feet)  and  the  house 
ofl:'ered  accommodations  for  a  family  of  twenty-five  and  great  advantages  for 
our  endeavors. 


FIliST  (IliOUP  PKTrUE   EN'El!  TAKEX  OF  THE  OLD  SETTLERS  OF  l'EORL\  COUXTY 
AT  THEIR   AXXIAL   REIXIOX   AT  OLEXDALE   PARK   IX   isrs 


A   CKon-  OF   PEiiRIA   (dlXTV    noXKFi;s    vr   OLD  SI';irLi;i!S-    ncXR: 


c 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  419 

It  seemed  a  great  undertaking  to  raise  the  amount  necessary  ($5737),  but 
friends  responded  so  generously  to  a  committee  appointed  to  canvass  the  city, 
that  their  subscriptions,  with  a  gift  of  $1000  from  the  Orphan  Asylum  Asso- 
iation,  enabled  us  to  purchase  the  property.  By  October,  1881,  it  was  entirely 
paid  for  aud  ready  for  occupancy,  having  been  furnished  by  the  various  churches. 
For  ten  succeeding  years  it  gave  a  temporary  home  and  shelter  to  hundreds  of 
women  and  children — then  it,  too.  was  outgrown.  It  was  in  1890  that  the 
opportunity  came  to  sell  this  property  at  a  large  advance  over  the  price  paid 
for  it,  and  availing  ourselves  of  this,  to  build  the  present  beautiful  and  com- 
modious home  on  Knoxville  avenue. 

Our  family  here  averages  about  sixty-five  children,  occasionally  adults,  alto- 
gether with  matron  and  helpers  about  seventy.  It  is  under  the  supervision  of 
a  board  of  fifteen  managers,  chosen  by  the  mission,  all  faithful,  conscientious 
women,  whose  aim  it  is  to  give  these  unfortunate  and  helpless  little  ones  their 
personal  care  and  the  comforts,  training  and  advantages  of  a  well  ordered 
Christian  home.  Of  these  sixty-five  children,  some  are  fatherless,  some  are 
motherless,  others  have  been  deserted  by  one  or  both  of  their  unworthy,  irre- 
sponsible parents.  Some  are  dependent  wards  of  the  county,  and  of  all  these, 
many  are  returned  to  their  parents  when  the  need  of  temporary  help  is  past, 
or  parents  have  proved  themselves  able  and  worthy  to  care  for  them ;  and  some 
are  placed  in  homes.  About  fifty  attend  the  public  school  and  Arcadia  Sunday 
school.  For  the  fifteen  or  more  younger  ones  we  have  a  kindergarten  in  the 
home. 

Our  deiKirtments  of  work  at  the  present  time  are  the  Home  for  the  I<"riend- 
less  and  district  visiting  among  the  poor.  (Jther  branches  we  have  liad  are 
the  Bradley  Home  for  Aged  Women  and  The  Young  Women's  Boarding  Home 
(both  children  of  the  Alission),  established  and  carried  on  under  its  auspices 
for  many  years  until  funds  were  raised  for  each  to  make  them  independent 
institutions.  Our  friends  have  been  many  and  generous.  There  is  no  appeal 
which  touches  every  heart  like  that  for  helpless  and  neglected  children  and  we 
have  never  called  in  vain  for  help. 

It  was  in  1881  that  the  mission  received  a  bequest  of  $1,000  from  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Charles  Storrs,  of  Brooklyn,  in  memory  of  their  son-in-law,  David  Choate 
Proctor,  of  Peoria.  This  was  the  foundation  of  our  Endowment  Trust  Fund, 
for  which  some  twenty  or  more  be(|uests  have  since  been  received,  ranging  from 
$100  to  $10,000  and  which,  carefully  invested,  yields  an  income  of  $2,400  a 
year.  Parents  who  are  able,  pay  small  sums  weekly,  according  to  their  means. 
The  county  pays  $7  a  month  for  the  dependent  children  under  its  care.  And 
then  there  are  our  annual  subscriptions,  membership  fees  and  donations.  Our 
work  and  our  expenses  increase  with  the  years  of  which  we  have  closed  our 
record  of  thirty-six,  but  our  cruise  of  oil  has  not  failed,  and  we  go  on  our  way 
rejoicing  in  the  good  we  have  been  permitted  to  accomplish,  looking  forward  to 
still  greater  things  in  the  Master's  name.  The  officers  are:  Mrs.  E.  S.  Willcox, 
president;  Mrs.  Flora  D.  Kellogg,  first  vice  president;  Mrs.  Louise  D.  Elder, 
second  vice  president;  Mrs.  Isabella  C.  Ayres,  secretary;  Mrs.  T.  A.  Grier,  as- 
sistant secretary;  Miss  Julia  F.  Cockle,  treasurer. 

IXDUSTRI.VL    SCHOOL    FOR    GIRLS 

On  the  loth  dav  of  October.  1879,  a  permanent  organization  was  effected  by 
a  number  of  Christian  women  of  Peoria  who  had  conceived  a  plan  to  establish 
a  home,  wherein  should  be  placed  fallen  women,  in  the  endeavor  to  sequestrate 
tliem  from  former  companions  and  work  a  reformation  in  their  lives.  The 
'\\'oman's  Refuge  was  chosen  as  the  title  of  the  home  and  the  incorporator.-; 
were  Margaret  B.  Wise,  .\ugusta  L.  Farr,  Harriet  Holcomb,  Adaline  S.  Higbie, 
Catherine  L.  Truesdale  and  Margaret  B.  Reynolds.  As  set  forth  in  their 
;  articles  of  incorporation  the  object  was  to  rescue  fallen  women  and  provide  for 


420  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

them  homes  where  they  might  be  protected  and  surrounded  by  Christian  influ- 
ences. The  institution  first  found  a  location  on  Hale  street  and  there  remained 
two  years,  when  it  was  removed  to  613  North  Washington  street,  and  later  to 
914  Fourth  street.  The  home  was  supported  by  charitably  disposed  citizens. 
The  corporate  name  was  changed  in  1889  to  the  Women's  Peoria  County  Home 
of  Hlessing  for  Girls,  and  the  home  was  removed  to  property  purchased  on 
Richmond  avenue,  upon  which  a  building  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  about  $10,000. 
In  1892  the  association  was  incorporated  and  its  title  changed  to  that  of  "The 
Peoria  County  Industrial  School  for  Girls  and  Home  of  Lilessing."  The  pri- 
mary motives  of  the  association  were  abandoned  and  since  then  the  only  inmates 
of  the  institution  have  been  dependent  girls  committed  to  its  care  by  order  of 
the  county  courts  of  the  state. 

GUYER    HOME    FOR   AGED    PEOPLE 

This  most  worthy  institution  came  into  existence  through  the  beneficence 
of  one  of  Peoria's  Christian  and  benevolent  women,  Airs.  Alargaret  M.  Guyer. 
daughter  of  Zenas  Hotchkiss,  and  wife  of  Jacob  Guyer,  who  came  to  Peoria 
in  an  early  day,  engaged  in  farming  and  later  became  one  of  the  city's  wealthy 
business  men.  The  conception  of  the  home  was  that  of  Mrs.  Guyer,  but  before 
her  ambition  could  be  realized  she  passed  away  and  at  her  request  Mr.  Guyer 
prevailed  upon  a  number  of  prominent  women  of  the  city  to  form  an  associa- 
tion for  the  purposes  devised  by  his  wife.  Following  out  Mr.  Guyer's  desires, 
the  association  agreed  that  the  home  should  be  located  upon  the  Guyer  home- 
stead, situated  at  the  corner  of  Armstrong  and  Knoxville  avenues,  that  the  home 
should  be  for  the  benefit  of  persons  of  good  character,  temperate  habits,  resi- 
dents of  the  county  of  Peoria  for  three  years  and  not  less  than  sixty  years  of 
age  who,  on  account  of  reduced  circumstances,  or  other  vicissitudes  of  fortune 
should  not  be  adequately  provided  with  homes  of  their  own.  Also  that  other 
deserving  aged  persons  might  be  admitted  and  that  the  trustees  should  be  chosen 
from  the  same  denominations  of  Protestant  churches  as  far  as  practicable  and 
that  divine  services  should  be  held  at  the  home  at  least  once  on  every  Sabl)ath 

da\-. 

The  association  was  incorporated  on  July  9,  1889,  and  the  first  board  of 
trustees  consisted  of  Sarah  Proctor  Howe,  president;  Sarah  E.  Hodges  and 
Frances  E.  Fahnestock.  vice  presidents;  Lillie  Ballance  Rice,  secretary;  Har- 
riet Hepperly  Hotchkiss,  treasurer.  The  first  members  were  Mary  E.  Bailey, 
Lucie  P..  Tvng,  Susan  S.  Clagg,  Lucy  G.  Allaire,  Lucy  M.  Ross,  Mary  F. 
McCulloch.  Mary  Bunn  \'an  Tassell,  Flora  Day  Kellogg,  ]Martha  B.  Reynolds 
and  Lucv  W.  Baldwin. 

The  home  was  opened  for  the  reception  of  inmates  in  the  summer  of  1889 
and  its  capacity  has  been  taxed  ever  since  that  time. 

THE  JOHN  C.  PROCTOR  ENDOWMENT  HOME 

The  name  of  Proctor  has  been  made  enduring  and  one  to  be  venerated  in  this 
comnumity  bv  the  beneficence  and  magnificent  generosity  of  a  life-long  bachelor 
member  of  the  family — a  man  whose  character  stood  the  test  of  time  and,  like 
the  great  Bayard,  was  sans  peiir  ct  sans  rcproachc. 

In  the  year  1845  Tohn  C.  Proctor  arrived  in  Peoria  and  with  his  brother, 
E.  A.  Proctor,  began  "the  manufacture  of  agricultural  implements  and  was  suc- 
cessful. In  1830,  he  engaged  in  an  extensive  lumber  business  and  achieved  more 
success.  He  oVganized  the  First  National  Bank  in  1863  and  was  its  president 
from  tile  vear  1875  to  within  a  few  months  of  his  death,  and  in  all  his  great 
business  affairs  and'  activities  he  proved  a  master  hand  and  accumulated  a  fortune 
estimated  at  over  two  million  dollars. 


.lOHN   (.    I'lliil   TtiU 


THE   J.  C.    PUOCroR    EXIMIWMEXT 


THE   i'i;(H"i'i)i;  iihsi'ital 


I 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  421 

During  all  the  years  of  Mr.  Proctor's  life  in  the  busy  marts  of  trade,  barter 
and  finance,  it  is  possible  that  enemies  were  made,  through  envy  and  ignorance 
of  the  motives  actuating  the  man  in  his  ambition  to  accumulate  a  vast  fortune, 
luit  if  this  obtained,  all  was  lost  in  forgetfulness  when  the  intelligence  electrified 
the  people  that  John  C.  Proctor  had  donated  a  home  for  the  worthy  poor  of  all 
ages,  and  ambitious  l)oys  and  girls  in  cpiest  of  a  means  of  livelihood. 

It  was  on  the  26th  day  of  June.  1904,  that  the  people  of  Peoria  were  notified 
through  the  columns  of  the  Journal,  that  John  C.  Proctor  would  erect  a  home 
for  dependents,  on  the  beautiful  grounds  known  as  Spring  Hill  park,  and  it  was 
but  a  short  time  thereafter  that  a  contract  had  been  let  for  the  massive  building. 
( )n  the  morning  of  .August  2"/,  1906,  the  house  was  oj^ened  and  twenty  applicants 
were  given  homes  for  the  rest  of  their  lives. 

The  liuilding  is  one  of  the  handsomest  structures  of  the  kind  in  the  country. 
It  is  ])ractically  square,  occupying  a  ground  space  of  160.x  1  do  feet,  four  stories 
in  height,  exclusive  of  an  attic  and  basement.  The  material  used  is  a  greyish 
( )hio  stone  and  the  architectural  design  is  highly  pleasing.  The  interior  is  all 
that  could  be  desired  for  an  institution  of  its  kind  and  a  special  feature  is  the 
auditorium,  which  has  a  seating  capacity  of  400.    The  cost  was  $282,000. 

In  April,  1907,  John  C.  Pro'-tor,  against  the  strenuous  objection  of  relatives, 
became  a  resident  of  the  home  he  had  founded  in  the  interest  of  humanity,  and 
early  in  the  morning  of  June  22,  1907,  he  passed  away  in  The  Proctor  Endow- 
ment Home,  mourned  not  only  by  a  large  group  of  relatives,  but  also  by  a  com- 
munity that  had  benefited  so  vastly  through  his  enormous  benefactions. 

Jlie  John  C.  Proctor  Endowment,  which  took  on  concrete  form  during  the 
life  of  the  donor,  amounted  to  about  $300,000;  but  shortly  after  the  reading  of 
Mr.  Proctor's  will,  it  developed  that  his  estate  amounted  to  over  two  million 
dollars  and  that  of  this  great  sum  of  money  he  had  devised  but  $115,000  to  rela- 
tives and  the  residue  to  the  John  C.  Proctor  Endowment,  to  be  held  in  trust  for- 
ever by  the  trustees  and  their  successors,  who  were  designated  in  the  will  as  fol- 
lows: J.  S.  Stevens,  O.  J.  Bailey,  David  H.  Proctor,  .\aron  S.  Oakford,  R.  R. 
llourland,    I'redericl;    F".    Plossom,   William   E.    Stone. 

YOUNG    men's   christian    ..\SS0CI.\TI0N 

The  chronicler  of  events  gives  us  no  date  relating  to  a  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  in  Peoria  prior  to  the  year  1853.  It  is  known,  however,  that  in 
the  winter  of  that  year  a  course  of  lectures  was  delivered  under  the  auspices 
of  the  "Young  Alen's  Christian  Association"  of  Peoria.  Among  men  of  promi- 
nence of  that  day  who  favored  the  public  with  their  views  upon  subjects  of  interest 
to  the  association.  Judge  McCuIloch  in  his  history  of  Peoria  county,  mentions 
Professor  Jonathan  P..  Turner,  of  Jacksonville,  Rev.  John  W.  Cracraft,  rector  of 
St.  Paul's  parish,  Peoria,  President  Blanchard,  of  Knox  College,  Rev.  Robert 
V.  Farris,  pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  church,  Peoria,  and  Hon.  Onslow 
Peters,  judge  of  the  circuit  court  of  Peoria. 

It  is  stated  that  in  the  year  1858  a  great  religious  awakening  came  upon 
the  people  of  this  community  and  as  a  result  a  reorganization  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  .Association  was  accomplished  in  the  month  of  May  of  that 
year.  .\t  a  meeting  held  at  that  time,  Alexander  G.  Tyng  was  chosen  president ; 
Thomas  G.  McCulloch  and  Henry  ls\.  Kellogg,  vice  presidents;  Calvin  C.  Lines, 
recording  secretary ;  Horace  Champlain,  corresponding  secretary ;  and  Larkin 
1!.  Day,  treasurer.  The  meeting  place  was  in  the  building  now  occupied  by  the 
First  National  Bank  but  before  the  lapse  of  the  year  new  quarters  were  secured 
in  the  lecture  room  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church,  corner  Main  and  Madison. 

In  1859  ,\.  G.  Tyng  was  reelected  president  and  he  continued  to  hold  the 
office  until  1862,  when  William  Reynolds  succeeded  him.  In  the  latter  year  the 
association  was  incorporated,  its  capitalization  being  the  modest  sum  of  $750. 
At  that  time  the  membership  was  but  twenty-six  and  from  them  was  chosen 
a  war  committee,  who  directed  the  operations  of  the  association   in  connection 


422  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

with  the  Christian  Commission  which  had  been  organized  early  in  the  previous 
year  for  the  purjjose  of  lending  all  possible  aid  to  the  men  battling  for  the  Union 
and  their  families  at  home. 

The  association  kept  up  its  meetings  all  through  the  war  and  it  ajjpears  that 
Alexander  G.  Tyng,  the  first  president,  was  again  holding  the  chair  in  the  years 
1867  and  1868.  At  this  time  the  association  held  its  meetings  in  a  room  opposite 
the  postoffice  on  Main  street.  In  1870  and  1871  George  II.  Mcllvaine  was  presi- 
dent. 

There  must  have  been  a  lapse  in  the  meetings  of  the  association  for  a  few 
years,  for  the  records  show  that  the  present  association  was  organized  August 
r8,  1879.  IMartin  Kingman  was  president,  and  Henry  S.  Sayles,  secretary,  for 
that  year.  The  membership  was  twenty-three.  Rooms  were  secured  over  Irwin 
&  Company's  store,   102- 104  South  Adams  street. 

William  X.  P'isher  succeeded  Mr.  Sayles  as  president  in  the  fall  of  1879  and 
continued  in  the  office  until  June.  1881.  On  September  12,  1881,  James  M.  Rice, 
lately  deceased,  was  elected  president  and  served  until  September,  1883.  On 
December  16,  1882,  however,  the  association  was  incorporated  and  in  the  fall  of 
1881  rooms  in  the  second  story  of  a  building  on  the  corner  of  Adams  and  Fulton 
streets,  formerly  occupied  by  the  Peoria  Boat  Club,  were  leased  and  nicely  fur- 
nished.    These  were  occupied  until  the  fall  of  1884. 

Martin  Kingman  succeeded  Mr.  Rice  in  1883,  and  on  the  expiration  of  a 
year  was  succeeded  by  Oliver  J.  Bailey.  Headquarters  were  again  changed  in 
1884,  this  time  to  the  Criiger  property,  213  South  Jefferson  street,  and  remained 
there  until  i8gi,  when  the  association  became  permanently  situated  in  a  building 
constructed  especially  for  the  purpose  at  115  North  Jefferson  street.  The  corner- 
stone of  this  building  had  been  laid  with  appropriate  exercises,  March  17,  1890, 
and  was  ready  for  occupancy  at  the  time  indicated  in  this  article.  At  the  time 
of  its  dedication,  however,  the  building  caused  the  association  to  assume  obliga- 
tions it  could  not  fulfill,  so  that  the  burden  becoming  so  heavy  and  the  associa- 
tion being  unable  to  meet  its  heavy  indebtedness,  the  building  was  sold  in  1909 
to  the  publishers  of  the  German-Democrat.  At  the  same  time  a  number  of 
warm  hearted  and  generous  citizens  who  held  certain  notes  against  the  associa- 
tion cancelled  them  and  with  the  money  received  for  the  building  all  indebted- 
ness was  obliterated.  The  association  then  established  temporary  headquarters 
in  room  431  Jefferson  building,  where  it  remained  until  moving  into  its  present 
magnificent  new  home. 

When  the  old  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building  on  Jefferson  street  was  sold  a  campaign 
was  at  once  started  for  the  purpose  of  raising  funds  with  which  to  erect  a  new 
Iniilding.  A.  I\I.  Ward,  of  New  York,  an  international  secretary,  was  engaged 
to  take  charge  of  the  campaign.  The  work  started  in  June,  1909,  and  at  the  end 
of  ten  days  of  a  strenuous  and  magnificent  canvass,  the  splendid  sum  of  $103,500 
had  been  pledged  for  a  new  building,  which  was  to  be  supplied  with  all  modern 
equipments.  Later  a  building  committee  was  selected,  composed  of  E.  C.  Fos- 
ter, chairman,  J.  M.  Morse,  J.  A.  Harman,  E.  T.  Miller  and  W.  E.  McRoberts. 
On  December  2,  1909,  the  contract  for  the  construction  of  the  building  was 
awarded  to  Fred  Meintz,  and  the  firms  of  Shattuck  &  Hussey,  Chicago,  and 
Howard  &  Emerson,  of  Peoria,  were  secured  to  draw  the  plans  for  a  $75,000 
structure.  Work  was  commenced  on  the  building  later  on  and  by  the  middle  of 
July,  1912,  it  was  turned  over  to  the  officers  of  the  association,  completed.  It 
stands  on  the  corner  of  Si.xth  avenue  and  P'ranklin  street,  on  a  lot  previously 
purchased  by  the  association  and  is  one  of  the  finest  structures  of  its  kind  in  the 
state.  It  was  anticipated  that  the  dedicatory  services  would  be  held  on  August 
1st.  The  cost  of  the  building  and  lot  was  $105,000,  and  furnishings,  $15,000, 
which  was  all  paid  up  at  its  completion. 

The  present  officers  are  as  follows :  President,  Horace  Clark ;  vice  presi- 
dent, E.  C.  Foster:  recording  secretary,  F.  H.  Avery;  treasurer  building  fund, 
S.  D.  Wead ;  general  secretary,  Herbert   H.   Holmes ;  directors,   Horace  Clark, 


ST.  FRANCIS   IKiSI'ITAL  AND  CHAPKI,.  TEOIUA 


YOUNG  women's    Christian -association 


YOUNG   \\(IMI-;X'S  (JIKIslIAV    ASSi )(  I  Alii  >\    |U   ILDIXC.   I'KuKIA 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  423 

E.  C.  Foster,  F.  M.  Avery.  B.  Cowell,  D.  S.  Long,  J.  M.  Morse,  William  Haz- 
zard,  \\'.  G.  Causey.  George  F.  Carson,  W.  C.  Collins,  H.  \V.  Lynch,  J.  A.  Har- 
man,  F.  S.  Wallace,  Leonard  Hillis,  M.  W.  Rotchford,  J.  T.  Neilson ;  physical 
director.  H.  D.  Sanborn;  boys'  secretary.  A.  S.  Kresky ;  association  secretaries. 
T.  J.  Killin  and  J.  H.  Kopp. 

RAILROAD   V.    M.    C.   A. 

The  Railroad  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  commenced  work  in  Peoria, 
Decemijer  i.  1900,  and  it  is  located  at  2336  South  Washington  street  in  a  build- 
ing 40x75  feet,  two  stories  in  height,  with  liasement.  This  structure  contains 
twenty-nine  sleeping  rooms,  a  reading  room,  amusement  room,  temporary  hospi- 
tal, lunch  counter,  dining  room,  bath  room,  barber  shop,  store  rooms,  etc.,  and 
its  total  cost  was  $17,500,  mainly  the  investment  of  the  Peoria  &  Pekin  Union 
railways.  Its  oliject  is  to  furnish  the  best  facilities  to  railroad  men  for  body, 
character  and  soul-building  by  giving  its  members,  at  a  nominal  cost,  clean, 
wholesome  food  and  other  necessaries  and  pleasures.  Its  memliership,  composed 
exclusively  of  railroad  men,  numbers  250. 

YOUNG    women's    CHRISTIAN    AS.SOCI.\TI0N 

At  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  new  building  occupied  by  the  Young 
Women's  Christian  Association.  Jennie  Adair  Johnston  read  a  history  of  the 
society,  from  which  the  following  generous  extracts  are  taken :  In  November, 
1893,  -Miss  Jennie  Martin,  of  the  Illinois  state  board,  and  Miss  Ida  Bradshaw, 
of  the  Wisconsin  state  board  of  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association, 
arrived  in  Peoria  and  started  out  to  interest  the  people  here  in  the  movement  for 
the  organization  of  a  Young  Women's  Christian  Association.  They  found  pub- 
lic opinion  in  .sympathy  with  the  cause  and  after  a  few  days'  canvass  a  meeting 
was  held  in  the  parlor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  church  and  the  longed-for 
society  was  organized  under  the  constitution  recommended  by  the  international 
committee,  with  officers  and  board  of  managers  as  follows :  Mrs.  Anna  W. 
Rogers,  Mrs.  Mary  M.  McCulloch,  Mrs.  Ida  Bourland,  Mrs.  Annie  E.  Dough- 
erty. Mrs.  A.  E.  Petherbridge.  Mrs.  Addie  Hazzard,  Mrs.  Katie  M.  Day,  Mrs. 
Catlierine  M.  Hill.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  W.  Henry,  Mrs.  Jessie  S.  Page,  Mrs.  Mary 
W.  Parker,  Mrs.  Linda  B.  Tobias.  Mrs.  Henry  Rouse,  Mrs.  Hannah  M.  Hough- 
ton and  Miss   Florence   Bannister. 

The  newly  formed  society  held  its  first  meeting  December  9.  1893,  in  the 
parlor  of  the  woman's  auxiliary  of  the  Young  Alen's  Christian  Association 
building,  with  Mrs.  Jennie  S.  Page  in  the  chair.  Committees  were  appointed  on 
membership,  finance,  education,  social,  devotional  and  furnishing,  and  at  the 
second  meeting  held  January  26,  1894,  in  the  same  place,  a  rei)ort  read  indicated 
that  $600  in  money  had  been  pledged.  At  the  meeting  the  principal  discussion 
was  over  the  matter  of  a  home  for  the  association  and  a  dwelling,  standing 
between  the  Dime  Savings  Bank  and  Bartlett's  store,  was  selected  for  the 
society's  home. 

.A.  membership  of  300  was  reported  at  a  meeting  held  in  February,  1894, 
and  measures  were  at  once  taken  to  secure  a  secretary.  At  a  meeting  held 
I'ebruary  27th  following,  articles  of  incorporation  were  filed  and  an  advisory 
board  appointed,  consisting  of  George  Page.  J.  \\'.  Rogers.  David  McCulloch, 
N.  C.  Dougherty  and  O.  J.  Bailey.  Miss  Ida  May  Hickok  was  secured  as  secre- 
tary but  after  a  short  time  she  resigned  and  in  August  Miss  Caroline  Palmer 
was  appointed.  Educational  classes  were  instituted  and  efi'orts  were  made  to 
secure  the  attendance  of  girls  working  in  the  various  hotels,  factories  and  stores. 

Soon  after  the  association  had  been  installed  in  its  new  home  the  building 
was  sold  and  another  one  was  rented  of  Mr.  Norton.  To  this  building  the  as- 
sociation moved  and  remained  for  a  period  of  fourteen  years. 


424  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

In  1905  Miss  Harriet  \'ance,  of  Portland,  Oregon,  was  called  to  the  sec- 
retaryship, and  the  membership  of  the  association  having  grown  to  pleasing 
])roportions,  this  zealous  young  woman  put  forth  every  effort  toward  creating  a 
sentiment  in  favor  of  securing  a  lot  and  building  a  modern  home  for  the  as- 
sociation. The  work  initiated  by  her  was  kept  up  and  in  March,  1907,  several 
competing  organizations  were  formed  among  the  young  lady  members  and  an 
active  campaign  was  inaugurated  in  which  the  sum  of  $34,000  was  pledged  for 
the  home.  In  the  fall  of  1907  ]Miss  Ida  Starkweather  was  called  as  general 
secretary.  Miss  Vance  having  accepted  a  call  to  Pittsburg,  and  under  the  skill- 
ful engineering  of  Miss  Starkweather,  aided  by  enthusiastic  lieutenants,  and 
strong  public  sentiment,  ground  was  broken  on  March  4,  1907,  on  a  lot  previously 
purchased,  and  on  April  30th  following,  the  corner  stone  of  the  building  was  laid. 
Dr.  Arthur  Little,  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  church,  being  master  of  ceremonies. 
The  beautiful  building,  which  cost  $30,000  and  standing  on  a  lot  for  which 
$8,000  was  paid,  was  dedicated  and  thrown  open  to  the  public,  Fridav.  January 
I,  1909.  The  structure  stands  on  Liberty  street,  between  Jefferson  and  Madi- 
son, and  the  design  is  along  old  English  lines,  being  constructed  of  brick,  with 
long  windows,  pillared  porch  and  solid  front.  It  covers  the  entire  lot,  63  feet 
front  and  933^  feet  in  length.  The  front  is  of  brown  vitrified  brick.  Standing 
three  stories  in  height  and  having  a  complete  basement,  there  seems  to  be 
nothing  that  has  been  forgotten  in  the  beautiful  home.  The  interior  is  very 
home-like  and  very  tastefully  and  conveniently  arranged.  There  is  a  library,  liv- 
ing room,  class  room,  dining  room,  tea  room,  assembly  hall  and  a  well  appointed 
gymnasium. 

The  association  building  is  open  daily  from  8  a.  m.  to  9  p.  m.  and  the 
reading  and  rest  rooms  are  governed  by  the  same  rules.  Cafeteria  lunch  is 
served  to  gentlemen  as  well  as  ladies  from  1 1  130  in  the  morning  to  i  :30,  daily, 
except  Sundays,  with  supper  on  Saturday  evenings  from  5 130  to  7 :30.  There 
is  an  employment  and  boarding  directory  and  membership  is  open  to  all  women 
of  good  moral  character.  The  annual  fees  are:  A  regular,  $1;  junior,  50  cents; 
sustaining,  $5.  Membership  in  the  association  entitles  one  to  the  use  of  the 
building  at  all  times — the  parlor,  library,  rest  rooms,  employment  bureau,  board- 
ing house  directory,  cafeteria,  social-  occasions,  entertainments  and  lectures. 
Some  of  the  classes  admit  members  free  of  charge.  These  are  the  literature, 
travel  and  Bible  classes,  also  the  glee  club.  Other  classes  require  a  small  ad- 
ditional fee,  such  as  art  needle  work,  sewing,  millinery  and  others. 

The  membership  of  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association  now  numbers 
1,306.  The  officers  for  1912  are:  Mrs.  W.  C.  Collins,  president;  Miss  Elizabeth 
McKenzie,  general  secretary ;  ^liss  Alice  R.  Reynolds,  extension  secretary ; 
Miss  Laura  Bryan,  office  secretary;  Miss  Florence  !M.  Parmelee,  physical  di- 
rector; Miss  Inez  C.  Dusten,  cafeteria  director;  Mrs.  Helen  AIcDowell,  matron; 
Mrs.  Flora  B.  Reagan,  travelers'  aid. 

THE   CREVE    COEUR   CLUB 

The  Creve  Coeur  Club  was  organized  April  3,  1894,  by  the  incorporators. 
Theodore  Kuhl,  Elwood  A.  Cole,  Joseph  E.  Callender,  Frank  B.  Xewell,  Horace 
Clark,  Jr.,  Frank  H.  Gift,  H.  G.  Rouse,  Charles  R.  Warner  and  Charles  E. 
Wheelock.  The  association  takes  its  name  from  the  celebrated  fort  built  by 
La  Salle,  and  its  object  is  to  promote  the  business  interests  of  the  city  of 
Peoria  and  the  social  enjoyment  of  its  members.  The  management  is  vested  in 
a  board  of  nine  directors.  The  officers  for  the  first  year  were:  Theodore  Kuhl, 
president ;  Charles  R.  Warner,  vice  president ;  Joseph  E.  Callender.  secretary : 
Frederick  F.  Blossom,  treasurer.  The  home  of  the  club  is  a  magnificent  modern 
building  erected  for  the  purpose  on  the  corner  of  Jefferson  and  Liberty  streets. 
The  membership  is  large  and  is  composed  of  business  and  professional  men. 
It  is  democratic  in  character  and  non-political. 


PEORIA  COUNTRY  CLUB 


CRKVE  COEUR  CLUB,  PEORIA 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  425 

THE  co^^'■|■K^■   club 

The  Country  Club  of  Peoria  was  incorporated  June  2(),  1897,  and  has  iov  its 
object  the  encouragement  of  athletic  exercises,  recreation  and  social  enjoyment. 
Its  management  is  vested  in  a  board  of  eleven  directors  and  its  membership  is 
about  I  ^5.  The  first  board  of  directors  consisted  of  Walter  P.  Colburn.  Frank- 
lin T  Corning.  Sumner  R.  Clarke,  Frederick  H.  Smith,  R.  W.  Kempshall,  J.  B. 
(Jreenhut,  Nathaniel  (iriswold,  R.  D.  Clarke,  ClifTord  M.  Anthony,  H.  Frederick 
Steele,  Jacob  Wachenheimer.  The  first  officers  were:  Frederick  T.  Corning, 
president;  Walter  P.  Colburn,  vice  president;  R.  D.  Clarke,  secretary;  and 
Frederick  H.  Smith,  treasurer. 

The  club  grounds  are  situated  in  Peoria  Heights  and  contain  twenty-seven 
acres  overlooking  the  Illinois  river.  The  original  club  house  was  formerly  the 
residence  of  -Mrs.  Caroline  S.  Gibson,  but  recently  a  new  building  has  been 
erected  and  a  lookout  from  which  the  surrounding  country  can  he  seen  for  many 
miles.  The  spot  chosen  is  an  ideal  one  and  is  pointed  out  to  strangers  visiting 
the  city  as  a  place  to  be  seen  before  leaving.  Adjoining  the  grounds  is  a  tract 
of  land  consisting  of  fortv  acres,  devoted  to  golfing. 

Other  clubs  that  should  be  especially  mentioned  are  the  Women  Teachers' 
Chib.  which  was  organized  in  the  fall  of  1897,  with  Miss  Kate  Rutherford,  pres- 
ident;  the  New  Era  Women's  Club,  organized  November  12,  1892,  with  twelve 
charter  members ;  the  Peoria  Art  League,  previously  known  as  the  Sketch  Club, 
organized  in  the  winter  of  1890-1.  Its  charter  members  were  Grant  Wright, 
Carl  Pehl,  .A..  P..  Marston,  L.  A.  Loomis,  a  pioneer  artist  of  Peoria,  Walter 
l.aird,  llcdlev  W.  Wavcott,  Jesse  Watson,  Albert  Chilcott,  Frank  Goss,  Orie 
Siivdcr,   l'"red'  Klein.  Robert  Slack,  William  Kerr  and  Robert  Weller. 

THE   l)E.\CONESS    HOME   AND    HOSPIT.\L 

Some  twentv-six  vears  ago,  a  zealous  and  energetic  woman  of  the  church, 
.Mrs.  Lucv  Rvder  :Mever,  founded  the  order  of  the  Deaconesses  of  the  Aleth- 
odist  F])i.scopal  Church,  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  and  opened  a  Deaconess'  home 
and  training  school  at  or  near  tlie  corner  of  Rush  and  Ohio  streets,  for  the 
purpose  of  organizing  and  training  volunteer  young  women  for  Christian  and 
charitable  work  among  the  jjoor  and  needy,  and  under  the  auspices  of  the  church. 

The  work  has  prospered  so  that  beside  the  large  home  and  Wesley  Hospital 
in  Chicago,  deaconess'  homes,  training  schools  and  hospitals  have  been  estal)- 
lislied  and  maintained  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  oceans,  and  quite  a  num- 
ber of  deaconesses  have  gone  to  foreign  countries  as  missionaries.  About  the 
year  iS()8,  one  of  the  deaconesses,  T^Iiss  Ida  Phillips,  came  to  this  city  and  through 
her  efforts,  the  Deaconess'  Home  and  Hos|)ital  of  the  Central  Illinois  Confer- 
ence was  established  here. 

iMillowing  the  arrival  of  Miss  Phillips,  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Meth- 
odist churches  were  held  and  the  work  discussed,  and  resolutions  were  passed 
asking  the  Central  Illinois  conference  to  establish  a  home  and  hospital  in  the  city, 
of  Peoria.  The  conference  which  met  that  fall,  took  such  action,  and  November 
I,  1898,  a  meeting  of  those  interested  was  held,  which  meeting  was  continued 
to  Novemlier  7th.  .Vt  this  time  a  board  of  trustees  and  necessary  officers  were 
elected,  an  association  having  been  incorporated  October  28,  1898,  under  the 
corporate  name  of  The  Deaconess'  Home  and  Hospital  of  the  Central  Illinois 
Conference,  with  the  following  named  as  first  trustees:  I*".  W'.  Merrell.  G.  R. 
Shafer.  Jacob  Straesser,  Dr.  W.  W.  Wyatt,  Mrs.  L.  E.  Bovee.  C.  T.  McFall, 
:Miss  Ida  Phillips.  Mrs.  M.  Rogers,  Mrs.  Florence  Gardner.  C.  V.  Engstrom. 
William  Schleicher  and  William  Hazzard.  This  board  of  trustees  was  reelected, 
with  the  exception  of  William  Schleicher,  who  declined  to  serve.  November 
14th  following,  the  terms  of  the  trustees  were  fixed  as  follows:  F.  W.  Merrell, 
V.V...  three  vears;  G.  R.  Shafer.  two  years;  Mrs.  L.  E.  Bovee.  two  years;  C.  Y. 


426  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

Engstroni,  two  years ;  Jacob  Straesser,  three  years ;  Miss  Ida  Phillips,  three 
years;  i\Irs.  M.  Rogers,  one  year;  Dr.  W.  W.  VVyatt,  one  year;  Mrs.  Florence 
Gardner,  one  year;  C.  E.  McFall,  two  years;  and  William  Hazzard,  one  year. 
Mrs.  Gardner  resigned,  and  William  Taylor,  of  Edwards,  was  elected  in  her 
stead.  The  officers  elected  were  as  follows :  F.  W.  Merrell,  president  of  the 
board ;  Jacob  Straesser,  vice  president ;  C.  V.  Engstrom,  treasurer,  which  office 
he  still  holds ;  and  Miss  Ida  Phillips,  financial  superintendent. 

November  23,  1898,  the  trustees  purchased  from  Mrs.  Lydia  Bradley  the 
large  brick  residence  now  known  as  Ko.  221  Glen  Oak  avenue,  for  $12,000.  The 
association  commenced  at  once  to  make  the  necessary  alterations  and  repairs 
and  a  few  months  later  opened  the  home  and  hospital,  with  Miss  Lucy  Hall, 
a  deaconess,  as  superintendent  and  matron,  with  a  corps  of  nurses. 

From  the  beginning  the  new  hospital  was  a  success  and  gained  the  praise  of 
physicians  and  patients.  However,  after  it  had  been  in  operation  a  couple  of 
years,  a  neigbor  complained  against  it  as  a  nuisance  and  the  hospital  was  closed. 
On  the  1st  of  December,  1905,  the  board  of  trustees  obtained  an  option  on  the 
property  and  an  agreement  was  entered  into  with  Mrs.  Amelia  Bontjes,  by 
which  they  afterwards  purchased  from  the  latter  the  property  adjoining  the 
home  and  hospital  on  the  west  side,  for  $13,000,  the  former  hospital  was  again 
opened.  In  the  meantime  the  board  of  trustees  had  purchased  the  vacant  lot 
on  the  east  side  of  the  hospital  and  later  sold  the  Bontjes  property  to  Dr.  E. 
W'.  Oliver  at  a  considerable  financial  loss,  but  with  stringent  provisions  in  the 
deed  which  are  intended  to  forever  preclude  the  possibility  of  further  injunc- 
tion proceedings. 

In  the  fall  of  1910  Rev.  J.  E.  Mercer,  having  been  financial  agent  for  several 
years,  and  having  been  quite  successful  in  securing  funds  and  pledges,  the 
board  of  trustees  decided  to  begin  the  erection  of  a  new  hosi^ital  building,  con- 
sisting of  a  central  building  and  two  wings,  and  contracted  with  William  Z. 
Martin,  a  local  contractor,  for  the  erection  of  one  of  the  wings.  The  dimen- 
sions of  this  wing  are  62  x  75  feet  and  five  stories  high.  It  is  designed  in  the 
renaissance  style  of  architecture,  with  the  face  wall  of  the  basement  story  of 
buff  Bedford  stone.  The  next  three  stories  are  faced  with  dark  brick,  and  the 
upper  story  with  buff  brick  with  appropriate  stone  and  dark  brick  trimmings. 
The  basement  or  first  story  has  two  large  wards,  one  for  men  and  one  for  women 
and  children,  with  necessary  bath  rooms,  toilet  rooms,  linen  room,  and  diet 
kitchen.  Here  also  are  the  autopsy  room,  morgue  and  room  for  heating  plant, 
and  all  are  to  be  connected  for  present  use,  with  the  old  building,  by  an  ap- 
propriate passage  way.  The  main  floor  accommodates  the  administration  rooms, 
doctor's  room,  drug  room  and  a  number  of  private  wards  with  bath  and  toilet 
rooms.  The  second  and  third  floors  will  be  devoted  to  private  rooms,  a  num- 
ber of  which  will  have  baths  attached.  The  fourth  story  is  to  contain  the  operat- 
ing room,  surgeons'  room,  instrument  and  sterilizing  rooms,  nurses'  dining  room 
and  main  kitchen,  with  dumb  waiters  connecting  with  the  various  floors.  On 
the  roof,  open  air  rooms  for  convalescents  are  to  be  arranged.  The  entire 
building  is  to  be  fire  proof,  and  will  contain  every  known  convenience  of  the 
modern  hospital.  The  ventilation  will  be  so  arranged  that  the  fresh  air  supply 
for  each  room  may  be  controlled  independent  of  every  other  room,  and  suitable 
to  the  needs  of  each  patient.  Every  known  appliance  in  the  way  of  elevators, 
electric  lights,  electric  calls,  sanitary  floors,  etc.  will  be  supplied.  This  part 
of  the  entire  building  will  cost  from  $50,000  to  $70,000,  and  the  entire  contem- 
plated hospital  building  will  present  a  frontage  of  about  160  feet  in  Glen  Oak 
aveiuie,  and  is  expected  to  cost  $200,000. 

The  grounds  have  an  extensive  frontage  on  Glen  Oak  avenue  and  Knoxville 
avenue  and  extend  back  to  Crescent  avenue.  The  architect  of  the  new  build- 
ing is  B.  L.  Hulsebus,  of  Peoria. 

The  report  to  the  session  of  the  Central  Illinois  conference  which  met  in  this 
city  September  6-1 1,   191 1,  shows  that  under  the  efficient  management  of  Miss 


NEW  nriM)iX(;  OF  the 

DEACONESS'  HOSPITAL 
^■ie^v  from  the  east 


l)i:.\l  OXKSS'    IIOSIMTAL.    PEORIA 
\ic\\    tiikru   fniiii   the  north,  showiiiir  all  of   the  liuihliiig- 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  427 

Nellie  Irene  Young,  .superintendent  of  nurses.  231  patients  received  care  in  the 
liospital  during  the  preceding  year.  (  )f  the.se  103  were  surgical  cases.  Charity 
work  amounting  to  $2,364.88  was  clone.  Under  the  management  of  Rev.  W. 
R.  Wiley,  the  present  efficient  general  superintendent  and  financial  agent,  there 
has  been  gratifying  success  in  raising  the  necessary  funds  to  carry  on  the  work. 
It  is  expected  that  the  wing  now  under  construction  will  be  completed  in  a  few 
months  and   will  accommodate  from   forty  to  fifty  patients. 

The  management  of  the  home  and  hospital  is  under  a  board  of  trustees  con- 
sisting of  twenty-five  members,  of  whom  thirteen  are  ministers,  and  twelve, 
laymen.  The  present  officers  of  the  board  are:  Rev.  O.  T.  Dwinell,  ijresident : 
Dr.  W.  W.  Wyatt,  vice  president;  L.  C.  llinckle.  secretary;  and  C.  V.  Eng- 
.strom,  treasurer.  Rev.  J.  W.  Pruen  is  auditor  and  Rev.  \V.  R.  Wiley,  superin- 
tendent. The  executive  committee  consists  of  Revs.  O.  T.  Dwinell.  S.  P. 
Archer.  W.  D.  Evans,  C.  \'.  Engstrom,  Jacob  Straesser,  William  Taylor  and  L. 
C.  Hinckle. 

The  entire  funtls  for  construction  and  support,  aside  from  what  may  be 
received  from  paying  ])atients,  arise  from  donations.  The  board  now  owns  a 
fine  farm  of  one  hundred  and  si.xty  acres  near  Emden,  Illinois,  donated  for  the 
purpose. 

THE    FRID.W    CLUB 

The  Friday  Club  is  the  oldest  women's  club  in  Peoria,  having  been  in  ex- 
istence since  1873.  At  that  time  Mrs.  E.  D.  Hardin  invited  to  her  house  a  group 
of  women  who  called  themselves  jokingly  at  first  "The  Tired  Mother's  Club." 
While  they  read  and  discussed  books  and  magazines,  their  children  played  on 
the  spacious  grounds  of  Mrs.  Hardin's  home.  The  club  is  unique,  for  in  all 
these  years  it  has  never  had  any  officers,  or  any  constitution  or  rules,  yet  it  has 
never  failed  to  ofifer  a  delightful  literary  program  at  its  bi-monthly  meetings,  and 
its  members,  who  volunteer  one  after  another  to  take  charge  of  the  arrange- 
ments, are  devotedly  attached  to  its  interests  and  to  one  another.  Any  daughter 
of  a  member  or  granddaughter  (and  there  are  granddaughters  now)  is  entitled 
to  membership  as  a  birthright.  Twenty-five  has  been  the  average  membership 
and  the  meetings  of  late  vears  have  been  held  not  at  one  ])lace,  but  in  the  homes 
of  the  difi^erent  women.  The  club  has  joined  the  Civic  Federation  and  has  often 
helped  some  specially  needed  cause. 

THE   PEORI.X    women's    CLUB 

The  Peoria  Women's  Club  has  been  in  existence  since  January  20,  t886,  at 
which  time  the  first  little  group  of  women  assembled  in  response  to  a  call  issued 
by  Mrs.  Clara  P.  iiourland. 

Beginning  with  twenty-seven  members,  the  club  grew  steadily,  increasing  al- 
ways in  strength  and  usefulness,  until  now  the  membership  is  close  to  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty.  Its  objects,  "mutual  sympathy  and  counsel  and  united  efTort  to- 
w-ard  the  higher  civilization  of  humanity.''  were  felt  to  be  best  served  by  dis- 
tributing the  work  under  various  departments.  These  are  now  the  home  and 
education,  art  and  literature,  social  science  and  music  deiiartments.  Each  de- 
])artment  offers  a  number  of  classes  for  the  pleasure  and  instruction  of  mem- 
Ijers.  The  home  and  education  department  has  nearly  always  maintained  a  class 
in  current  events  and  for  many  years  a  large  and  enthusiastic  travel  class.  Lately 
classes  in  domestic  science  and  parliamentary  law  have  been  organized.  The  art 
and  literature  department  has  practically  from  the  beginning  of  the  club  life 
given  classes  in  the  study  of  history,  literature  and  arts  of  various  countries, 
with  particular  attention  to  the  study  of  Shakespeare's  work  and  that  of  Brown- 
ing. The  Shakespeare  class  closes  its  year's  work  with  a  presentation  of  one 
of  the  master's  plays,  given  in  costume  and  always  with  much  spirit  and  intelli- 


428  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

gence.  Recently  a  class  in  the  study  of  modern  drama  has  been  formed.  This 
department  has  also  given  a  number  of  excellent  exhibits  of  engravings,  oil  and 
water  color  paintings,  etchings  and  photographs,  all  of  a  high  standard. 

The  department  of  social  science  has  taken  an  active  part  in  many  good  works 
for  the  community.  It  set  on  foot  the  movement  which  eventually  resulted  in 
the  establishment  of  the  present  hospital  for  the  insane  at  Bartonville,  secured 
the  passage  of  an  ordinance  prohibiting  expectoration  in  the  street  cars  and  on 
sidewalks  and  the  appointment  of  a  police  matron.  It  has  supported  at  differ- 
ent times  cooking  classes  for  girls,  a  boys'  club,  and  for  a  year  or  more,  until 
the  state  provided  a  worker,  paid  the  salary  of  a  teacher  who  instructed  the 
adult  blind  of  Peoria,  in  reading,  typewriting,  etc. 

This  season,  1911-12,  it  has  given  one  hundred  dollars  toward  the  Detention 
Home  and  is  interested  in  the  establishment  of  a  separate  school  room  for  de- 
fective children. 

The  music  department  is  the  only  one  which  holds  regular  bi-monthlv  meet- 
ings. It  has  a  large  membership  and  provides  most  interesting  programs,  which, 
although  prepared  as  studies,  give  great  pleasure  to  the  audiences  and  help  to 
spread  the  knowledge  and  understanding  of  music.  At  one  time  the  department 
had  a  mandolin  and  guitar  orchestra,  and  for  the  last  few  years  has  done  splen- 
did work  with  its  Woman's  Club  Chorus.  The  class  has  given  several  concerts 
and  is  always  ready  to  contribute  its  share  to  the  club  entertainments.  In  the 
fall  of  191 1  a  new  department,  called  the  evening  department,  was  formed  for 
the  benefit  of  professional  and  business  women,  whose  duties  prevented  their 
attending  the  day  sessions  of  the  club.  It  meets  twice  a  month  to  discuss  cur- 
rent events  and  to  enjoy  a  literary  program  at  eight  o'clock,  after  which  a  sup- 
per is  served  by  the  domestic  science  class. 

The  general  meetings  of  the  club  are  held  on  the  second  and  fourtli  Mondays 
of  the  months  from  October  to  June,  the  topics  presented  being  divided  among 
the  interests  of  all  departments.  While  the  papers  and  addresses  have  been 
contributed  largely  by  club  members,  there  has  been  a  steadily  growing  tendency 
to  secure  speakers  from  out  of  town,  which  has  added  variety  and  breadth  to 
the  program.  The  club  has  had  lectures  from  Julia  Marlowe,  Frederick  Ward, 
Walker  Whiteside,  Julia  Ward  Howe,  Abbey  Sage  Richardson,  Judge  Lindsey. 
Jane  Addams  and  many  others  equally  noted,  and  the  concert  committee  in  addi- 
tion to  the  work  of  the  music  department,  provided  for  many  years  a  course 
of  from  three  to  five  concerts,  at  which  there  appeared  such  world  renowned 
artists  as  the  members  of  the  Kneisel  and  Spering  Quartettes,  Fritz  Kreisler, 
Josef  Hofman.  Bloomfield  Zeisler,  George  Hamlin,  Herbert  Witherspoou  and 
Cecil  Fanning.  The  joy  and  inspiration  which  such  artists  as  these  have  brought 
to  Peoria's  people,  cannot  be  too  highly  estimated  and  the  musical  life  of  the 
city  owes  a  tremendous  debt  to  the  Women's  Club,  which  has  preserved  the 
highest  standards,  no  matter  what  the  discouragements  or  difficulties. 

The  dramatic  committee  has  presented  many  plays  of  interest  and  usually 
provides  the  entertainment  for  Founders'  Day,  which  is  always  celebrated  Janu- 
ary 20th.  Other  special  events,  in  charge  of  the  social  committee,  are  the  presi- 
dent's reception  to  new  members,  given  in  the  autumn,  the  informal  tea  and 
social  half  hour,  which  follows  the  monthly  meetings,  and  the  annual  breakfast, 
which  closes  the  club  year  in  May.  The  first  meetings  of  the  club  were  held  in 
the  Pettengill  Seminary  and  Uiereafter  at  the  National  Hotel  parlors  until  Janu- 
ary, 1894.  when  the  club  moved  to  its  own  building,  at  the  corner  of  Madison 
and  Fayette  streets.  The  first  thought  had  been  to  erect  a  modest  building, 
adapted  to  club  purposes  only,  but  the  need  of  a  hall  for  chamber,  music  and 
lectures  had  been  so  strongly  urged  by  musicians  and  friends  outside  the  club 
that  the  present  plan,  though  it  involved  heavier  responsibility,  was  adopted. 

Previous  to  this  a  stock  company  had  been  formed,  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$25,000.  The  shares  were  placed  at  $10  and  were  chiefly  taken  by  club  mem- 
bers.    The  change  of  plan  alluded  to  could  only  be  effected  by  increasing  the 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  429 

capital  stock,  or  by  placing  a  mortgage  upon  the  Intilding.  The  latter  course 
was  preferred  and  the  club  was  left,  upon  the  completion  of  the  building,  with 
a  debt  of  $16,000. 

Plain  and  substantial  in  design  and  construction,  the  house  has  demonstrated 
over  and  over  again  the  wisdom  of  its  building.  It  is  free  of  debt  and  kept 
in  perfect  repair  to  date.  Twice  has  the  Peoria  Women's  Club  been  hostess,  in 
her  own  home,  to  the  Illinois  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs;  twice  has  the  State 
Conference  of  Charities  found  ample  and  convenient  hospitality  under  this  roof. 

If,  as  we  are  told,  the  laws  which  govern  the  acoustics  of  a  building  are  im- 
perfectly understood,  a  happy  accident,  it  may  be  said,  has  made  the  music  hall 
almost  perfect  in  this  respect.  Numbers  of  great  singers  and  players  upon  in- 
struments have  been  enthusiastic  in  their  expression  of  the  ease  with  which  they 
could  play  or  sing  in  our  hall.  This  hall,  which  covers  the  entire  second  floor 
will  seat  five  hundred  and  twenty-five  people,  and  is  frequently  rented  for 
theatricals,  musicals,  and  conventions.  The  lower  floor  has  a  large  dining  room 
and  parlor,  ample  dressing  rooms  and  a  room  for  the  board  of  directors.  This 
lower  floor  has  proved  a  delightful  social  meeting  place  and  is  in  great  demand 
for  dances  and  recejitions.  The  club  possesses  a  number  of  really  fine  paintings 
— gifts  from  various  members — which  add  much  to  its  beauty  and  attractiveness. 

Mrs.  Clara  P.  P.ourland  was  the  first  president  of  the  club  and  was  reelected 
to  this  office  for  twenty-five  years,  wlien  she  resigned  and  the  title  of  president 
emeritus  was  conferred  upon  her.  To  her  untiring  interest  and  zeal  the  club 
owes  its  home  and  the  larger  part  of  its  prosperity. 

The  club  was  incorporated  in  July,  1890,  and  is  a  member  of  the  City,  District 
and  State  Federations  of  Women's  Clubs.  It  has  a  record  of  fine  things  accom- 
plished and  plans  for  the  future  which  will  make  it  a  still  greater  factor  in  the 
betterment  of  civic  life. 

NEW   ER.\   woman's    CLUB 

This  club  was  organized  in  the  city  of  Peoria  in  iSg2,  having  ten  charter 
members,  with  Mrs.  M.  L.  White  president. 

The  meetings  are  held  semi-monthly  at  the  home  of  a  member.  The  object 
of  the  club,  as  stated  in  the  constitution,  is  the  improvement  intellectually  and 
socially  of  its  members,  but  the  work  has  been  broadened,  and  assistance  has 
been  given  to  many  worthy  objects. 

The  club  holds  membership  in  the  Illinois  Federation  as  also  in  the  District 
Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  and  the  Civic  Federation  of  the  City  of  Peoria. 

There  is  always  a  banquet  in  mid-winter  and  an  outing  at  the  close  of  the 
year,  to  both  of  which  the  husbands  are  invited.  Next  October  (1912)  the  club 
will  celebrate  its  twentieth  anniversary.  The  present  presiding  officer  is  Mrs. 
Isabelle  Collins. 

C.\THOLIC   women's  LE.\GUE 

The  Catholic  Women's  League  was  organized  in  February,  1894.  .Strictly 
speaking,  it  is  not  a  woman's  club;  it  is  an  organization  for  the  general  good 
and  advancement  of  humanity  in  a  charitable  way.  During  the  Spanish-Ameri- 
can war.  great  quantities  of  bandages,  fruits  and  jellies  were  sent  to  the  front 
bv  the  league. 

For  many  years  a  sewing  school,  then  a  cooking  school,  were  maintanied 
by  the  league  at  the  Neighborhood  House,  but  after  a  few  years  the  need  of  a 
dav  nursery  was  evident  and  the  cooking  school  was  abandoned.  The  nursery, 
in  charge  of  a  competent  matron,  has  been  flourishing  for  the  past  four  years. 
As  many  as  twentv-four  children  have  been  cared  for  there  in  a  day,  although 
the  average  is  about  eleven.  The  cost  of  maintaining  the  day  nursery  is  about 
sixtv-five  dollars  a  month. 


430  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

The  league's  income  is  derived  principally  from  the  annual  league  supper, 
which  lakes  place  at  the  Coliseum  each  November.  Over  a  thousand  are  served 
with  supper,  followed  by  dancing,  and  the  affair  is  always  a  success  financially 
and  socially.    Another  service  of  income  is  the  annual  Tag  Day. 

The  meetings  are  held  at  the  Knights  of  Columbus  hall  on  the  first  antl  third 
Monday  of  each  month.     The  league  is  connected  with  the  Civic  Federation. 

The  officers  for  igii-12  are:  President,  Mrs.  John  D.  Carey;  financial  sec- 
retary, Mrs.  Walter  Clogston;  recording  secretary,  Mrs.  James  E.  Tinan;  treas- 
urer, Mrs.  Oliver  J.  Dolan. 

CURRENT  EVENTS  CLUB 

The  Current  Events  Club  was  organized  in  January,  1896,  for  intellectual 
improvement  and  for  the  study  of  important  events  of  the  day.  It  meets  every 
two  weeks.  Mrs.  Eva  V'an  Tassell  was  the  first  president,  and  the  present  offi- 
cers are:  Mrs.  H.  C.  Linis,  president;  Mrs.  M.  L.  Ducker,  vice  president;  Mrs. 
A.  E.  Giles,  secretary ;  Mrs.  J.  H.  Riggs,  treasurer. 

The  membership  is  limited  to  twenty.  The  club  is  a  member  of  the  Civic 
Federation  and  does  its  full  share  in  assisting  all  the  work  thereof,  both  finan- 
cially and  in  other  service. 

THE  AULD  LANG  SYNE  CLUB 

was  organized  October,  1897,  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  N.  J.  Jacquin.  ]\Irs. 
Lucia  AI.  Swayze  was  elected  president,  which  office  she  has  held  ever  since, 
having  been  elected  later  for  life.  The  present  officers  are:  Mrs.  Lucia  M. 
Swayze,  president ;  Mrs.  William  W.  Meeker,  vice  president ;  Mrs.  U.  N.  Clark, 
secretary  ;  Mrs.  M.  M.  P>assett,  treasurer. 

The  membership  is  limited  to  twenty-five,  and  is  composed  entirely  of  ladies 
who  once  resided  in  Pekin,  Illinois.  The  main  object  of  the  organization  was  to 
perpetuate  this  friendship  of  former  years.  Meetings  are  held  regularly  on  the 
second  Wednesday  of  each  month.  Short  miscellaneous  programs  are  given, 
current  events  and  civic  problems  discussed.  During  the  past  five  years  the 
greater  part  of  dues  collected  have  been  donated  to  philanthropic  institutions. 

PEORLV  WOMEN   TEACHERS'   CLUB 

The  Peoria  \\'omen  Teachers'  Club  was  organized  in  1897  and  Miss  Kate 
Rutherford  was  the  first  president.  The  others  who  have  served  in  that  capacity 
have  come  from  all  the  ranks  in  the  teaching  profession :  principals  of  schools, 
high  school  and  grade  teachers  and  supervisors.  All  have  worked  faithfully 
and  well.  The  present  officers  are:  Miss  Edna  Earnest,  president;  Miss  Esther 
Szold  and  Miss  Emma  Boynton,  vice  presidents ;  Miss  Margaret  Mauschbach. 
recording  secretary;  Miss  Elizabeth  Persinger,  corresponding  secretary;  INIiss 
Iva  Distler,  treasurer. 

The  club  helps  support  the  depot  matron  and  helps  financially  an  industrial 
school  for  girls.  It  is  a  member  of  the  Civic.  District  and  State  Federations 
and  does  its  share  in  their  good  works.  It  has  for  a  number  of  years  provided 
a  fine  course  of  lectures  and  entertainments  for  its  members  and  friends  and 
Drought  many  prominent  people  to  Peoria. 

COLLEGE    woman's    CLUB 

The  College  Woman's  Club  of  Peoria  w\as  organized  October  21.  1897,  with 
Miss  Helen  Partlett  as  president.  Its  present  membership  is  seventy-five,  and 
its  officers  for  1911-12  are:  Miss  Mary  B.  Blossom,  president;  Aliss  Elizabeth 
Jack,  vice  president;  Miss  Vera  Hays,  secretary;  and  Mrs.  Anne  Kleene,  treas- 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  431 

urer.  The  aim  of  the  clul)  is  to  promote  college  interest  and  to  maintain  a 
spirit  of  fellowship  among  its  members.  It  has  contributed  money  to  and  also 
sewed  for  several  charitable  organizations.  This  year  the  proceeds  from  a 
number  of  lectures,  which  have  been  given  from  time  to  time,  accumulated 
sufficiently  to  enable  the  club  to  offer  a  $150  scholarship  to  a  young  woman 
desiring  a  college  education,  and  also  to  start  a  loan  fund  which  may  be  used 
to  tide  college  students  over  temporary   financial   difficulties. 

NORTH    PE0K1.\    WOMEN's    CLUB 

The  Xorth  Peoria  Women's  Club  was  organized  in  September,  1898,  its 
object  being  the  intellectual  improvement  of  its  members,  all  of  whom  were 
busy  housewives.  Its  first  president  was  Mrs.  Francis  M.  O.  Schnebly,  who 
held  the  position  for  five  years.  The  membership  of  the  club  is  limited  to  fifty. 
At  the  present  time  this  list  is  full.  The  club  meets  at  the  homes  of  its  mem- 
bers fortnightly  on  Wednesdays,  from  October  through  May,  inclusive.  The 
study  this  year  comprises  three  of  Shakespeare's  plays. 

The  present  officers  are:  Mrs.  William  We.x,  president;  Mrs.  L.  A.  Howes, 
vice  president;  Mrs.  W^illiam  Faber,  secretary-treasurer;  Mrs.  L.  B.  Follansbee, 
assistant    secretary-treasurer. 

The  club  is  a  member  of  the  Civic  Federation  and  has  always  been  among 
the    first   to   respoml    when   help  was  needed. 

WEST     BLUFF     NINETEENTH     CENTURY     CLUB 

The  West  Bluff  Nineteenth  Century  Club  was  organized  in  the  summer  of 
1898  for  the  accomplishment  of  a  systematic  course  of  reading  and  for  the 
advantage  offered  by  organization,  intellectually  and  socially.  There  were 
originally  thirteen  members. 

The  first  meeting  was  held  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Bourscheidt,  Friday,  July 
29,  \H()S.  At  this  meeting  Mrs.  Bourscheidt  was  elected  president  and  Airs. 
I.  D.  Wick,  secretary.  Ill  health  soon  compelled  Mrs.  Bourscheidt  to  resign 
and  Mrs.  Heffner  was  elected.  The  membership  has  increased  to  twenty.  This 
year  }ilrs.  Clara  L.  Johnston  is  president;  Mrs.  W.  W.  Dewey,  vice  president; 
Mrs.  Charles  Klepinger,  secretary;  Mrs.  E.  T.  Grady,  referee;  and  Mrs.  L.  B. 
]\Iartin,  treasurer.  The  clul)  is  a  member  of  the  Civic  Federation  and  supports 
the  federation  actively  in  all  work  proposed. 

OUTLOOK    CLUB 

The  Outlook  Club  was  organized  in  1898,  with  twelve  charter  members. 
The  objects  of  this  club  are,  by  union,  "to  promote  the  happiness  and  usefulness 
of  its  members  and  to  create  a  center  of  enjoyment,  friendship  and  culture." 

The  Outlook  Club  affiliated  with  the  District  Federation  in  1901.  It  also 
is  represented  in  the  Civic  Federation  of  Peoria,  and  through  this  organization 
does  more  or  less  charitable  and  philanthropic  work.  The  club  numbers  twenty- 
four  members  at  the  present  time  and  the  topic  for  study  this  year  (1912)  is 
"America  Today." 

The  present  officers  are:  President,  Mrs.  S.  R.  Quigley ;  vice  president,  Mrs. 
A.  X.  Dunseth;  secretary  and  treasurer,  Mrs.  R.  T.  May;  critic,  Mrs.  G.  A. 
Parkhurst ;  journalist.  Miss  M.  E.  Wliitakcr. 

THE    RESE.\KCn    CLUB 

Fourteen  years  ago  some  ladies  decided  to  form  a  club  whose  object  should 
be  the  careful  study  of  current  events  and  the  discussion  of  literary  and  scien- 
tific questions  which  entailed  considerable  research.    The  Research  Club  was  the 


432  .  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

result  of  that  decision.  The  members  have  lived  up  to  the  club's  motto:  "From 
each  according  to  her  ability;  to  each  according  to  her  needs." 

The  club  colors  are  pink  and  white.  The  carnation  is  the  club  flower  and 
the  active  membership  is  limited  to  thirty.  Meetings  are  held  every  alternate 
Friday  at  the  residences  of  members. 

The  officers  for  the  season  of  1911-12  are:  President,  Georgie  Niebuhr; 
vice  president,  Cleo  Barbour;  recording  secretary,  Edith  Frye ;  corresponding 
secretary,  Florence  Merrill;  treasurer,  Katherine  Wheeler;  critic,  Drusilla 
Dailv ;  treasurer  of  flower  fund,  Carrie  Allison. 

The  club  is  a  member  of  the  Civic  l^^deration,  contributes  annually  to  the 
support  of  the  truant  officers'  work  and  has  also  given  to  many  other  philan- 
thropic  enterprises. 

women's  aid  club 

The  colored  Women's  Aid  Club  was  organized  in  May,  1899,  by  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth Lindsay  Davis,  of  Chicago,  and  Mrs.  B.  Y.  George,  of  ^Elmwood;  also 
]\Irs.  Franklin  Hall,  formerly  of  Peoria.  The  object  was  charity  alone  when 
first  organized,  but  since  then  it  has  branched  out  and  is  helping  along  all  lines 
of  philanthropy  and  civic  improvement. 

The  club  has  made  arrangements  for  the  purchase  of  a  lot  on  Globe  street, 
and  as  soon  as  a  sufficient  amount  of  the  purchase  price  has  been  paid,  it  is 
earnestly  desired,  by  the  members,  that  improvement  of  the  property,  in  the 
erection'  of  a  suitable  building,  will  soon  be  started,  so  as  to  meet  the  needs 
and  demands  of  the  colored  people. 

This  club  is  incorporated  under  the  state  laws  and  has  a  membership  of  about 
forty-five.  The  officers:  President,  Ida  Savage;  vice  president,  Melvina  Cotton; 
secretary,  Sarah  Sheppard ;  assistant  secretary,  Effie  Harper;  treasurer,  Sarah 
Floyd. 

/  AS  YOU   LIKE  IT   CLUB 

The  idea  of  a  club  for  a  limited  area  of  the  West  Bluft'  originated  with 
Miss  Julia  Arnold  Kempshall.  Mrs.  E.  O.  Sisson,  wife  of  the  first  dean  of 
Bradley  Polytechnic  Institute,  was  persuaded  to  give  it  her  support,  and  on 
January  2,  igoi,  the  club  was  organized  at  her  home.  The  first  regiflar  meeting 
was  held  on  January  15th  and  Miss  Julia  Kempshall  became  the  first  president. 

The  club  was  not  named  until  February  20,  1901,  when,  at  the  home  of  Mrs. 
Sisson,  the  name  As  You  Like  It,  was  chosen  as  most  appropriate,  because  of 
the  peculiar  character  of  the  organization.  Its  members  are  required  to  have 
residence  within  a  certain  restricted  area,  and  must  be  voted  in  by  secret  ba'.  Jt. 
The  basis  of  membership  is  ability  and  willingness  to  share  in  the  work  of  the 
club.     The  membership  is  limited  to  thirty. 

The  present  officers  are:  President,  Mrs.  Wifliam  J.  Ralzer :  vice  president, 
Mrs.  Hugh  Weston;  secretary-treasurer,  Mrs.  Luther  C.  Hinckle. 

For  the  year  1912  the  study  is  on  the  Growth  and  Development  of  the  Mid- 
dle West,  the  club's  meetings  are  held  on  the  first  and  third  Wednesdays  from 
October  to  June.  In  addition  to  study  topics  the  club  is  interested  in  civic 
problems  and  is  ready  and  willing  to  aid  in  any  undertaking  that  has  for  its 
object  a  better  and  more  beautiful  Peoria.  It  is  a  member  of  the  Civic  Federa- 
tion. 

mothers'  club 

The  Peoria  Mothers'  Club  was  organized  January  15,  1904,  its  object  being 
to  promote  a  higher  and  more  perfect  standard  of  motherhood  among  its  mem- 
bers.    The  seven  charter  members  were  Mrs.  Charles  A.  Bennett,  Mrs.  W.  H. 


PEORIA   WOMAN'S   CLUB 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  433 

Packard,  Mrs.  M.  C.  Fritts.  Mrs.  W.  F.  Raymond,  Mrs.  S.  G.  Lutz  and  Mrs. 
C.  S.  \'an  Deusen.  The  ckib  has  since  grown  to  a  membership  of  thirty-five 
and  has  joined  the  Illinois  Congress  of  Mothers.  In  addition  to  their  object 
of  increasing  their  own  efficiency  in  the  home  and  studying  the  methods  which 
will  best  develop  the  physical,  intellectual  and  spiritual  nature  of  their  children, 
thev  have  given  special  attention  to  child  welfare  in  a  broader  sense,  also  to 
women  in  industry.  Through  their  efforts  the  children's  rooms,  in  connection 
with  the  public  library,  were  opened,  and  the  Child  Welfare  League  organized. 
This  league  which  has  only  just  commenced  its  activities  (summer  of  1912), 
is  preparing  to  establish  branches  in  every  school  and  will  meet  a  great  need 
in  Peoria  by  extending  the  spirit  of  true  motherhood  and  fatherhood  into  the 
community  life.     It  is  a  member  of  the  Civic  Federation. 

The  present  officers  are:  President,  Mrs.  Rudolph  Pfeiffer;  vice  president, 
Mrs.  F.  P.  Lewis ;  secretary.  Mrs.  C.  E.  Goss ;  assistant  secretary,  Mrs.  Hugh 
Weston;  treasurer,  Mrs.  J.  F.  Cooper. 

THE   PEORI.\    women's    CIVIC    FEDER.\TION 

The  Peoria  Women's  Civic  Federation  was  organized  in  April,  1905,  and 
was  the  outgrowth  of  a  concerted  effort  on  the  part  of  Peoria  club  women  to 
secure  a  truant  officer  for  the  city.  The  nineteen  clubs  who  requested  the 
school  board  to  appoint  such  an  officer  accomplished  by  the  combining  of  forces 
what  individual  clubs  had  tried  in  vain  to  do.  Thereafter  each  agreed  to  send 
its  president  and  two  other  delegates  to  a  monthly  meeting  and  to  unite  in  all 
work   for  civic  betterment. 

The  first  officers  were:  Mrs.  Julia  P.  White,  president;  Mrs.  J.  A.  Black, 
vice  president;  Mrs.  Minnie  A.  Fritts,  secretary;  and  Mrs.  A.  B.  Fink,  treasurer. 

From  the  first  the  federation  took  a  very  active  interest  in  the  juvenile  court 
work,  then  just  beginning  in  Peoria,  and  the  members  assigned  to  a  Juvenile 
Court  Committee  acted  as  voluntary  probation  officers  until  the  county  was 
able  to  appoint  a  paid  official.  The  need  of  a  county  detention  home,  as  a 
supplement  to  the  juvenile  court  work,  very  soon  became  apparent,  but  after 
long  and  arduous  work  on  the  part  of  the  Detention  Home  Committee,  it  was 
found  impossible  to  combine  the  city  and  county  forces  and  neither  alone  was 
willing  to  erect  the  home.  The  committee  then  succeeded  in  having  the  legisla- 
ture pass  a  law  which  permits  each  county  in  the  state  to  submit  to  its  voters 
the  matter  of  levying  a  special  tax  for  such  a  home.  Other  financial  burdens, 
however,  lay  heavily  upon  Peoria  county  and  have  made  it  seem  unwise  to 
submit  the  proposition  so  far.  In  the  autumn  of  1911  the  need  became  so  great, 
steps  were  taken  to  arrange  for  a  temporary  detention  home,  the  rent  of  a 
building  having  been  donated  for  a  three  year  period  by  the  Peoria  Betterment 
Association.  The  federation  agreed  to  remodel  the  building  if  the  county  would 
maintain  the  home,  and  under  its  president.  Airs.  Julia  Starr,  raised  $1,119.79 
for  this  purpose.  The  home  was  opened  in  April,  1912,  but  the  federation  will 
not  rest  satisfied  until  a  jiermanent  detention  home  built  for  the  specific  jnirpose 
is  established. 

\'ery  valuable  work  is  being  done  by  the  Dorcas  Committee,  organized  in 
December,  1907,  which  maintains  a  weekly  sewing  class  at  the  Neighborhood 
House  throughout  the  school  year.  Here  women  are  taught  to  mend  and  darn, 
to  make  new  garments  and  remodel  old  ones.  Their  time  is  counted  worth 
fifteen  cents  an  hour  and  is  paid  for  in  the  finished  garments,  or  shoes,  hats, 
etc.,  if  desired.  This  work  was  started  to  assist  the  truant  officer  who  says  it 
has,  in  that  district,  practically  done  away  with  the  excuse  that  children  cannot 
go  to  school  because  they  have  not  proper  clothing. 

The  Garden  Committee,  in  the  spring  of  1907,  gave  seeds  to  a  number  of 
school  children  in  the  crowded  districts  and  later  prizes  for  the  garden  showing 
the  best  care  and  results.     In  1908-9  two  large,  vacant  lots  in  opposite  ends  of 


434  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

the  city  were  divided  into  small  squares  and  apportioned  to  children  interested. 
Many  valuable  lessons  in  manners  and  morals,  as  well  as  gardening,  were  given, 
and  many  a  home  was  supplied  bountifully  with  vegetables,  but  the  work  was 
greatly  hampered  by  the  lack  of  a  worker  who  could  give  his  or  her  whole  time 
to  it  and  must  wait  for  the  best  results  until  such  a  one  can  be  hired. 

The  various  committees,  such  as  the  Saloon  and  Cigarette,  Garbage,  Clean 
Cit}-  and  I'ublic  Health,  have  each  worked  hard  along  the  lines  indicated  by 
their  names,  but  each  has  in  the  end  bumped  hard  into  city  ordinances,  boards 
of  health  or  state  laws  and  has  found  in  the  bumps  unanswerable  arguments  in 
favor  of  woman's  suffrage. 

The  federation  assists  materially  in  putting  the  kindergartens  into  the  public 
school  system  and  in  securing  later  in  placing  the  salaries  of  kindergartners  on 
an  equality  with  other  teachers.  Through  its  efforts  a  curfew  law  was  adopted, 
which  has  proved  an  effective  weapon  in  many  cases,  and  would  be  a  greater 
one  if  all  policemen  had  the  training  of  probation  officers  and  realized  the  bene- 
fits of  keeping  children  under  sixteen  oft"  the  streets  in  the  evening.  Members 
of  the  educational  committee  have  given  talks  on  social  hygiene  to  the  mothers 
in  public  school  meetings  and  elsewhere  and  have  awakened  a  greater  interest 
in  this  vital  question  among  the  teachers  of  the  city.  The  federation  cooperates 
\yith  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  in  supporting  a  "traveler's  aid"  and  has  from  time  to 
time   raised   substantial   sums   of   money    for  various    charities. 

The  federation  now  includes  twenty-nine  societies — literary  and  philan- 
thropic organizations  and  those  connected  with  churches.  In  November,  191 1,  it 
became  a  member  of  the  National  Municipal  League.  Its  meetings  are  held  in 
the  Peoria  Women's  Club  building  (through  the  courtesy  of  that  club),  and  at 
each  one  reports  are  given  by  the  truant  officer,  the  probation  officer  and  the 
police  matron,  and  as  often  as  possible  by  the  woman  in  charge  of  the  traveler's 
aid  work  and  the  representatives  of  various  philanthropic  organizations.  The 
meetings  are  thus  a  means  of  keeping  the  clubs  in  touch  with  each  other's  work 
and  acquainting  all  with  the  preventative  and  corrective  work  of  city  and  county 
officials.  Throughout  its  existence  the  federation  has  been  a  constantly  in- 
creasing force  for  good  and  has  demonstrated  again  and  again  the  power  which 
conies  from  united  effort. 

PEORI.K    CH.\PTER,   D.\UGHTERS   OF  THE   AMERIC.VN    REVOLUTION 

June  14,  1896  (Flag  Day)  fourteen  ladies,  descendants  of  Revolutionary 
sires  met  at  the  home  of  Miss  Caroline  Montgomery  Rice,  and  organized  the 
first  Chapter  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution,  in  Peoria.  Miss 
Rice  being  Regent  by  appointment  of  the  National  Society  D.  A.  R.,  the  other 
necessary  officers  were  elected,  and  Peoria  Chapter  took  her  place  ready  for 
earnest  effort  along  the  lines  designated  by  the  general  purposes  of  the  order. 
America  was  sung,  and  all  present  united  in  the  Lord's  prayer,  thus  at  the  first 
meeting  adopting  an  order  of  exercises  which  has  never  since  been  omitted.  A 
paper  was  read  on  "The  origin  and  evolution  of  our  Flag,"  which  naturally  led 
to  the  singing  of  the  Star  Spangled  Banner,  before  adjournment. 

Of  the  next  meeting  we  will  use  the  words  of  the  historian,  Mrs.  Esther  T. 
Ellis :  "June  30,  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Lucie  B.  Tyng  for  the 
express  purpose  of  giving  each  member  opportunity  to  relate  the  heroic  deeds 
of  her  Revolutionary  Ancestors. 

Some  very  interesting  stories  were  told.  We  have  a  different  interest  in  the 
occupation  of  New  York  when  we  know  that  our  own  grandfathers,  and  great 
grandfathers  were  in  it,  and  we  apprehend  with  a  keener  sympathy  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  soldiers  at  \'alley  Forge,  when  they  are  related  by  some  one  whose 
grandfather  told  her  the  harrowing  tale,  out  of  his  own  experience ;  and  it  gives 
one  a  curious  sense  of  kinship  to  find  that  we  and  our  neighbors  had  each  an 
ancestor  who  lived  in  the  same  town  and  served  under  the  same  captain.     The 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  435 

study  of  history  was  continued  and  each  new  member  achnitted  to  the  society 
brought  a  fresh  chapter.  Lineage  was  traced  to  heroic  men  and  brave  women 
and  we  have  in  our  archives  unpubhshed  records  which  will  some  day  have  a 
place  in  the  pages  of  history  which  the  children  of  the  future  will  (lelight  to 
review. 

lune  lO,  1902,  Peoria  Chapter  unveiled,  near  Wesley  City,  a  monument 
marking  the  site  of  Fort  Creve  Coeur.  The  tablet  deeply  cut  in  the  fine  red 
boulder  contained  the  inscription 

Fort   Creve   Coeur 

1680 

Peoria  Chapter  D.  A.  R. 

June  14 

1902. 

.Mr.  Charles  J.  OtT  deeded  the  land,  upon  wiiich  the  monument  is  placed,  to  the 
Peoria  Chapter. 

May  25,  190S,  the  site  of  Fort  Clark  was  rescued  from  oblivion  by  placing  a 
bronze'tablet  suitably  inscribed,  upon  the  walls  of  the  Gas  and  Electric  building 
in  Peoria,  said  building  having  been  ])laced  upon  the  spot  where  the  old  fort 
had  stood. 

The  Daughters  of  American  Revolution  are  first  of  all  a  memorial  and 
historical  society,  but  are  much  more  than  that.  We  seek  not  only  to  keep 
alive  the  patriotism  of  our  Revolutionary  fathers,  but  we  take  an  interest  in  the 
laudable  work  of  the  present.  We  have  'helped  to  build  every  memorial  structure 
in  our  city ;  time  and  labor  and  money  were  freely  given  for  the  comfort  of  our 
brave  boys  during  the   Spanish   war. 

We  have  given  prizes  to  stimulate  the  study  of  American  history  in  our 
schools,  and  could  point  to  many  institutions  in  our  midst  to  which  we  have 
gladly  contributed.  The  Stars  and  Stripes  have  waved  from  more  than  one 
flagstaff'  because  we  have  had  our  eyes  turned  to  the  future.  It  is  a  part  of 
our  work  to  fit  for  good  citizenship  those  to  whom  will  be  committed  the  future 
destinies  of  our  country  and  we  must  inculcate  lessons  of  patriotism,  and 
foster  the  love  of  our  country  and  her  flag. 

Peoria  chapter  is  but  a  small  part  of  a  very  large  national  society  with 
headquarters  in  Washington,  D.  C.  With  a  membership  of  eighty  thousand, 
it  is  the  largest  society  know-n  which  is  comprised  of  women  only. 

.\s  a  memorial  monument.  Continental  Hall  has  been  liuilt  at _ Washington 
and  the  chapter  at  Peoria  has  contributed  freely  toward  the  five  hundred' 
thousand  dollars  which  it  has  cost  to  build  and  furnish  this  beautiful  building 

We  now  number  one  hundred  and  fifteen  members.  Our  membership  has 
been  de])leted  by  death,  removal  and  withdrawal,  yet  there  is  a  steady  increase 
in  our  number. 

We  have  had  one  real  daughter — Mrs.  Lydia  Moss  Bradley— so  well  known 
for  her  munificent  gifts  to  Peoria  and  liradley  Polytechnic  school — a  worthy 
daughter  of  a  worthy  sire. 

A  children's  chapter  D.  A.  R.  was  organized  with  si.xteen  members,  some 
of  those  who  were  children  when  they  first  had  membership  are  almost  old 
enough   to  be  transferred  to  the   daughters. 

Some  day  all  the  historic  sites  will  have  been  marked,  and  all  the  monu- 
ments builded,  but  loyal  American  women  will  continue  to  find  work  to  do 
for  God  and  home  and  native  land. 

The  ladies  wdno  have  given  efficient  service  to  Peoria  cha])ter  as  regents,  are: 
:\Iiss  Caroline  M.  Rice,  Mrs.  Lucie  B.  Tyng.  Mrs.  Joseph  I-:ider,  Mrs.  B.  F.  Ellis, 
Mrs.  Henry  Mansfield,  Mrs.  John  W.  Rowcliff,  Mrs.  John  L  Black,  Mrs.  Robt. 
S.  Waddell,  Mrs.  Julius  S.  Starr,  Airs.  George  T.  Page." 

The  above  article  was  kindly  contributed  by  Clara  Knowles  Woolf,  his- 
torian of  Peoria  chapter. 


436  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

FRATERNAL   ORDERS 

Free  Alasonry  has  a  strong  following  in  I'coria  and  thrciugliLiut  the  county. 
The  membership  is  steadily  increasing  as  the  years  go  by  and,  as  the  personnel 
is  par  excellence,  as  morality  and  good  citizenship  go,  the  order's  prosperity 
keeps  pace  with  its  influence  and  it  is  today  the  most  affluent  fraternal  society 
in  existence. 

In  Peoria  the  members  of  the  various  lateral  lodges  of  the  main  order  are 
composed  of  men  and  women  of  the  highest  standing  both  in  the  broadest  mean- 
mg  of  the  word  society  and  in  financial  circles.  This  condition  has  made  it 
possible  for  the  Masons  of  Peoria  to  erect,  in  the  past  few  years,  two  of  the 
handsomest  and  most  expensive  temples  in  the  state  of  Illinois. 

In  the  year  1900,  the  main  lodge  purchased  the  old  Universalist  church  pro- 
perty, on  Main  street,  between  Perry  and  Glendale,  paying  for  the  same  the  sum 
of  $20,000.  The  interior  of  the  Ijuilding  was  remodeled  and  it  was  used  for 
lodge  purposes.  Later  the  front  of  the  church  building  w-as  cut  ofif,  a  new  face 
of  ornamental  Bedford  stone  was  attached  and  with  other  improvements  the 
remodeled  structure,  showing  Grecian  lines  of  architecture,  brought  the  cost 
of  the  new  temple  up  to  $40,000.  Including  the  cost  of  the  lot  and  furniture, 
the  lodge  spent  about  $60,000. 

In  recent  years  the  "Shriners"  ranks  have  greatl)-  enlarged  by  pilgrims  de- 
sirous of  trailing  with  them  over  the  hot,  arid  sands  of  the  mighty  desert  and  to 
give  them  sanctuary  and  tentage  a  unique,  but  beautiful,  temple  was  erected  on 
Monroe  street,  between  Fayette  and  Hamilton,  in  the  year  1910,  at  a  cost  of 
$133,000.  The  front  of  this  structure  is  designed  after  the  ancient  Egyptian 
temples  and  the  vast  auditorium  is  arranged  to  resemble  a  hippodrome  and 
seats  1,600  people.     The  building  is  one  of  the  show  places  of  the  city. 

ri':ORI.\    LODGE,    NO.    15,    A.    F.    &    .\.    M. 

In  September,  1840,  ten  masons,  residing  in  the  city  of  Peoria,  met  for  con- 
sultation and  made  application  to  the  grand  lodge  for  dispensation  to  organize 
a  lodge  in  this  city.  This  was  granted  January  3,  1842,  and  Samuel  H.  Davis 
was  named  as  worshipful  master.  A.  O.  Garrett,  senior  warden  and  John  King, 
junior  warden.  A  charter  was  granted  December  24,  1842,  and  the  lodge  was 
named  Peoria  Lodge,  Xo.   15.     From  the  start  the  organization  has  prospered 

TEMPLE   [X)D<;;E,    no.   46,    A.    F.    &  A.    M. 

This  lodge  was  organized  October  26,  1846.  The  first  officers  were:  George 
T.  Metcalfe,  W.  M. ;  John  C.  Heyle,  S.  W. ;  W.  F.  Bryan,  J.  W. ;  John  King. 
Treas. ;  Elwood  Andrew,  Sec. 

PEORIA   CHAPTER,    NO.    7,   R.    A.    M. 

Peoria  Chapter,  No.  7,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  was  chartered  at  Columbus,  Ohio, 
by  the  grand  chapter  of  the  United  States,  September  17,  1847,  with  Samuel 
H.  Davis,  Peter  Sweat,  William  Hale,  Augustus  O.  Garrett,  John  Slye,  Eldrick 
Smith,  John  E.  Dixon,  Nathaniel  Chapin,  Jonathan  Reed,  John  McDougal,  John 
Comstock  and  Alexander  Rogers  as  charter  members.  The  first  high  priest 
was  Samuel  H.  Davis. 

PE0RI.\  COMMANDERY,  NO.   3,   K.  T. 

Peoria  Commandery,  No.  3,  Knights  Templar,  was  chartered  September  15. 
1856,  with  eight  charter  members,  namely,  Clark  B.  Stebbins,  Charles  G.  Eggle- 
ston,  W.  L.  Crane,  William  Fenn,  William  E.  Cook,  Andrew   Bowman,   N.  B. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  437 

Curtis  and  John  C.  Heyle.  The  first  officers  were:  Henry  L.  Gaines,  E.  C.  ;• 
Clark  B.  Stebbins,  G. ;  Isaac  Underbill,  C.  G. ;  A.  O.  Garrett,  P.;  William  A. 
Thrush,  S.  W. ;  D.  S.  Thompson,  J.  W. ;  William  E.  Mason,  Treas. ;  Lewis 
Keyon,  Rec. 

ILLINOIS   LODGE,    NO.    263,   A.    F.    &•    A.    M. 

This  lodge  was  chartered  October  6,  18^8,  and  the  first  officers  were:  Stephen 
H.  Burnett,  W.  M.;  Alfred  l->eeman,  S.  W. ;  David  M.  Cunimings,  J.  W.  The 
charter  members  were:  Joseph  W.  Brooks,  Thomas  Bryant,  S.  H.  I'.urnett, 
Octave  Clianute,  David  AI.  Cummings,  Alfred  Freeman,  Henry  L.  Gaiues, 
Jonathan  Hancock,  Uriel  H.  Kellogg,  Henry  Nolte,  Joseph  W.  Parish,  W. 
Howell  Robinson,  David  T.  N.  Sanderson,  A.  T.  Stewart,  Thomas  A.  Smythe, 
D.  S.  Thompson,  William  Augustus  Thrush.  Henry  M.  \'an  Buskirk  and  Ben- 
jamin P.  \'an  Court. 

SCHILLER   LODGE,   NO.  335.  A.   F.  &  A.   M. 

September  15,  1859,  a  meeting  of  the  German  Masons  of  Peoria  was  held 
to  consider  the  plan  of  organizing  a  lodge,  whose  meetings  should  he  conducted 
in  their  native  language.  A  charter  was  granted  October  3,  i860.  The  organizers 
were:  Abraham  Frank,  H.  N.  Frederick.  Louis  Furst,  Charles  E.  Gillig,  Alex- 
ander Jakelfalusy,  C.  Koenig,  Simon  Lyon,  Julius  G.  Lueder,  Frederick  i\Ioun- 
ighofif,  Friedrick  Muller,  John  N.  Niglas,  John  G.  Peck,  Albert  Potthoft",  Emil 
Quinke,  Karl  F.  Rotterman,  Moritz  Rosenblatt,  August  Schulz,  L.  Seligman, 
Godfrey  Stiehl.  Henry  Ullman,  Leopold  Wolf,  Casper  Odewald,  Justus  1!.  Fleck. 
The  first  officers  were  Albert  Potthofi^,  W.  M.;  Henry  Ullman,  S.  W. ;  August 
Schulz.  J,  W. ;  Abraham  Frank.  Treas. ;  J.  N.  Niglas,  Sec. 

PI'.ORIA    COUNCIL,    NO.    II,    R.    &   S.    M. 

Peoria  Council  of  Royal  and  Select  Masons  was  organized  March  21,  1862, 
and  the  first  officers  were:  Augustus  O.  (jarrett,  thrice  illustrious  master;  Wil- 
ber  McKaig,  deputy  illustrious  master;  W.  M.  Dodge,  principal  conductor  of 
work:  Jacob  Darst,  treasurer;  Lewis  Keyon,  recorder;  Thomas  FI.  Smythe, 
captain  of  the  guard.  A  charter  was  granted  October  10,  1862,  and  the  first 
officers  installed  under  the  charter  were :  Augustus  O.  Garrett,  thrice  illustrious 
master;  James  E.  Prescott,  deputy  illustrious  master;  W.  M.  Dodge,  i)rinci])al 
conductor  of  work;  Thomas  A.  H.  Smythe,  captain  of  the  guard;  Jacob  Darst, 
treasurer;  Lewis  Keyon,  recorder. 

.\NCIENT   ACCEPTED   SCOTTISH    RITE 

Four  separate  bodies  constitute  this  branch  of  the  order,  having  judisdiction 
of  the  advanced  degrees  of  Masonry,  namely:  (i)  Grand  Lodge  of  Perfection, 
which  confers  degrees  from  the  4th  to  the  14th;  (2)  Council  of  Princes  of 
Jerusalem,  embracing  two  degrees,  the  historical  and  traditional  grades;  (3) 
Chapter  of  Rose  Croix,  having  jurisdiction  of  two  degrees,  the  doctrinal  and 
Christian  grades ;  and  (4)  Consistory  of  Sublime  Princes  of  the  Royal  Secret, 
which  confers  the  chivalric  and  philosophic  grades  from  the  19th  to  the  32d. 
The  order  was  organized  under  charter  granted  to  Yates  City,  Illinois,  February 
25,  1867;  in  February,  1869,  the  first  meeting  was  held  in  Peoria,  and  in  1874 
the  name  was  changed  to  Peoria  Consistory.  Valley  of  Peoria. 

CENTR.\L    CITY    CHAPTER,    NO.    42,    O.    E.    S. 

Central  Citv  Cha]Her,  Xo.  42,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  was  organized 
August  19,  1872,  with  the  following  charter  members:  Willis  Y.  Francis,  Sarah 
J.  Francis,  Josephine   Francis,    S.    P.  Gumming,    Martha  A.    Gumming,   Joseph 


438  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

Hazzard,  Addie  Hazzard,  Charles  Robinson,  Sena  Robinson,  D.  B.  Allen,  Sarah 
Allen,  Crosby  White,  Mary  J.  White,  William  Entwistle,  Ann  Entwistle,  Mary 
A.  Entwistle,  James  Bennett,  Mary  J.  Bennett,  George  L.  Bean.  Lute  E.  Bean, 
John  A.  Bush  and  wife,  Ralph  Wolfe,  Henry  S.  Ottenheimer,  Frank  Baily,  E. 
R.  Mann,  Marion  A.  Mann,  C.  H.  Rice,  Elvira  Rice,  Charles  Brockett  and  Clara 
Brockett.  The  first  officers  were:  Martha  A.  Cumming,  W.  M.;  Willis  Y.  Fran- 
cis, W.  P.;  Josephine  Francis,  A.  M.;  Marion  A.  Mann,  Sec;  Eliza  Mann, 
Treas. 

ELECTA    CHAPTER,    NO.    175,    O.    E.    S. 

Electa  Chapter,  No.  175,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  was  organized  April  16, 
1891,  with  fourteen  charter  members  as  follows:  Mrs.  Helen  Eastman,  Mrs. 
Arvilla  Cole,  Joseph  M.  Cole,  Albert  Snyder,  James  A.  Hutchinson,  Mrs.  i\llie 
Hutchinson,  D.  John  Forl^es,  Airs.  Nettie  Hoover,  Dr.  I.  L.  Hoover,  B.  H. 
Potter,  Mrs.  Gressa  Potter,  Henry  Grey,  Joseph  Elder  and  Mrs.  Amelia  Elder. 

MOHAMMED  TEMPLE  OF  THE  MYSTIC  SHRINE 

The  Mohammed  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine, 
was  organized  August  11.  1893,  with  the  following  officers:  Sylvester  O.  Spring, 
illustrious  potentate ;  Seth  F.  Haskins,  chief  rabbau ;  George  F.  Henthorne,  as-        1 
sistant  rabban :  J.  W.  Sessions,  high  priest  and  prophet ;  H.  J.  Graham,  oriental        ' 
guide;  D.  H.  Tripp,  treasurer;  W.  W.  Wallace,  recorder. 

HENRY  BROWN   LODGE,    NO.    22,   A.   F.    &  A.   M. 

Henry  Brown  Lodge,   Xo.  22,  A.  F.  &  A.   M.   (colored),  was  organized  in         1 
1877,  with  thirty  charter  members. 

LANCASTER    LODGE,    NO.    Io6,    A.    F.    &    A.    M. 

This  is  one  of  the  oldest  Masonic  lodges  in  Peoria  county,  having  been 
organized  August  29,  1851.  The  first  officers  were:  Daniel  McCook,  W.  M. ; 
E.  J.  Jones,  S.  W. ;  A.  L.  Fahnestock,  J.  W. ;  John  W.  Robbins,  Sec. ;  Samuel 
Reyno,  S.  D. ;  James  Styles,  J.  D.  A  charter  was  obtained  October  6,  1851,  and 
under  this  the  first  officers  elected  were :  E.  J.  Jones,  W.  M. ;  J.  W.  Robbins, 
S.  W. ;  Guy  Campbell.  J.  W. ;  Daniel  McCook,  Sec;  Isaiah  Dubois,  Treas.;  Eli 
Taylor,  tyler. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON  LODGE,   NO.  222,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 

The  first  meeting  of  George  Washington  Lodge,  at  Chillicothe,  Illinois,  was 
held  January  12,  1856,  and  on  the  7th  of  October  of  that  year  a  charter  was 
granted,  the  first  members  being:  William  McLean,  H.  A.  Raney,  I-atham  A. 
Wood,  D.  B.  McMaster,  Samuel  C.  Jack,  Nathaniel  Chapman  and  Hiram 
Goodsell.  The  first  officials  were:  William  McLean,  W.  M.;  H.  A.  Raney,  S. 
W. ;  Cyrus  Reed,  J.  W. ;  Henry  Truitt,  Treas. ;  J.  F.  Thomas,  Sec. ;  E.  C. 
Sprague,  tyler. 

HOREB    LODGE,    NO.    363,    A.    F.    &    A.    M. 

This  society  was  organized  at  Elmwood,  under  a  charter  issued  October 
I,  1861,  Ira  A.  W.  Buck  officiating  as  grand  master.  There  were  twenty-six 
charter  members,  including  the  following:  Hugh  Armson,  C.  G.  Eggleston.  ]\I. 
R.  H.  Mase,  A.  Hull,  P.  H.  Hopkins.  N.  D.  Jay.  L.  H.  Kerr,  J.  E.  Knable. 
W.  H.  Kellogg,  Benjamin  Hillis,  J.  J.  Lowe,  John  Mortz,  Ephraim  Marshall, 


MASONIC  TEMPLE,  PEORIA 


.MiillAMMKl)  TKMIM.K  (  M"  'nil'.   XDl'.I.KS  ii|      I  1 1  K   M^M■|(•  Slli;|\K.    I'KnlMA 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  439 

J.  E.  Riner,  Harrison  Steele,  N.  M.  Swisher,  George  W.  Smith,  Philip  Snyder, 
J.  H.  Truax,  A.  N.  Wilcox,  A.  I.  Wiley,  H.  H.  Wood.  The  first  officers  were: 
L.  H.  Kerr,  W.  M. ;  J.  E.  Knabfe,  S.  W.;  Lewis  Corbin,  J  W. 

ALTA    LODGE,     NO.    748,    A.     V.     &    A.     M. 

The  first  meeting  of  this  lodge  was  held  February  3,*  1876,  the  following 
persons  being  present:  Dr.  John  Gillette,  Amos  Edwards,  N.  H.  Silliman,  John 
C.  Wood,  B.  C.  Vaughn,  W.  H.  Cassity,  C.  J.  Haller,  and  William  Stickler. 
The  charter  was  received  October  28th  of  that  year.  The  charter  members  iii 
addition  to  those  above  named  were :  John  Carr,  A.  Heaverin  and  J.  V.  H. 
Robinson.  The  first  officers  elected  were:  Dr.  John  Gillette,  W.  M. ;  Amos 
Edwards,  S.  W.;  A.  H.  Silliman,  ].  W. ;  B.  C.  \'aughn.  Sec;  ].  C.  Wood,  Treas. ; 
W.  H.  Cassity,  S.  D. ;  C.  J.  Haller,  J.  D. ;  William  Stickler,  t'yler. 

PRINCFA'ILLE   LODGE,    NO.    360,    A.    F.    &   A.    M. 

This  lodge  was  organized  August  25,  i860,  but  did  not  receive  a  charter 
until  October  ist  of  the  following  year.  The  charter  members  were:  Levi 
La])ham,  W.  S.  Bates,  David  Fast,  Sr.,  David  Fast,  Jr.,  George  W.  Scott,  Shel- 
don Rilea,  A.  A.  Fast,  Rev.  J.  S.  Alillsapps,  Charles  G.  Taylor,  M.  M.  Blan- 
chard.  Henry  De  Bord,  John  L.  Blanchard.  The  first  officers  were :  Levi 
Lapham,  W.  M. ;  W.  S.  Bates,  S.  W. ;  David  Fast,  Jr.,  J.  W. ;  David  Fast, 
Treas. ;  George  W.  Scott,  Sec. ;  Sheldon  Rilea,  S.  D. ;  A.  A.  Fast,  J.  D. 

COLUMBL\    LODGE,    NO.    21,    I.    O.    O.    F. 

The  pioneer  lodge  of  Odd  Fellows  was  organized  in  Peoria  in  1846,  and 
named  Columbia  Lodge,  No.  21,  being  instituted  on  the  8th  of  December  of  that 
year.  The  originators  of  the  movement  were  John  I'ayne,  Samuel  S.  Easton, 
Francis  A.  McNeil,  John  Wham,  John  M.  Law,  and  E.  S.  Anderson,  all  of 
whom  are  now  deceased.  The  first  members  received  into  the  new  lodge  were 
H.  A.  Foster,  Herman  E.  Blakely,  Robert  P.  Taylor  and  James  L.  Fash.  The 
first  officers  elected  were :  John  M.  Law,  N.  G. ;  John  Payne,  V.  G. ;  H.  A. 
Foster,  Sec. ;  Samuel  S.  Easton,  Treas. 

PE0RL\   ENCAMPMENT,    NO.    I5,    I.   O.   O.    F. 

This  order  was  instituted  February  7,  1850,  P.  C.  P.  Burns  officiating.  The 
charter  members  were:  A.  R.  Gardner,  W.  H.  Davis,  John  Anderson,  H.  A. 
Foster,  N.  Boilvin,  A.  B.  Fash,  H.  S.  Austin,  J.  M.  Law,  James  Stewart, 
Onslow  Peters.  E.  N.  Powell,  Charles  Fisher,  H.  G.  Weston,  Horace  G.  Ander- 
son, George  C.  Bestor.  The  first  officers  elected  were :  J.  M.  Law,  C.  P. ; 
Horace  G.  Anderson,  H.  P.;  E.  N.  Powell,  S.  W. ;  H.  A.  Foster,  Sec;  John 
Anderson,  Treas;  Chas.  Fisher,  J.  W. ;  George  C.  P)estor,  guard;  A.  N.  i'loilvin, 
sentinel. 

FORT  CLARK   LODGE,    NO.    lOg,   L  O.   O.   F. 

This  lodge  was  instituted  in  Peoria  July  7.  1852,  and  is  the  outgrowth  of 
Columbia  Lodge.  It  had  fourteen  charter  members,  as  follows :  Henry  S.  Aus- 
tin, Alexander  Bishop,  Matthew  W.  McReynolds,  Nathaniel  C.  Nason,  Samuel 
P.  Hazzard,  John  H.  Hall,  Edward  L.  Norton,  Lorin  G.  Pratt.  John  Warner, 
Tilman  Wagener,  Abram  Beard,  S.  L.  Moses,  Robert  P.  Hamilton  and  B.  C. 
Sweeney. 


440  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

WESTERN    LODGE,    NO.    295,    I.    O.    O.    F. 

This  lodge  was  instituted  in  Peoria  on  the  27th  of  March,  i8f)i.  with  six- 
teen charter  members:  Jacob  Lorentz,  William  Miller,  M.  A.  Ruppelius,  M. 
Pfeiffer,  Jacob  Riehm,  Charles  S.  Soupe,  Henry  Englebad,  John  Taj  den,  Henry 
A.  Bush.  F.  C.  Heinzen,  A.  Schrader,  Charles  lireier,  Henry  llruse.  John 
Wagoner,  Louis  Buchholz,  Philip  Bender.  The  first  officers  were :  Jacob  Lor- 
entz, N.  G.;  H.  A.  Bush,  V.  G.;  F.  C.  Heinzen,  Rec.  Sec;  William  Miller. 
Per.  Sec. ;  Philip  Bender,  Treas. 

HOPPNUNG    ENC.\MPMEXT,    NO.    1 55,    I.    O.   O.    F. 

This  lodge  was  instituted  May  22,  1874,  with  six  charter  members:  Henry 
A.  Bush,  Philip  Auer,  Philip  Stiller,  Philip  Griebel,  George  Philip  Reichardt, 
and  William  Miller.  The  first  officers  were:  Philip  Auer,  C.  P.;  Henry  A.  Bush 
H.  P. ;  Philip  Stiller,  S.  W. ;  William  Miller.  S. ;  G.  P.  Reichardt,  Treas. ;  and 
Rageth  Joos,  J.  W.  At  the  first  meeting  the  following  members  were  initiated : 
Henry  Kriger,  Philip  Kamerer,  A.  Siedle,  Henry  A.  Hurst  and  Charles  Rojahn. 

CANTON    WILDEY,    KG.    4,    P.\TRI.\RCHS     MII.Pr.NNT 

This  society  was  organized  December  30,  1885.  with  the  following  charter 
members:  John  Jones,  E.  M.  Clark,  John  Wagner,  Charles  D.  Brainard,  A.  F. 
Gable,  A.  C.  Davis,  Henry  Detweiller,  R.  Joos,  Jacob  Hoffman,  O.  F.  Fogel- 
mark.  Nathan  Gumbiner,  F.  H.  Borris,  Philip  Auer,  L.  H.  Sullivan.  John  A. 
Bush  L.  M.  Brockett,  Henry  Oldridge,  George  H.  Fash,  F.  N.  Hester,  W.  C. 
Zigler,  Peter  Bickett,  Louis  Hoffman,  J.  T.  Mains,  C.  W.  Cram.  The  first 
officers  were :  George  H.  Fash,  commandant ;  C.  D.  Brainard,  lieutenant ;  F.  N. 
Hester,  ensign ;  John  Jones,  clerk ;  Philip  Auer,  accountant ;  E.  M.  Clark  stand- 
ard bearer ;  Jacob  Hoffman,  guard :  R.  Joos,  sentinel ;  John  Wagner,  picket. 

FRIENDSHIP    ENC.\MPMENT,    NO.    I46,    I.    O.    O.    F. 

This  lodge  was  instituted  in  Peoria,  June  lo,  1891,  with  a  charter  member- 
ship of  62. 

PEORIA  REP.EKAH  LODGE,  NO.  II3 

In  the  late  '70s  a  few  faithful  and  energetic  Odd  Fellows  who  had  received 
the  Rebekah  degree  in  the  subordinate  lodge,  Ijanded  together  and  organized 
themselves  into  a  society  called  The  Benevolent  Society  of  the  Daughters  of 
Rebekah.  They  worked  under  this  name  until  a  charter  was  obtained  when  the 
name  was  changed  to  Peoria  Rebekah  Lodge,  No.  113.  The  following  persons 
were  charter  members :  L.  M.  Brockett,  E.  B.  Bond,  J.  B.  Doolittle,  Philip 
Smith,  Nathan  Crutchfield,  Jacob  D.  Long,  L.  R.  Bergstrand.  J.  H.  Wagner, 
I.  W.  Herkardt,  D.  C.  Frazer,  N.  C.  Nason,  Philip  Griebel,  John  G.  Lawrence, 
Mrs.  E.  B.  Bond,  Mrs.  Hannah  Bond,  Mrs.  L  R.  Crutchfield.  Mary  Doolittle, 
Mrs.  M.  J.  Cragen,  Mrs.  E.  M.  Bergstrand, 'Mrs.  M.  E.  Carmichael,  Mrs.  J. 
W.  Herkardt,  Anna  D.  Nason  and  Mrs.  M.  Griebel.  February  9.  1881,  the 
first  election  of  officers  was 'held  as  follows:  Philip  Smith,  N.  G. ;  Mrs.  M.  J. 
Cragen,  V.  G. ;  Hannah  Bond.  Sec;  Mary  Doolittle,  Treas.;  Mrs.  E.  M.  Berg- 
strand. warden;  Mrs.  J.  B.  Crutchfield,  conductor;  Mrs.  E.  B.  Bond,  chaplain. 
During  the  first  year  the  membership  was  increased  from  23  to  67  members, 
and  in  a  short  time  ranked  among  the  first  lodges  of  its  kind  in  the  state. 

ELEANOR    REI'.EK.MI    LODGE,     NO.    335 

This  lodge  was  organized  April  lo,  1894,  and  was  named  in  honor  of  Mrs. 
Eleanor  Jones,  a  former  member  of  the  Rebekah  Auxiliary.     She  received  the 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  441 

Rebckah  degree  in  1856,  five  years  after  its  presentation  and  adoption  by  the 
sovereign  grand  lodge  but  some  time  before  the  cliartered  Rebekah  lodges  were 
organized.  She  passed  away  April  30,  1889.  The  lodge  began  its  career  with 
117  members,  the  first  officers  elected  being:  N.  G.,  Mrs.  Anna  Asp;  V.  G., 
.Miss  Gertrude  Dill;  Rec.  Sec,  Mrs.  Jennie  ^lorris ;  Fin.  Sec,  Mrs.  Anna  E. 
Hammatt;  Treas.,  Airs.  Helen  Davis;  warden,  Mrs.  Sarah  Shurts ;  conductor, 
Mrs.  Ada  Lyman ;  chaplain,  Mrs.  Roxy  A.  Bradley. 

KMC.UTS     OF     PYTHI.\S 

Calanthe  Lodge,  Xo.  47  Knights  of  I'ythias,  was  organized  March  24.  1874, 
with  the  following  charter  members:  Jefferson  Dunn,  Adam  H.  W'iltz,  Nathaniel 
C.  Nason,  Isaac  C.  Edwards,  Creighton  C.  Coffinberry,  James  A.  Jeffries,  George 
N.  Walker,  Jr.,  William  A.  Hunter,  John  A.  Hudson,  John  C.  Weidenham,  Wil- 
liam 1).  \'ance.  William  F.  Smith,  J.  H.  Smith  and  Samuel  R.  Baker.  From 
the  beginning  Calanthe  Lodge  has  had  a  steady  growth  until  the  present  mem- 
l)ership  is  about  300.  The  present  officers  are:  C.  C,  Frank  Harbers ;  \'.  C, 
().  W.  Olson;  Prelate,  Charles  Eberle ;  M.  of  W.,  W.  G.  Barthell ;  Asst.  M.  of 
\V.,  L.  L.  Weiss;  K.  of  R.  &  S.,  Charles  Geiger ;  M.  of  F.,  G.  C.  Randall;  M. 
of  E.,  F.  M.  Holloway:  M.  of  A.,  A.  P.  Livengood;  L  G.,  Le  Grand  King;  O. 
G.,  F.  R.  Shoff';  Alusician,  D.  E.  Conigisky ;  Trustees.  J.  G.  Kasjens,  F.  C.  Bid- 
dleconib  and   M.  G.   Newman;  Grand  Representative,   \\'.   H.   >'oore. 

PEORIA   LODGE,    NO.    25O,    K.    P. 

This  lodge  was  organized  October  23,  1891,  with  the  following  charter 
members:  S.  K.  Hatfield.  O.  D.  Evans,  W.  H.  P.  Dickson,  Charles  R.  Warner, 
W.  \'.  Tefft,  Charles  D.  Brainard ;  C.  T.  Page,  A.  V".  Thomas.  Leslie  Kramm, 
F.  R.  Eckard,  L.  A.  Turner,  R.  M.  Scanland,  B.  ^L  Ross,  Frank  Johnson,  W. 
P.  Wal'ker,  \\\  M.  Lvons,  R.  L.  Sammis,  C.  |.  Sammis,  G.  W.  Scott.  E.  C. 
Coffey,  1.  M.  Allen,  C.  C.  Clarke,  I.  G.  Meistef,  W.  L.  Pierce,  F  C.  White,  F. 
C.  Cook",  W.  A.  Singer,  Warren  Sutliff,  F.  K.  Lyons,  W.  P.  Day,  L.  V.  Tucker, 
J.  M.  Powell,  Charles  S.  Duke.  M.  Whiting,  W.  I.  Slemmons,  Robert  McCor- 
mick.  E.  J.  Case,  R.  A.  Du  Mars,  R.  D.  McDougal,  I.  C.  Pinkney,  W.  C.  Foster, 
Wesley  Permar,  F.  |.  Soldan,  T.  A.  Marteanev,  F.  H.  Helm,  George  A.  Dite- 
wig.  F..  [.  Graves.  \V.  W.  Wallace,  A.  J.  Tapping,  W.  H.  Dav.  W.  G.  Putnam. 
Charles  P.  Watson,  H.  R.  Smith,  J.  M'.  Cole  and  C.  L.  Crawford. 

The  present  membership  is  162.  The  present  officials  are:  C.  C,  Henrv 
i:ken ;  \'.  C,  F.  C.  Reid ;  P.,  G.  Ogden ;  M.  of  W.,  L.  Voelkers ;  K.  of  R.  &  S'., 
William  P.  Lady;  M.  of  F..  J.  H.  Albers ;  M.  of  E.,  L.  W.  Moorehouse ;  M.  of 
.\.,  George  \'icary;  I.  G.,  William  Williams;  O.  G.,  James  Fryman;  Represen- 
tative to  Grand  Lodge,  George  B.  Sucher. 

WEST    I'.I.L'FF    LODGE,    NO.     1 7",     K.    P. 

This  lodge  was  organized  I''cbruary  3,  18S8.  with  the  following  charter  mem- 
bers: C.  W.  Robinson,  C.  S.  Faston,  E.  H.  D.  Couch,  L.  Sandvluski,  I.  C. 
Lewis,  F.  A.  R.  Marsden,  J.  A.  White,  F.  E.  Llowland,  E.  M.  Schneblcv,  11.  S. 
Rice,  S.  V.  Sholl,  H.  I.  Rogers,  H.  A.  Scott,  }.  J.  D.  Furry,  W.  F.  Van  Doon, 
S.  E.  Wilkinson,  C.  E.  Pemble,  A.  A.  Goedecke,  G.  W.  Schnebley,  Jr.,  G.  C. 
Pettit.     The  present  membership  is  256. 

The  present  officers  are:  C.  C,  L.  S.  Wilson;  \'.  C,  G.  T.  Klein;  P.,  E.  L. 
Kiddoo;  M.  of  W.,  W.  P.  Conrad;  K.  of  R.  .^  S..  |.  L.  Kent;  M.  of  F.,  E.  H. 
Keas;  M.  of  E.,  C.  F.  Hixson ;  M.  at  A..  T.  W.  Head;  L  G.,  C.  F.  Vail:  O.  G.. 
S.  R.  Brown;  Trustees,  J.  H.  Marshall,  Otto  Grabs  and  E.  S.  Eaves;  Rep.  to 
Grand  Lodge.  J.  L.  Kent. 


442  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

\1CT0R  LODGE,   NO.  3/0,   K.  P. 

This  lodge  meets  each  Wednesday  at  317-23  South  Adams  street. 


THE    KNIGHTS    OE    KHORASSAN 

The  Knights  of  Khorassan  are  appended  to  the  Knights  of  I'ythias  as  the 
"Shriners"  are  to  the  Masonic  order;  that  is,  by  requiring  that  ajiphcants  shall 
be  Knights  of  Pythias,  should  they  desire  to  join  in  the  jollifications. 

The  present  officers  are :  Walter  Williams,  R.  V. ;  James  Daugherty,  G.  E. ; 
Secretary,  E.  C.  Groninger.     The  order  meets  at  317-23  South  Adams  street. 

MODERN    WOODMEN    OF    AMERICA 

The  Modern  Woodmen  camps  are  organizations  strictly  beneficial,  the  head 
office  or  supreme  camp  being  located  at  Rock  Island,  Illinois.  There  are  in  the 
city  of  Peoria  six  camps  and  one  in  the  adjoining  village  of  Averyville.  Of 
the  camps  in  Peoria,  Charter  Oak  Camp,  Xo.  87  is  the  pioneer.  It  was  or- 
ganized April  I,  1885,  and  now  has  a  membership  of  nearly  1,400,  the  second 
largest  in  the  state.  This  camp  meets  each  Friday  evening  at  No.  317  South 
Adams  street. 

The  present  officers  are :  A.  C.  Warner,  V.  C. ;  T.  E.  Barton,  W.  A. ;  R. 
V.  Ulrich,  B.;  J.  B.  Wiley,  Clerk;  W.  H.  Shamo,  E. ;  H.  B.  Grimm,  W. ;  J.  N. 
Place,  Senator. 

DIAMOND   CAMP.    NO.    3449 

was  organized  October  26,  1895,  with  seventeen  charter  members,  who  with- 
drew their  membership  from  Garden  Camp  and  instituted  a  new  camp  designated 
as  above.  This  camp  was  organized  in  its  present  location  in  Schmidt's  Hall, 
No.  2901-05  South  Adams  street.     It  now  has  a  membership  of  about  500. 

The  present  officers  are :  E.  B.  King,  P.  C. ;  Fred  Steckel,  V.  C. ;  Albert  Gury, 
W.  A. ;  William  Zerwekh,  B. ;  William  E.  Moran,  C. ;  Jacob  A.  Edwards,  Asst. 
Clerk ;  James  McBride,  E. ;  O.  J.  Stromberg,  S. 

BAKER    CAMP,    NO.    843 

was  organized  in  Burgi's  Hall,  No.  2000  South  Adams  street  in  February,  1889, 
with  the  following  officers :  D.  G.  Clemow,  \'.  C. ;  Oscar  Heinrichs,  W.  A. ;  John 
Gather,  C. ;  James  Green,  B. ;  L.  Scheirer.  E. ;  W.  B.  Oberlander,  W. ;  Daniel 
Giese,  S. 

Other  camps  are  Peoria  camp.  No.  812,  which  meets  the  first  and  third  Fri- 
day at  No.  622  Main  street;  Central  City  Camp,  No.  1505,  which  meets  the  first 
and  third  Tuesday  at  317  South  Adams  street;  Gold  Leaf  Camp,  No.  2361, 
which  meets  the  first  and  third  Thursday  at  317  South  Adams  street;  and 
Averyville  Camp,  No.  51 14,  which  meets  the  second  and  fourth  Thursday  in 
Averyville  Plall. 

ROYAL    NEIGHBORS    OF    AMERICA 

The  Royal  Neighbors  of  America  is  the  ladies  auxiliary  to  the  Modern  Wood- 
men of  America.  There  are  eight  camps  in  Peoria  as  follows :  Maple  Leaf 
Camp,  No.  13,  chartered  September  9,  1892.  The  present  membership  is'  190. 
The  Oracle  is  Mrs.  Kate  Lindig;  Recorder,  Miss  Hattie  Randall. 

FERN    LEAF    C.\MP,    NO.    l8 

was  chartered  December  22,  1892.  The  present  membership  is  560.  Oracle, 
Mrs.  Anna  Lester;  Recorder,  Mrs.  Ethel  Warner. 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  443 

ORANGE  LEAF  CAMI',   NO.    I  iT) 

\vas   chartered    Fel)ruary    22,    1895.     The   present   memljcrship    is    175.     Oracle, 
.Mrs.    .Marv   Miller;   Recorder.   .Mrs.   Minnie   Story. 

ROSE  LEAF  CAMP,   NO.    1985 

was  chartered   December   15,    1899.     The   present   membership   is    140.     Oracle, 
Mrs.  Anna  Caldwell ;  Recorder,  Mrs.  Mary  Wright. 

BAKER    C.\iMl',    NO.    2089 

was  chartered  Ajiril  2,    1900.     The   jiresent   membershi])   is    150.     Oracle,    Mrs. 
Ophelia  White:  Recorder,   Mrs.    Prudence  Larrance. 

LAUREL    CAMP,    NO.    },2\^2> 

was  chartered  February  6,  1903.     The  present  membership  is  176.     Oracle,  Mrs. 
Minnie  Sinims;  Recorder,  Mrs.  Mary  Smith. 

F.\V    HAW'ES  CAMP,   NO.   5II5 

was  chartered  December  17,  1907.     Its  present  membership  is  163.     Oracle,  Mrs. 
Etta  Erskine;  Recorder,   Mrs.  Ella   Mackley. 

WHITE    ROSE    CAMP,    NO.    642O 

was   chartered   July   8,    1910.     The   present   membership   is   258.     Oracle,    Mrs. 
Sadie  McBride :"  Recorder,  Mrs.  Ada  Wertz. 

Mrs.  :\Iary  E.  Arnholt  of  Peoria  is  the  state  supervising  deputy  for  Illinois, 
having  been  district  deputy  for  fifteen  years,  and  organized  all  of  the  above 
camps,  except  Nos.  13  and  18,  she  having  been  a  charter  member  of  camp  No. 
13.     Airs.  Lottie  Moreland  is  the  present  district  deputy  for  Peoria  county. 

THE  KNIGHTS  OF  COLUMBUS 

Spalding  Council,  No.  427,  Knights  of  Columbus,  was  instituted  Sunday,  May 
21,  with  a  charter  membership  of  104,  composed  of  members  of  Peoria  Colony, 
No.  2  of  American  Sons  of  Columbus,  which  with  one  or  two  locals,  were  the 
only  ones  in  existence  at  that  time.  The  last  named  order  had  not  been  a 
success  as  a  national  organization  and  was  abandoned. 

The  first  officers  were:  G.  K.,  J.  F.  Kiernan ;  Dep.  G.  K.,  O.  J.  Dolan ;  Rec. 
Sec,  James  B.  Kenny,  Fin.  Sec,  William  Bourke ;  Treas.,  W.  L.  Hof er ;  Lee, 
M.  C.  Quinn;  .\.,  C..  'T.  Kennedy;  W.,  D.  J.  Fox;  I.  (;.,  Frank  O'Rourke;  O.  G., 
A.  Pastorini. 

This  council  was  named  in  honor  of  Archbishop  John  L.  Spaldmg  and  on 
May  I,  1902,  in  token  of  the  celebration  of  his  silver  anniversary  as  a  bishop, 
the' council  endowed  a  scholarship  in  Sijalding  Institute.  All  members  of  the 
order  are  adherents  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  In  1899  their  beautiful 
club  house  at  No.  227-29  North  Jefferson  avenue  was  erected,  the  entire  prop- 
erty costing  about  $37,000. 

BENEVOLENT    PROTECTIVE    ORDER    OF    ELKS 

Peoria  Lodge,  No.  20,  was  instituted  at  Peoria,  December  16,  1891,  under 
dispensation  granted  and  empowering  the  requisite  nunilier  of  subscribers  to  a 
petition  to  Grand  Exalted  Ruler  Edwin  B.  Hay,  to  form  and  open  a  lodge  of 

Elks. 

As  it  appears  bv  records.  District  Deputy  Grand  Exalted  Ruler  Alfred  G. 
Orendorf,  of  Springfield,  Illinois,  was  the  instituting  officer,  at  which  time  thirty- 


444  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

six  were  initiated  and  enrolled  as  members,  all  of  whom  appear  uiaon  the  records 
as  charter  members,  although  from  lack  of  space  in  the  charter  itself,  but  eight 
names  are  there  engrossed. 

The  charter  was  granted  June  14,  1892,  under  the  name  of  William  J.  Flor- 
ence Lodge.  Xo.  20.  there  having  been  initiated  to  this  date  one  hundred  and 
seventy-one  members.  Subsequently,  in  consequence  of  a  regulation  of  the 
grand  lodge,  the  name  of  "Peoria"  was  substituted  for  that  originally  chosen, 
all  lodges  being  required  to  take  the  name  of  the  city  in  which  they  are  located. 

Leslie  D.  Puterbaugh  served  as  the  first  exalted  ruler  by  appointment  while 
working  under  dispensation,  and  by  election  under  charter,  a  term  of  two  years 
and  four  months.  Since  that  time  the  presiding  offtcer  has  served  for  a  lodge 
year.  The  following  have  been  chosen  successively:  A.  G.  Tyng,  Harry  J.  Gra- 
ham. Frank  Baker,  Fitch  C.  Cook.  George  H.  Sampson,  Charles  S.  Proctor, 
Alfred  W.  Beasley,  Al.  J.  Kanne,  \\'illiam  A.  Murden.  Harry  AI.  Hayes,  Tobey 
\'an  Buskirk,  Theodore  L.  Burkland,  John  N.  Powell,  L.  W.  Wells,  S.  O.  Tripp, 
P.  M.  Hensler,  S.  F.  jMcGrath.  F.  D.  Fox  and  L.  W.  Quinn,  the  present  exalted 
ruler.    The  secretary  is  Clarence  W.  Heyl. 

The  original  meetings  were  held  in  Schnellbacher's  Hall,  and  in  1892  the  lodge 
removed  to  the  third  floor  of  the  Niagara  building.  When  that  building  was 
remodeled,  the  whole  of  the  seventh  floor  l^eing  fitted  up  for  it,  the  lodge  took 
possession  and  remained  there  until  October  15,  1898,  the  lodge  once  more 
moving,  this  time  to  the  top  floor  of  the  National  Hotel,  where  it  kept  open  house 
to  all  brothers  and  their  friends,  until  the  building  was  destroyed  by  tire  in  the 
fall  of  191 1.  However,  the  Orpheum  Theatre  building  was  in  course  of  con- 
struction and  the  two  upper  stories  were  secured  by  the  Elks  and  arranged  to 
suit  the  wishes  of  the  lodge.  There  it  has  been  installed  for  several  months  past 
and  its  spacious  and  beautiful  rooms  are  always  open  to  the  members  and  visiting 
friends. 

A    BRIEF    HISTORY 

During  the  winter  of  1867-8  a  small  coterie  of  members  of  the  theatrical 
and  musical  professions  who  at  that  time  happened  to  be  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  banded  together  for  the  purpose  of  friendly  social  intercourse  and  recrea- 
tion. The  prime  mover  in  the  formation  of  this  little  society,  which  was  known 
among  its  members  as  the  "Jolly  Corks,"'  was  Charles  Algernon  Sidney  \'ivian, 
the  son  of  an  English  clergyman,  who  had  but  a  short  time  before  landed  in  the 
city  and  was  then  singing  at  the  old  American  Theatre  on  Broadway. 

Increasing  numbers  and  appeals  for  help  by  needy  members  of  the  profes- 
sion pointed  to  the  formation  of  a  society  which  would  carry  into  effect  such 
purposes  by  systematic  methods,  and  thus  liy  a  slow  but  gradual  process  the 
Order  of  Elks  was  evolved. 

It  was  at  first  urged  by  A'ivian  that  the  organization  should  be  called  "The 
Buffaloes,"  which  was  the  title  of  a  social  organization  of  which  he  had  been 
a  member  in  England,  but  the  majority  of  the  new  society  were  desirous  of  a 
name  that  was  purely  American  in  its  suggestions,  and  at  a  meeting  held  Feb- 
ruary 16,  1868,  the  name  of  "Elks"'  was  chosen,  and  that  date  has  since  been 
regarded  as  the  natal  day  of  the  order,  although  the  constitution  and  by-laws 
were  not  adopted  until  the   following  month. 

At  this  time  there  were  two  degrees  of  the  order,  the  chief  officer  in  the 
first  degree  being  known  as  the  right  honorable  primo,  and  in  the  second  degree 
as  exalted  ruler.  These  titles  were  used  until  the  adoption  of  the  ritual  of 
1883.  when  all  the  titles  of  the  first  degree  were  abolished  and  those  of  the 
second  degree  retained  throughout  the  work,  which  was  condensed  to  a  single 
degree. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  fame  of  the  young  organization  began  to  spread 
and   to   create   a   desire   for   the   propogation   of   its  principles,   which  had   also 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  445 

broadened  upon  other  soil.  In  order  to  accomplish  this  it  became  necessary  for 
the  Xew  York  lodge,  which  had  become  incorporated,  to  surrender  its  control 
of  aftairs  to  a  grand  lodge,  which  was  done  in  February,  1871,  this  grand  lodge 
being  composed  of  the  fifteen  original  founders  of  the  order,  and  all  the  past 
and  then  present  officers  of  Xew  York  lodge.  March  10,  187 1,  the  grand  lodge 
of  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks  was  given  a  charter  by  the  state 
of  New  York,  witli  power  to  issue  charters  to  subordinate  lodges  throughout 
the  country. 

During  the  ne.xt  six  years  the  order  spread  grailually  to  Philadelphia,  San 
I'rancisco,  Chicago,  Cincinnati,  Sacramento,  Paltimore,  Louisville,  St.  Louis, 
Boston  and  Pittsburg.  Eleven  lodges  with  a  membership  of  over  eight  hundred, 
grew  from  the  single  lodge  of  the  fifteen  "Jolly   Corks." 

From  1878  to  1881  no  new  lodges  were  organized,  and  for  a  few  years  the 
order  grew  but  slowly  until  in  1885  occurred  an  event  which  was  so  far-reaching 
in  its  efifect,  and  to  which,  probably  more  than  to  any  other  cause,  is  due  the 
phenomenal  growth  of  the  Order  of  Elks.  Up  to  that  year  the  New  York 
lodge  had  been  able  to  maintain  her  contention  that  the  grand  lodge  should  meet 
ainiually  in  that  city,  but  at  that  time  it  was  forced  to  submit,  and  the  annual 
meeting  of  i88f)  was  held  at  Cincinnati.  Within  one  year  the  thirty-five  lodges 
had  increased  to  fifty-five,  a  gain  of  twenty,  and  the  memljership  had  grown 
from  thirty-nine  hundred  to  five  thousand,  five  hundred.  That  settled  the 
question  and  since  that  time  the  meetings  of  the  grand  lodge  have  been  migra- 
tory, and  the  growth  of  the  order  steady  until  today  there  are  some  ten  hundred 
and  fifty  lodges,  while  there  are  over  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand 
wearers  of  the  antlers. 

MISCELLANEOUS  SOCIETIES 

IMPROVED   ORDER   OF    RED    MEN 

Arapahoe  Tribe.  Xo.  150;  LIuron  Tribe,  No.  93;  Tippecanoe  Tribe,  No.  70- 

DATCIITERS   OF    POC.MIOXTAS 

Alfarata   Council,   No.  31. 

DR.\M.\TIC    ORDER    KXIGIIT.s    OF    KIIORASSAN 

El  Medi  Temple,  No.   i. 

INDEPENDENT   ORDER   OF   FORESTERS 

Court  Glen  Oak,  No.  3027;  Court  Gibbons,  No.  3852;  Court  Ford,  No. 
3499;  Companion  Court,  Fort  Clark,  No.  316;  German  Order  of  Foresters. 

KXICIITS  OF  THE   M.\CCABEES  OF  THE   WORLD 

Peoria  Tent.  No.  8;  Invincible  Tent,  Xo.  14;  Fair  Plav  Tent,  Xo.  40;  Adams 
Tent,  No.  45. 

LADIES   OF   THE    MACCABEES 

Crystal  Hive,  Xo.  5;  (ilen  Oak  Hive,  Xo.  122:  Invincible  Hive,  Xo.  152; 
Xational    Hive. 

ROYAL  ARCANUM 

Ajax   Council,    .\'o.   216;   Peoria  Council,   Xo.   55. 

ANCIENT   ORDER   UNITED   WORKMEN 

Central  City  Lodge,  Xo.  202;  Goethe  Lodge,  No.  8  (German);  Hargrove 
Lodge,  Xo.  310;  Peoria  Lodge,  Xo.  13:  W.  F.  Stevens  Lodge,  No.  342. 


446  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

COURT    OF    HONOR 

Columbia  Court,  No.  12;  Royal  Court,  No.  67;  Glen  Oak  Court,  No.  281; 
Peoria  Court,  No.  1037. 

DEGREE    OF    HONOR 

Olive  Lodge. 

HARUGARI 

Peoria  Lodge,  No.  353. 

IMPROVED  ORDER   OF   HEPTASOPHS 

Fort  Clark  Conclave,  No.  729;  Peoria  Conclave,  No.  266. 

FRATERNAL  ORDER  OF  EAGLES 

Peoria  Aerie,  No.  265. 

FRATERN.\L   RESERVE    LIFE   ASSOCIATION 

Golden  City  Lodge,  No.  108;  Peoria  Lodge,  No.  66;  East  Peoria  Lodge,  No. 
56;  East  Peoria  Legion,  No.  172. 

HEBREW    SOCIETIES 

The  Circle  of  Jewish  Women;  Peoria  Hebrew  Relief  Association;  Jewish 
Ladies'  Sewing  Society ;  Ladies'  Hebrew  Aid  Society ;  Sisters  of  Peace  Chari- 
table Association ;  Ladies'  Hebrew  Benevolent  Society ;  Home  of  Shelter. 

INDEPENDENT    ORDER    OF    b'n.XI    BRITH 

Progress  Lodge,  No.   118. 

INDEPENDENT   ORDER    OF   WESTERN    STAR 

Joseph  B.  Greenhut  Lodge,  No.  80. 

ORDER    BRITH    ABRAHAM 

I'eoria  City  Lodge,  No.   138. 

ROYAL   BENEFIT   SOCIETY 

Victor  Circle,  No.  27. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

HISTORY  OF  BANKING  IN  PEORIA MEN  WHO  TOOK  THE  INITIATIVE  IN  THE  BUSINESS 

—  FIRST     liANK     BUILDINGS PEORIA     STRONG     IN     ITS     FINANCIAL     CONCERNS 

MODERN    HANKS    AND    BANKING THE    PEORIA    CLEARING    HOUSE. 

The  welfare  of  the  banks  is  closely  identified  with  the  prosperity  of  the 
comnuinity  and  their  progress  measures  the  development  of  its  material  re- 
sources. 

The  business  of  banking  is  of  great  antiquity  and  in  its  simpler  forms  no 
doubt  was  understood  and  practised  by  the  Assyrians,  Babylonians  and  Athe- 
nians. As  the  taking  of  interest  for  money  lies  at  the  root  of  all  banking  and 
furnishes  the  chief  motive  for  it,  wherever  a  people  were  sufficiently  advanced 
to  loan  money  for  hire  there  would  naturally  spring  up  many  of  the  practices 
and  methods  of  modern  banking.  The  transfer  of  credits  was  undoubtedly  known 
among  the  ancients.  They  used  checks  and  bills  of  exchange,  but  for  all  that  they 
were  very  far  from  having  the  confidence  in  credit  business  that  has  since  been 
fostered  by  modern  banking  methods.  They  used  gold  and  silver  coin  and  other 
commodities  then  in  use  as  standards  of  value  and  media  of  exchange  and  had 
not  invented  representative  money.  It  is  more  fanciful  than  correct  to  ascribe 
to  the  Romans  the  invention  of  modern  banking.  The  business  carried  on  by 
tiieir  monev  lenders  and  dealers-  was  similar  to  that  of  the  Jews  of  the  middle 
ages  and  the  J.omljards. 

When  gold  and  silver  were  deposited,  it  was  more  in  the  nature  of  a  special 
deposit  to  be  kept  until  called  for.  There  have  always  been  money  lenders,  but 
banks  for  lending  money  are  of  comparatively  modern  origin.  The  bank  of 
\'enice,  which  originated  in  1171,  may  be  pronounced  the  forerunner  of  modern 
banking.  It  was  followed  by  the  Bank  of  Genoa,  1320;  Bank  of  Amsterdam, 
]()oq;  Bank  of  England,  1694;  Bank  of  France,  1716;  and  others  at  later  dates. 
In  the  United  States  there  have  been  private  banks  and  chartered  banks,  and  of 
the  latter  some  have  derived  their  powers  from  state  legislatures  and  some  from 
the  Federal  Congress. 

The  National  Bank  .Act,  which  became  a  law  early  in  iSf)^,  was  modelled 
largely  after  the  free  banking  laws  of  New  York,  Ohio  and  other  states;  and 
the  distinctive  principles  which  underlie  it  are  government  supervision  of  the 
operations  of  the  banks  and  a  circulation  based  directly  upon  the  securities  and 
guarantee  of  the  government.  The  original  act  has  undergone  many  modifica- 
tions, some  of  them  of  considerable  importance ;  and  while  in  its  operations  it  has 
proved  of  great  value  to  the  commerce  of  the  country,  it  is  undoubtedly  capable 
of  improveriient  and  further  changes  may  be  expected  in  it  in  the  not  distant 
future. 

In  the  early  days  few  of  the  states  were  more  cursed  by  fatuous  banking 
enterprises  than  was  Illinois,  v\-hose  legislature  repeatedly  gave  state  aid  to  fan- 
tastic schemes  which  ended  disastrously  in  almost  every  case. 

These  early  banks,  which  violated  almost  every  known  canon  of  finance, 
.seemed  to  spring  up  more  readily  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state  and  Edwards- 
ville.  Shawneetown,  Kaskaskia,  Cairo  and  .Alton  are  familiar  names  to  students 
of  this  period  of  banking  history. 

447 


448  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

In  contrast  with  these  was  "Smith's  Bank,"  so  called,  in  Chicago,  which  is- 
sued certificates  of  deposit  in  denominations  from  one  dollar  upward,  which 
were  always  payable  on  presentation,  although  in  1851,  there  was  an. aggregate 
of  $1,476,235.00  outstanding. 

As  a  result  of  the  unfortunate  alliance  of  the  state  with  successive  banks, 
provisions  were  incorporated  in  the  constitution  of  1847,  prohibiting  the  state 
from  engaging  in  the  banking  business  and  requiring  that  all  banking  laws  he 
submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  people.  The  provisions  have  been  preserved  in  the 
present  constitution  adopted  in  1870.  The  first  banking  law  under  the  constitu- 
tion of  1847  was  modelled  after  that  of  New  York  and  was  passed  in  1851. 
While  this  law  was  faulty  in  some  particulars,  yet  the  banks  organized  under  it 
rendered  good  service  to  the  business  interests  of  the  state  and  provided  a  safe 
circulating  medium  up  to  the  time  of  the  Civil  war,  when  it  was  displaced  by  the 
circulation  of  the  national  l)anks.  Peoria  seems  to  have  escaped  any  direct' con- 
nection with  these  ill-considered  banking  enterprises,  largely,  it  is  to  be  thought, 
because  of  her  lack  of  prominence  in  those  earlier  days. 

In  his  history  of  banking.  John  Jay  Knox  states  that  S.  Pulsipher  was  the 
first  of  the  Peoria  bankers  and  mentions  the  establishment  by  Governor  Matteson 
of  the  Central  Bank  of  Peoria,  which  seems  not  to  be  historically  correct. 

William  R.  Phelps  and  B.  L.  T.  Bourland  established  themselves  as  land 
agents  and  dealers  in  October,  1847.  Later  they  began  receiving  deposits  and 
selling  exchange  in  a  quiet  way  and  also  made  commercial  loans  to  a  limited 
extent.  Subsequently  they  formed  a  partnership  with  Gideon  H.  Rupert,  James 
Haines  and  Thomas  N.  (iill  of  Pekin,  and  greatly  extended  their  business, 
starting  a  banking  house  at  Pekin.  under  the  firm  name  of  G.  H.  Rupert  &  Co., 
with  a  branch  at  Peoria,  under  the  name  of  Phelps,  Bourland  &  Co.  Later, 
these  two  firms  organized  the  Central  Bank  of  Peoria,  under  the  old  state  bank 
system,  with  Mr.  Rupert  as  president,  and  Robert  Arthur  Smith  as  cashier. 
The  banking  house  used  by  the  firm  was  built  by  Messrs.  Phelps  and  Bourland, 
and  was  located  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Main  and  Water  streets.  Sometime 
afterward  the  stock  and  fixtures  of  the  Central  Bank  were  sold  to  Governor 
Joel  A.  Matteson  and  his  son-in-law,  R.  E.  Goodell.  Alessrs.  Phelps  and  Bour- 
land and  the  Pekin  parties  retiring.  A  few  years  later,  the  Central  bank  went 
into  liquidation  and  discontinued  its  business.  The  banking  firm  of  G.  H.  Rupert 
&  Co.,  however,  continued  in  Ijusiness  for  some  years  at  Pekin,  and  always  main- 
tained a  high  standard  of  business  integrity. 

Messrs.  N.  B.  Curtis  &  Co.  established  themselves  as  bankers  here  in  185 1. 
locating  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Main  and  Water  streets,  and  for  many  years 
conducted  a  large  and  prosperous  business.  For  a  time  this  concern  seems  to  have 
had  some  connection  with  George  Smith,  the  noted  financier  of  Chicago,  as  it 
is  reported  to  have  put  in  circulation  large  amounts  of  the  notes  of  the  Marine  and 
Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Milwaukee,  and  of  Georgia  banks  (chiefl)'  the  issues 
of  the  Cherokee  Bank  of  Dalton,  Georgia),  in  which  Mr.  Smith  was  interested. 
This  bank  suspended  during  the  panic  year  of  1857,  but  out  of  it  grew  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Peoria,  the  first  national  banking  institution  in  the  citv. 

Other  early  banking  enterprises  were  those  of  J.  P.  Hotchkiss,  established  by 
Joshua  P.  Hotchkiss  in  the  fall  of  1852,  which  has  since  developed  into  the 
Second  National  Bank  of  Peoria;  and  of  S.  Pulsipher  &  Co.,  which  was  started 
about  1855  by  ]\Iessrs.  Sydney  Pulsipher,  B.  L.  T.  Bourland  and'  George  F. 
Flarding,  under  the  management  of  Mr.  Bourland,  their  office  being  on  the 
southeast  corner  of  Main  and  Adams  streets.  Mr.  Bourland  sold  out  his  in- 
terest in  1857,  to  Erastus  D.  Hardin,  who  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Pulsipher, 
carried  on  a  large  and  profitable  business  for  many  years.  This  enterprise  ended 
in  failure,  in  consequence  of  immense  but  unfortunate  advances  made  to  dis- 
tillers. This  temporary  disaster,  however,  resulted  advantageously  to  the  city, 
in  that  it  threw  upon  the  market  a  large  amount  of  undivided  real  estate  now 
comprised  within   the  most   attractive   residence   portion   of   the   "middle   bluff" 


GF.OD   FOUXTAIX— I>Ari!A    l!i;Al)I.KV    I'AKK 


MAIN'  AND   JEFFERSON   STREETS,  PEORIA 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  449 

district.  While  some  of  tiie  depositors  lost  heavily,  others  bought  up  the  bank's 
obligations  at  a  discount  and  realized  the  full  amount  of  their  claims. 

\'ery  largely  Peoria's  banking  institutions  have  been  under  the  management 
of  her  local  business  men,  which  gives  evidence  that  they  have  grown  out  of 
the  actual  demands  of  business.  One  effect  of  this  natural  development  has 
been  the  exclusion  of  enterprises  of  a  merely  speculative  character,  financed  by 
foreign  capital  and  of  doubtful  legitimacy,  which  has  tended  to  the  more  com- 
plete security  of  the  business  public.  .As  a  consequence,  banking  capital  has  not 
at  any  time  exceeded  the  public  demand,  and  its  employment  under  the  direction 
of  men  of  ability,  experience  and  fidelity,  has  brought  about  such  community  of 
interest  between  bankers  and  depositors  that  the  latter  have  been  accommodated 
at  reasonable  interest  rates  and  have  kept  their  accounts  with  the  local  banks, 
almost  exclusi\'ely,  and  it  is  probable  that  no  city  of  its  wealth  and  pojiulation 
has  suffered  so  little  loss,  through  bank  failures,  as  has  the  city  of  Peoria. 

.Although  complete  figures  are  not  available,  the  following  will  indicate  the 
growth  of  the  banking  interests  of  Peoria  during  the  last  thirty  years. 

The  three  National  iJanks  in  existence  in  Peoria  in  1880,  each  with  a  capital 
stock  of  $100,000.00,  have  grown,  in  1912,  to  five  in  number,  with  an  aggregate 
capital  of  $1,900,000.00  and  a  surplus  and  profits  of  $1,600,000.00.  Statements  to 
the  comptroller  of  the  currency  and  state  auditor,  of  the  five  national  ijanks 
and  four  state  banks  for  .April  18,  1912,  show'  total  resources  of  $28,746,963.52, — 
a  gain  in  the  last  ten  years  of  approximately  $12,250,000.00.  Total  deposits  in 
the  nine  banks  on  the  same  date  are  $22,718,193.60. 

C0MMEKCI.\L    CERM.\N     N.\TION.\L    T.ANK 

The  Commercial  National  Bank  of  Peoria  succeeded  the  private  banking  firm 
of  Callender,  .Ayres  «Sc  Co.,  which  began  business  March  12,  1881,  with  a  capital 
of  $75,000,  the  members  of  the  firm  being  Columbus  R.  Cummings,  Gardner  T. 
Barker,  Henry  P.  .Ayres,  Walter  Barker  and  Eliot  Callender,  of  whom  the  last 
two  only  survive  at  this  date  (1912).  The  national  l)ank  opened  for  business 
at  the  corner  of  ^^'ashington  and  Fulton  streets,  January  13,  1885,  with  a  cai^i- 
tal  of  $200,000.  The  board  of  directors  consisted  of  Gardner  T.  Barker,  Charles 
B.  .Allaire,  Frank  Meyer,  George  L.  Bradbury,  Walter  Barker,  Eliot  Callender 
and  Henry  P.  Ayres  and  the  officers  were  Eliot  Callender,  president;  Henry  P. 
Ayres,  vice-president  and  cashier.  Two  weeks  later,  Gardner  T.  Barker  suc- 
ceeded Air.  .Ayres  as  vice-president,  and  on  .A])ril  ist  of  the  same  vear  he  was 
succeeded  as  cashier  loy  Henry  B.  Do.x,  who  continued  in  the  office  until  his  death 
in  September,  1899.  Homer  W.  AlcCoy  was  then  elected  cashier  and  served  imtil 
May,  1901,  when  he  resigned  to  enter  the  bond  lousiness  in  Chicago,  where  he  now 
is  president  of  McCoy  &  Company.  The  office  was  filled  by  the  election  of 
Elwood  .A.  Cole,  who  was  succeeded  as  assistant  cashier  by  William  Hazzard. 

Gardner  T.  Barker  became  president  of  the  bank  January  i,  [887,  and  contin- 
ued in  the  office  till  his  death  in  1894,  when  Walter  Barker  succeeded  him  and 
has  been  re-elected  annually  ever  since. 

January  i,  1904,  the  capital  was  increased  from  $200,000  to  $550,000;  the  name 
was  clianged  to  Commercial  (ierman  National  r.ank  and  the  business  of  the 
German  .American  National  liank  was  absorbed.  .At  that  time  the  board  of 
directors  consisted  of  Walter  Barker,  Joseph  B.  Greenhut,  John  L.  Flinn,  Bernard 
Crewer,  J.  N.  Ward,  Joscjih  Miller,  Frank  P.  Lewis,  Samuel  Woolner,  \^'arren 
R.  Buckley,  A.  L.  Schimpff,  Johnson  L.  Cole,  Leslie  D.  Puterbaugh,  John  Wilson, 
John  Finley  and  \\'eston  .Arnold;  and  the  officers  were  Walter  Ijarker,  president; 
J.  B.  Greenhut  and  J.  L.  Flinn,  vice-presidents;  Weston  .\rnold,  cashier:  Elwood 
A.   Cole,   assistant  cashier. 

Report  of  January  22,  1904,  to  the  comptroller  of  the  currency  showed  capital 
of  $550,000;  surplus  and  profits  $144,000;  deposits,  $3,922,665  and  total  re- 
sources, $5,116,682. 


450  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

E.  A.  Cole,  who  succeeded  to  the  cashiership  July  i,  1904,  resigned  the  po- 
sition May  I,  191 1,  and  was  succeeded  by  William  Hazzard,  who  had  been  as- 
sistant cashier  since  January  i,   1905. 

April  24,  1909,  the  bank  removed  from  Fulton  and  Washington  streets,  where 
it  had  been  located  for  twenty-four  years,  to  commodious  and  elegant  quarters 
at  ^21-^2^  South  Adams  street. 

Report  of  June  14,  1912,  shows  a  capital  of  $550,000;  surplus  and  profits 
$768,299;  deposits,  $5,127,294,  and  total  resources,  $6,995,593.  On  August  12, 
1912,  the  capital  stock  was  increased  to  $750,000,  by  the  issuance  of  $200,000 
new  capital.    This  bank  is  the  largest  in  the  state  outside  of  Chicago. 

The  present  board  of  directors  is  made  up  of  Walter  Barker,  William  F. 
Wolfner,  John  L.  Flinn,  Bernard  Cremer,  Robert  D.  Clarke,  Frank  P.  Lewis, 
William  B.  Woolner,  Jacob  Wocherheimer,  Leslie  D.  Puterbaugh,  Johnson  L. 
Cole,  Albert  T.  Schimpff,  John  Finley,  William  G.  McRoberts  and  William 
Hazzard ;  and  the  officers  are  \\'alter  Barker,  president ;  John  L.  Flinn  and  John 
Finley,  vice-presidents ;  William  Hazzard,  cashier ;  William  B.  Reed  and  William 
M.  Wood,  assistant  cashiers. 

FIRST    NATIONAL    BANK 

Chronologically  considered,  the  oldest  existing  banking  institution  in  Peoria, 
in  its  present  organization,  was  the  outgrowth  of  conditions  existing  in  the  first 
years  of  the  Civil  war,  and  the  enactment  of  the  National  Banking  Act  by 
Congress  in  1863.  In  1851,  Nathaniel  B.  Curtiss  and  his  brother,  Pliny  Curtiss 
(under  the  firm  name  of  N.  B.  Curtiss  &  Co.),  opened  up  a  private  banking 
business  at  the  upper  corner  of  Main  and  Water  streets  and  for  a  time  did  a 
large  business.  About  1857,  Curtiss  &  Co.  removed  to  the  building  long  occu- 
pied by  the  First  National  Bank  at  No.  200  Main  street,  which  had  been  erected 
by  Mr.  Curtiss.  Owing  to  the  panic  of  the  latter  year,  a  run  was  made  upon 
the  Curtiss  bank,  which  resulted  in  its  suspension  for  a  time,  though  it  appears 
to  have  reopened  at  a  later  date  for  a  short  period.  About  1858  or  1859,  Marshall 
P.  Stone  and  Thaddeus  S.  Ely  appear  to  have  been  doing  business  as  bankers  at 
the  location  of  the  Curtiss  bank,  though  it  evidently  continued  for  only  a  short 
time,  as  we  find  in  i860  that  Marshall  P.  Stone,  William  F.  Bryan  and  George 
H.  Stone  commenced  a  banking  business  under  the  firm  name  of  M.  P.  Stone  & 
Co.,  in  the  Curtiss  building.  Three  years  later  the  last  named  firm  sold  out  to 
the  First  National  Bank  of  Peoria,  which  was  organized  under  the  national 
banking  law  on  November  23,  1863,  with  a  capital  of  $150,000.00,  owned  by 
fortv-two  stockholders.  The  largest  individual  stockholders  in  the  origiilal  or- 
ganization were  Tobias  S.  Bradley,  Nathaniel  B.  Curtiss  and  Richard  Gregg,  of 
Peoria,  and  James  H.  McCall  of  Canton.  Fulton  county.  Mr.  Bradley  held  270 
shares  of  stock  and  the  other  three  200  shares  each.  The  first  board  of  directors, 
elected  November  25,  consisted  of  Tobias  S.  Bradley,  Richard  Gregg.  Nathaniel 
B.  Curtiss.  Hervey  Lightner.  John  L.  Griswold,  John  C.  Proctor,  Louis  Green, 
Thomas  S.  Dobbins  and  Robert  S.  Smith,  and  a  few  days  later  Mr.  Bradley  was 
chosen  president,  and  Mr.  Curtiss  cashier.  The  bank  opened  for  business  Janu- 
ary 6,  1864,  and  has  been  in  operation  ever  since.  In  June.  1864.  the  capital  stock 
was  increased  to  $200,000.00;  was  reduced  in  1875  to  $100,000.00.  but  again  in- 
creased, 1884,  to  $150,000.00;  to  $400,000.00  in  1905  and  to  $550,000.00  in 
1910,  at  which  sum  it  still  remains.  The  original  charter  having  expired  in  1883, 
a  new  charter  was  secured,  running  for  twenty  years,  which  expired  in  1903  and 
was  extended  for  another  period  of  twenty  years.  The  first  board  of  directors 
consisted  of  nine  members;  in  1870.  the  number  was  reduced  to  seven,  and  m 
1875  to  five.  :Mr.  Bradlev  occupied  the  office  of  president  continuously  until 
his  death,  which  occurred ':\Iav  4.  1867.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  late  Wash- 
ington Cockle,  who  continued  in  office  until  1875,  when  he  was  succeeded  by 
Hervey  Lightner.     The  latter  held  office  onlv  a  few  weeks,  when  he  gave  place 


FIRST   NATIOXAI.    IIAXK.    I'KdlMA 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  451 

to  Joliii  C  i'roctor,  who  was  re-elected  at  each  subsequent  election  until  iyo6, 
when  he  declined  a  re-election  and  was  succeeded  by  Charles  R.  Wheeler,  who 
has  continued  in  the  office  to  this  time.  A  noteworthy  feature  in  the  history  of 
the  L'irst  National  Uank,  indicating  its  conservative  and  substantial  character,  is 
the  few  changes  that  have  occurred  in  the  board  of  directors  and  official  staff. 
From  1875  to  1907,  Airs.  Lydia  Bradley,  the  widow  of  the  first  president,  was 
continuously  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors — one  of  the  few  instances  in 
which  a  woman  has  held  this  position  in  a  leading  banking  institution.  In  1895, 
occurred  the  death  of  William  E.  Stone,  Sr.,  who  had  been  identified  with  the 
bank  from  its  organization  in  1863,  first  as  bookkeeper  and  later  as  its  cashier, 
and  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  William  E.  Stone,  Jr.,  who  became  vice-presi- 
dent also  in  igo6.  The  present  board  of  directors  (1912)  consists  of  Charles  R. 
Wheeler,  William  E.  Stone,  Winslow  Evans.  Edwin  W  Armstrong.  Henry  lled- 
rich,  W'ilber  Al.  Ijenton,  Warren  SutliiT,  George  F.  Emerson  and  E.  H.  Walker, 
with  Mr.  Wheeler  as  president,  Air.  .Stone  as  vice  president  and  casliTer.  and 
George  AI.  Bush  and  Arthur  W.  Bennett  as  assistant  cashiers. 

The  last  official  statement  of  the  condition  of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Peoria,  made  to  the  comptroller  of  the  currency,  under  date  of  June  14,  1912, 
shows  that  it  then  had  a  capital  stock  of  $550,000.00,  with  surplus  and  ])rofits 
of  $285,000.00;  deposits,  $3,785,522  and  total  resources  $5,185,271. 

THE    MERCn.\XTS    X.^TIO^'AL    B.\NK    OF    PEORI.\ 

The  Alerchants  National  I'ank  of  Peoria  is  the  successor  of  the  Alechanics' 
National  Bank,  which  was  organized  and  opened  for  business  May  20,  1865, 
with  Isaac  Underbill  as  president  and  Samuel  Coskery,  cashier.  A  radical 
change  took  place  in  the  directorate  in  1866.  Horatio  N.  Wheeler  became  presi- 
dent, and  J.  Boyd  Smith,  cashier.  In  1880  the  bank  had  a  ]iaid-up  capital  of 
$100,000.00,  and  a  reserve  of  $70,000.00.  its  executive  officers  remaining  un- 
changed. 

In  1884,  the  Alechanics'  National  Bank  reorganized  as  the  Alerchpnts  Na- 
tional Bank,  the  capital  stock  being  increased  to  $200,000.00.  The  first  board  of 
directors  of  the  new  organization  consisted  of  Horatio  N.  Wheeler,  Ezekiel  A. 
Proctor,  John  C.  Yates,  Charles  T.  Luthy,  John  B.  Smith,  John  D.  McClure,  and 
Wm.  V.  Bryan.  H.  N.  Wheeler,  who  had  been  president  of  the  Alechanics'  Na- 
tional during  most  of  its  history,  was  elected  the  first  president  of  the  new  insti- 
tution, and  J.  B.  Smith,  cashier.  E.  A.  Proctor  was  elected  president  in  1885, 
continuing  in  office,  by  repeated  reelections,  until  1888,  when  he  resigned,  and 
was  succeeded  bv   .Andrew    T-   Hodges,  whose  period  of  service  continued   until 

T893. 

A  new  element  came  into  the  Alerchants  National  Bank  in  1897,  in  the  ab- 
sorption of  the  Bank  of  Commerce,  which  had  been  organized  in  1891,  under  the 
state  banking  law,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $100,000,  which  was  increased  two 
years  later  to  $200,000.  The  first  board  of  directors  included  the  names  of 
Henry  H.  Fahnestcck,  Charles  R.  Wheeler.  A.  G.  Danforth,  H.  B.  Stewart, 
George  Emerson,  B.  F.  Rhodehamel,  C.  A.  Davis,  James  AI.  Alorse  and  Fred 
H.  .Smith,  with  Air.  Fahnestock  as  president,  C.  R.  Wheeler,  vice  president,  and 
Homer  W.  AlcCoy.  cashier.  The  bank  conducted  a  successful  business,  the 
board  of  directors  and  officers  in  the  meantime,  remaining  unchanged  until 
July,  1897.  when  it  was  merged  into  the  Alerchants  National  Bank  of  Peoria,  the 
stock  holders  realizing  103  per  cent  on  their  capital  stock. 

After  the  retirement  of  Air.  Hodges  from  the  presidency  of  the  Merchants 
National  Bank  in  1893.  Ferdinand  Luthy,  who  had  been  a  director  since  1887, 
became  president,  and  has  so  continued  up  to  the  present  time  (1912).  The 
terms  of  other  officers  have  been  as  follows:  John  D.  AlcClure,  vice  president, 
1885-1892;  Plenry  Sandmeyer,  vice  president,  1893-1912;  Homer  W.  AlcCoy, 
second  vice  president,  1897-99;  Frederick  IT.  Smith,  second  vice  president,  1899- 


452  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

1912;  John  B.  Smith,  cashier,  1884-89  (resigned)  ;  George  H.  Littlewood,  assist- 
ant cashier,  1888-89,  and  cashier  from  1889  to  1903  (deceased)  ;  Thaddeus  S. 
Ely,  assistant  cashier,  1884-88  (resigned)  succeeded  in  turn  by  Air.  Littlewood, 
who,  in  1889,  gave  place  to  Fillmore  .Millard,  the  latter  resigned  in  1894;  W.  T.' 
Murray,  assistant  cashier,  1894-96  (resigned)  ;  Walter  L.  Wiley,  assistant  cash- 
ier, up  to  1903,  then  cashier,  succeeding  Geo.  H.  Littlewood,  deceased,  to  luly. 
1907,  when  he  resigned  and  moved  to  California;  John  C.  Paddock,  present 
cashier  (1912)  became  connected  with  the  bank  as  general  bookkeeper' in  1897, 
was  appointed  assistant  cashier  in  1903,  and  succeeded  Mr.  Wiley  as  cashier  in 
1907;  Thomas  D.  McDougal,  assistant  cashier  in  1912,  who  entered'  the  employ  of 
the  bank  as  messenger  in  1885,  was  appointed  an  assistant  cashier  in  1903.' 

The  present  officers  (1912)  are  Ferdinand  Luthy,  president;  Henry  Sand- 
meyer,  vice  president ;  Frederick  H.  Smith,  second  vice  president ;  J.  C.  Paddock, 
cashier  and  Thos.  D.  McDougal,  assistant  cashier,  with  Messrs.  Luthy,  Sand- 
meyer.  Smith  and  McDougal  members  of  the  board  of  directors,  which  also  in- 
c-Iudes  Messrs.  J.  B.  Bartholomew,  Edward  C.  Leisy,  Valentine  Jobst,  Jr., 
George  T.  Page  and  Samuel  L.  Nelson. 

In  addition  to  those  directors  already  named,  the  following  have  served  on 
the  board  of  directors  for  various  periods:  B.  Cremer,  A.  J.  Hodges,  C.  S. 
Clarke,  C.  C.  Clarke,  Adolph  \\'oolner.  B.  J.  Greenhut,  Samuel  Woolner,  Jr., 
and  Homer  W.  McCoy. 

On  May  30,  1886,  a  crisis  occurred  in  the  affairs  of  the  bank  in  consequence 
of  the  discovery  of  the  embezzlement  of  its  funds  by  a  bookkeeper,  to  the  amount 
of  $183,000.  The  bank  went  into  the  hands  of  the  National  Bank  authorities, 
and  for  a  month  remained  closed,  but,  its  capital  having  been  restored  by  an 
assessment  of  50  per  cent  upon  the  stockholders,  it  finally  reopened  for  business 
and  has  since  enjoyed  a  steady  growth  and  excellent  profits. 

Besides  an  unimpaired  capital  of  $200,000  it  has  now  (June,  1912).  a  sur- 
plus of  $180,000,  undivided  profits  of  $33,861.80,  and  for  the  past  twelve  years 
has  paid  <|uarterly  dividends  of  3  per  cent,  making  a  total  paid  to  its  stockholders 
since  1887  of  $528,000.  The  statement  of  June  14,  1912,  shows  $2,001,224.50  in 
deposits  and  total  resources  of  $2,615,158. 

THE    CENTR.\L    N.VTIONAL    BANK    OF    PEORIA 

The  Central  National  Bank  of  Peoria  dates  its  organization  from  the  year 
1884,  when  it  began  business  with  a  paid  up  capital  of  $200,000,  as  the  successor 
of  the  Farmers'  Bank,  which  had  been  conducting  a  successful  business  at  211 
Main  street.  The  latter  institution  was  a  partnership  concern,  organized  in 
1879,  by  Martin  Kingman,  Benjamin  F.  Blossom  and  Frederick  E.  Leonard,  the 
transition  from  a  private  bank  to  a  National  organization  being  in  recognition 
of  changed  financial  conditions,  and  a  desire  to  accommodate  the  business  pub- 
lic of  Peoria  to  better  advantage.  The  members  of  the  first  board  of  directors 
of  the  new  institution  were  Harvey  Lightner,  Richard  H.  W'hiting,  Martin  King- 
man, Benjamin  F.  Blossom,  Isaac  Taylor,  Frederick  E.  Leonard  and  Oliver  |. 
Bailey.  At  the  first  election  of  officers  by  the  board  of  directors  (1884)  Mr. 
Kingman  was  chosen  president,  Mr.  P)ailey,  vice  jjresident,  Mr.  Blossom,  cashier 
and  manager,  and  Mr.  Leonard,  assistant  cashier.  In  January.  1891.  Hervey 
Lightner  was  chosen  as  president  of  the  bank,  which  position  he  held  with  great 
honor  and  dignity  until  the  day  of  his  death.  Routine  changes  in  the  directorate 
and  official  staff  of  the  association  have  occurred  from  time  to  time  since  said 
date,  caused  by  the  decease  and  resignation  of  those  active  and  prominent  in 
ownership  and  management,  the  board  of  directors  at  the  time  of  this  writing, 
namely,  igi2,  being  composed  of  the  following  named  gentlemen,  to-wit :  Rich- 
ard W.  Kempshall.  of  Messrs.  Kempshall  &  Keene,  managers  of  western  general 
agency  of  the  Aetna  Life  Insurance  Company ;  Henry  W.  Lynch,  wholesale 
dealer  in  bituminous  and  anthracite  coal,  coke,  etc. ;  Henry  J.  Woodward,  presi- 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  453 

dent  of  Allaire,  Woodward  &  Company,  pharmaceutical  chemists  and  drug  mill- 
ers;  Charles  H.  Feltman,  grain  commission,  president  Peoria  Board  of  Trade; 
Edgar  C.  Foster,  manager  Peoria  Division  United  Boxboard  Company ;  Francis 
H.  Tichenor,  general  counsel,  and  Frederick  F.  Blossom,  vice  president,  with  a 
co-existent  staff  of  officers  as  follows:  Richard  W.  Kempshall,  president; 
Frederick  F.  Blossom  and  Henry  W.  Lynch,  vice  presidents ;  Albert  H.  Addison, 
cashier;  William  R.  Cation  and  George  E.  McMurray,  assistant  cashiers.  The 
sworn  official  statement  rendered  to  the  Government  on  call  of  the  comptroller 
of  the  currency,  shows  condition  of  the  association  at  close  of  business  June  14, 
1912,  as  follows:  Capital  paid  in  $200,000;  suri)lus  fund  and  net  undivided 
profits.  $200,407;  deposits,  $2,684,812;  total  resources,  $3,174,213. 

The  bank  is  centrally  and  conveniently  located  at  the  corner  of  Main  and 
Adams  streets,  and  is  rated  as  one  of  the  most  conservative  and  substantial  of 
Peoria's  financial  institutions. 

Others  in  addition  to  those  previously  mentioned,  who  have  in  the  past  served 
upon  the  board  of  directors  of  the  bank,  with  credit  to  themselves  and  to  the 
institution,  are  Samuel  W.  Sessions.  Cleveland,  Ohio  (deceased),  Jacob  P. 
Schncllhacher  and  llenry  B.  Rouse,  of  Peoria. 

ILLINOIS    N/\TION..\L    B.\NK 

The  youngest  of  the  national  banks  of  Peoria  is  the  Illinois  National  liank, 
chartered  on  May  21,  igoo,  and  which  began  business  under  its  new  charter 
June  I,  igoi.  It  was  based  upon  the  foundation  of  the  old  "Bank  of  Illinois," 
which  had  been  chartered  under  state  law  February  21,  1891,  under  the  name  of 
the  "Peoria  Savings,  Loan  and  Trust  Company."  in  the  year  1899.  taking  the 
name  of  the  "Bank  of  Illinois."  The  officers  of  the  earlier  bank,  at  its  organi- 
zation, were  IMartin  Kingman,  president ;  A.  S.  Oakford,  vice  president ;  C.  T. 
Heald,  cashier;  and  Rudolj^h  Pasquay,  assistant  cashier,  and  this  organization 
has  been  continued  with  little  change  to  the  present  time.  In  1897  ^I''-  Heald 
and  Mr.  Pasquay  resigned  their  positions,  Frank  Trefzger  being  elected  cashier 
and  William  C.  White  his  assistant.  In  1899,  Ira  D.  Buck  was  chosen  second 
\'ice  i:)resident.  and  these  officers  were  continued  under  the  organization  of  the 
new  corporation  in  1901.  The  capital  stock  of  the  Illinois  National  ISank,  of 
Peoria,  at  its  organization,  was  $150,000,  which  was  later  increased  to  $200,000. 

The  first  board  of  directors  was  composed  of  Martin  Kingman.  A.  S.  Oak- 
ford,  Ira  D.  Buck,  Ben  Warren,  Jr.,  Chas.  A.  Jamieson,  John  Wilson,  E.  C. 
Heidrick,  Charles  C.  Miles  and  Walter  B.  Kingman,  while  the  present  board 
(1912)  consists  of  A.  S.  Oakford.  Frank  Fischer.  A.  W.  Wilson.  Chas.  C.  Miles, 
E.  M.  Chandler,  Leonard  Hillis,  Charles  Kretzger,  John  C.  Streibich.  Henry  G. 
Kuch.  Nicholas  LHrich  and  William  C.  White,  and  the  officers  are,  W.  C.  White, 
president:  A.  S.  Oakford  and  Frank  Fischer,  vice  presidents;  Charles  .-X.  Anicker, 
cashier;  Charles  J.  Sheehaas  and  Thaddeus  H.  Fuchs,  assistant  cashiers.  On 
June  14,  1912,  capital  was  $200,000;  surplus  and  profits,  $109,845;  deposits, 
$2,014,210;  total  resources,  $2,524,053. 

DIME    S.^VINGS    AND   TRUST    COMP.VNY 

In  December,  1886,  Eliot  Callender,  Oliver  J.  Bailey,  Frank  Meyer,  Henry 
P.  .Ayers  and  Seth  W.  Freeman,  all  prominent,  well  known  and  wealthy  resi- 
dents of  Peoria,  formed  a  copartnership  to  transact  a  legitimate  savings  bank 
business,  under  the  name  of  the  Dime  Savings  Bank  of  Peoria.  The  bank  was 
opened  for  business  January  17,  1887,  on  South  Jefferson  avenue,  in  what  had 
lieen  the  residence  of  A.  P.  Bartlett,  an  old  resident  of  the  city,  and  which  was 
located  upon  the  exact  site  of  the  present  magnificent  building  of  the  Dime  Sav- 
ings and  Trust  Company. 

Eliot  Callender  became  the  first  president  of  the  institution,  Oliver  J.  Bailey, 


454  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

vice  president,  and  Henry  P.  Ayers,  treasurer.  In  1888  Seth  W.  Freeman 
retired  from  the  copartnersliip,  his  associates  purchasing  his  interests.  In  1887 
Rudolf  Pfeiffer  became  the  bani<'s  first  cashier,  and  under  his  management  and 
that  of  the  associate  partners  the  business  rapidly  grew  and  prospered.  Theodore 
B.  Wissing,  present  cashier  of  the  bank,  entered  its  service  in  October,  i8go. 
Herman  C.  Schwab,  present  assistant  cashier,  entered  its  service  in  December, 
1892.  In  September,  1894,  Henry  P.  Ayers  died  and  his  interests  in  the  bank 
were  purchased  by  the  other  partners,  thus  leaving  Eliot  Callender,  Oliver  J. 
Bailey  and  Frank  Meyer  the  copartners  carrying  on  the  business.  Rudolf 
Pfeiffer,  cashier  of  the  bank,  severed  his 'connection  with  the  institution  in  1903, 
after  sixteen  years  continuous  service. 

On  November  i,  1903,  George  W.  Curtiss  became  a  vice  president  and  gen- 
eral manager  of  the  institution.  March  i,  1904,  the  bank  was  incorporated 
under  the  state  banking  law  of  Illinois  as  the  Dime  Savings  and  Trust  Company, 
and  at  that  date  took  over  the  mortgage  loan  and  investment  business  of  the 
Anthony  Loan  &  Trust  Company,  and  also  the  business  of  the  Title  &  Trust 
Company.  Eliot  Callender  served  as  president  of  the  bank  until  January,  1905, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  Oliver  J.  Bailey,  who  served  as  president  until  1906, 
when  Sumner  R.  Clarke  was  elected  president.  Upon  the  death  of  the  latter  in 
January,  1907,  the  present  president,  George  W.  Curtiss,  was  elected  to  that 
position. 

The  Dime  Savings  Bank  was  the  first  bank  in  Peoria  to  build  and  occupy  its 
own  building  constructed  especially  for  convenience  in  banking.  In  1904  the 
business  had  grown  to  such  proportions  that  the  building  then  occupied  became 
wholly  inadequate,  and  the  Dime  Savings  &  Trust  Company  began  the  erection 
of  its  present  magnificent  structure,  considered  by  many  the  finest  bank  building 
in  the  west.  It  took  eighteen  months  to  construct  this  building,  and  it  was  not 
occupied  until   February,    1906. 

The  present  capital  of  the  institution  is  a  C|uarter  of  a  million  dollars,  while 
its  surplus  is  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  all  earned  out  of  profits 
in  excess  of  dividends  paid.  Since  its  organization  March  i,  1904,  it  has  paid 
to  its  stockholders  in  dividends  a  sum  almost  equalling  its  capital  stock.  Its 
deposits  are  now  about  two  million  dollars.  The  loans  made  by  the  bank  are 
exclusively  upon  first  liens  upon  improved  real  estate. 

The  present  officers  of  the  institution  are:  George  E.  Curtiss,  president; 
John  E.  Keene.  vice  president;  Frederick  H.  Smith,  vice  president;  Theo.  r>. 
Wissing,  cashier ;  Herman  C.  Schwab,  asst.  cashier ;  J.  W.  McDowell,  treasurer ; 
Joseph  P.  Durkin,  secretary ;  Clifton  W.  Frazier,  trust  officer  and  attorney ; 
William  Jack,  general  counsel. 

Statement  of  June  14,  1912,  showed  capital  of  $250,000;  surplus  and  profits, 
$109,805;  deposits,  $2,018,814.     Total  resources,  $2,403,619. 

HOME   SAVINGS    AND    STATE    BANK 

The  prime  mover  in  the  organization  of  the  Home  Savings  and  State  Bank 
of  Peoria  was  X'alentine  Ulrich,  who  had  Ijeen  for  many  years  president  of  the 
German  American  National  Bank,  and  who,  in  1S92,  in  connection  with  twenty- 
nine  other  stockholders,  obtained  a  charter  from  the  state  of  Illinois,  under  which 
they  began  doing  business  on  June  2nd  of  that  year.  Mr.  Ulrich  brought  into 
the  concern  with  him  Frank  Trefzger,  who  up  to  that  time  had  been  assistant 
cashier  of  the  German  American  National,  as  well  as  his  son  Charles,  a  member 
of  the  law  firm  of  Ulrich  &  Ulrich,  who  had  been  doing  a  real-estate  brokerage 
business.  The  original  stockholders  were  all  residents  of  Peoria,  except  Fred 
F.  Harding,  president  of  the  Second  National  Bank  of  Monmouth,  and  the 
capital  stock  was  $120,000,  at  which  sum  it  still  remains.  At  the  first  meeting 
of  stockholders,  held  June  13,  1892,  the  following  board  of  directors  were 
elected :  Frederick  L.  Block,  C.  Gehrmann,  Fritz  Leuder,  Frank  Trefzger,  Val- 


4 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  455 

entine  Ulrich,  Charles  E.  Ulrich  and  Charles  Zimmermann.  \'alentine  Ulrich 
was  chosen  president,  Charles  E.  Ulrich,  vice  president,  and  Frank  Trefzger, 
cashier.  In  1895  Mr.  Gehrmann  moved  to  New  York  City  and  Robert  Strehlow 
was  chosen  to  succeed  him  as  director.  Frank  Trefzger,  having  resigned  his 
position  in  April,  1897,  to  accept  the  cashiership  of  another  bank,  Henry  W. 
Ulrich  was  chosen  to  succeed  him  as  both  director  and  cashier.  The  present 
board  of  directors  consists  of  Valentine  Ulrich,  E.  C.  Lersy,  Chas.  E.  Ulrich, 
August  Pfeiffer,  Henry  W.  Ulrich,  F.  Lueder  and  R.  V.  Ulrich.  The  officers 
are :  President,  Valentine  Ulrich ;  vice  president,  Charles  E.  Ulrich ;  cashier, 
Henry  \\".  Ulrich ;  assistant  cashier,  Robert  V.  Ulrich. 

The  report  for  June  14,  1912,  showed  the  capital  was  $120,000;  surplus  and 
profits,  $139,986;  deposits,  $1,596,766;  total  resources,  $1,856,753. 

In  November,  1910,  the  bank  removed  from  South  Adams  street  to  splendidly 
equipped  cjuarters  in  the  new  Jeti'erson  building.  Since  that  date^its  growth  has 
been  such  as  to  necessitate  the  addition  of  another  room  to  properly  accom- 
modate  its   increasing  business. 

THE  SAVINGS   B.\NK  OF   PEORI.V 

The  Savings  Rank  of  Peoria  was  organized  February  i,  1868,  as  a  copartner- 
ship, by  the  following  gentlemen :  W.  A.  Herron,  P.  Zell,  C.  P.  King,  L.  Howell, 
Z.  Hotchkiss,  J.  Hamlin,  L.  G.  Pratt,  Thos.  Dobbins  and  T.  C.  Moore. 

The  copartners  held  their  first  meeting  in  the  directors  room  of  the  Second 
National  Bank  and  organized  by  electing  W.  A.  Herron,  president,  and  P.  Zell, 
secretary.  The  room  under  the  First  National  Bank,  corner  of  Alain  and  Wash- 
ington streets,  was  selected  as  their  banking  room  and  the  bank  conducted  its 
business  in  that  location  until  July  i,  1906. 

Phil  Zell,  secretary,  conducted  the  business  from  the  start  for  a  period  of 
two  years,  when  he  resigned  and  president  Herron  took  charge  of  the  manage- 
ment and  continued  as  president  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  December, 
1906. 

On  February  i,  1872,  H.  Hedrich  was  appointed  cashier  and  continued  to 
serve  as  such  uninterruptedly  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Herron,  when  he  succeeded 
Mr.  Herron  as  president. 

A  few  years  after  the  organization  of  the  bank,  T.  C.  Moore,  L.  Howell,  and 
J.  Hamlin  "were  removed  by  death  and  W.  A.  Herron,  C.  P.  King  and  Phil  Zell 
'ac(|uired  the  interests  of  Z'  Hotchkiss,  T.  Dobbins  and  L.  G.  Pratt  by  purchase. 

The  business  of  the  bank  was  carried  on  successfully  by  the  remaining  part- 
ners Herron,  King  and  Zell  until  June,  1894,  when  the  partners  decided  to  in- 
corporate under  the  banking  laws  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$150,000,  surplus  $150,000,  and  undivided  profits  $10,000. 

On  June  29,  1894,  the  stockholders  held  their  first  meeting  and  W.  A.  Herron 
was  elected  chairman  and  Phil  Zell,  secretary.  The  stockholders  voted  a  direc- 
torate of  five  members  and  elected  W.  A.  Herron,  Phil  Zell,  W.  M.  Benton,  H. 
Hedrich,  and  W.  Jack.  At  a  special  meeting  of  the  directors  held  June  29, 
1894,  W.  A.  Herron  was  elected  president,  Phil  Zell,  vice  president,  and  H. 
Hedrich,  cashier.  The  above  officers  and  directors  continued  in  office  until 
February  12,  1901,  except  Mr.  Zell,  who  died  in  April,  1900.  .A.t  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  stockholders  held  February  12,  1901,  the  following  were  elected 
directors:  W.  A.  Herron,  W.  M.  Benton,  M.  C.  Horton,  W.  Jack  and  H.  Hed- 
rich. The  directors  in  special  meeting  elected  W.  A.  Flerron,  president,  M.  C. 
Horton,  vice  president,  and  H.  Hedrich,  cashier.  The  above  officers  continued 
in  office  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Herron,  which  occurred  in  December,   1906. 

On  July  T,  1906,  the  Savings  Bank  removed  its  banking  quarters  to  317 
Main  street,  where  it  remained  until  June  8,  191 1,  when  it  removed  to  its  present 
quarters  in  the  First  National  Bank  building. 

.\t  the  annual  meeting  of  the  stockholders  held  February  13,  1907,  the  direc- 


456  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

torate  was  increased  from  five  to  seven  and  Alary  W.  Herron,  W.  i\I.  Benton, 
AI.  Huftman,  W.  H.  Rich,  M.  C.  Horton,  E.  H.  Walker  and  H.  Hedrich  were 
elected  directors.  The  directors  at  a  special  meeting  elected  H.  Hedrich,  presi- 
dent, E.  H.  Walker,  vice  president,  and  M.  C.  Horton,  cashier.  The  above 
officers  and  directors  continued  in  office  until  February,  191 1,  except  Mrs.  Her- 
ron, who  resigned  as  director  June  10,  1910,  and  AI.  C.  Horton,  who  resigned 
July  I,  1910.  C.  R.  Wheeler  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  resig- 
nation of  Airs.  Herron  and  W.  E.  Stone  to  that  of  Air.  Horton.  F.  B.  Weber 
was  appointed  to  succeed  Air.  Horton  as  cashier. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  stockholders  held  February  13,  1912,  the  fol- 
lowing directors  were  elected:  E.  H.  Walker,  C.  R.  Wheeler,  H.  Hedrich,  W. 
E.  Stone,  W.  AI.  Benton,  W.  Evans  and  W.  Sutliff.  The  directors  elected  H. 
Hedrich,  president,  E.  H.  Walker,  vice  president  and  F.  B.  Weber,  cashier. 

Statement  of  June  14,  1912,  showed  capital  of  $150,000;  surplus  and  profits, 
$224,729;  deposits,  $2,133,203;  and  total   resources,  $2,507,933. 

PEORI.X   CLE.\RINC,    HOUSE  .\SSOCI.\TION 

On  April  27,  1880,  at  a  meeting  of  representatives  of  the  leading  banks  of 
Peoria,  a  bankers'  association  was  formed,  to  facilitate  exchange  and  settlement 
of  daily  balances  between  the  several  banks  represented.  The  charter  members 
included  the  First,  the  Second  and  the  Alechanics  National,  the  German  Banking 
Company,  Kingman,  Blossom  &  Co.,  and  Zell,  Hotchkiss  &  Co.  The  first  officers 
elected  were  George  H.  Alcllvaine,  president,  and  Benjamin  F.  Blossom,  secre- 
tary. In  1884.  Henry  Hedrich  was  elected  secretary,  and  President  Alcllvaine 
having  died  in  1897,  was  succeeded  by  Philip  Zell,  who  died  in  1901,  the  position 
then  being  filled  by  Leonard  Houghton. 

In  January,  1902,  a  reorganization  was  efl^ected  under  the  name  of  the 
"Peoria  Clearing  House  Association,"  a  new  constitution  and  by-laws  adopted, 
and  an  entirely  new  system  of  making  local  e.xchanges  inaugurated.  Under  this 
arrangement  all  balances  are  settled  through  one  bank,  known  as  the  "Clearing 
House  Agent,"  to  whom  all  debit  balances  must  be  paid  by  i  130  P.  AI.  daily,  and 
by  whom  all  credit  accounts  must  be  paid  between  2  130  and  3  :oo  P.  AI.  of  the  same 
day.  The  officers  (  1912)  are:  George  W.  Curtiss.  president;  Charles  E.  Ulrich, 
vice-president;  William  C.  W'hite,  secretary;  W'.  E.  Stone  and  F.  F.  Blossom, 
clearing  house  committee. 

The  total  clearings  in  1892  were  $99,940,626;  in  1897  $81,154,457;  in  1902 
$142,533,004;   in    1907  $141,233,539;   in    1911   $161,223,684. 

The  action  of  the  associated  banks  of  Peoria  during  the  money  panic  of  1907 
is  thus  narrated  by  George  W.  Curtiss.  present  president  of  the  Clearing  House 
Association:  In  the  latter  part  of  October,  1907.  a  panic  beginning  in  New  A'ork, 
soon  became  manifest  over  the  entire  United  States.  A  severe  stringency  of 
currency  ensued  and  the  banks  having  balances  in  reserve  centers  were  unable 
to  obtain  sufficient  currency  therefrom  for  business  needs.  Clearing  house 
associations  in  these  reserve  centers  declined  to  allow  their  members  to  pay 
out  currency  in  large  sums,  and  for  the  settlement  of  balances  between  them- 
.selves,  adopted  the  certificate  plan. 

The  Clearing  House  Association  of  Peoria  issued  no  certificates — settlement 
of  balances  between  members  being  made  in  New  York  or  Chicago  exchange ; 
but  in  common  with  clearing  houses  generally,  found  it  necessary  to  provide  for 
the  time  being  a  convenient  medium  for  use  in  place  of  currency.  Banks,  mem- 
bers of  the  association,  to  meet  the  emergency,  first  issued  cashier's  checks,  which 
were  readily  accepted  by  the  public  generally  and  the  banks.  Later,  a  clearing 
house  loan  committee  was  provided,  with  which  approved  securities  were  lodged 
by  the  banks  and  checks  drawn  by  the  association  on  such  banks  to  an  amount 
equal  to  seventy  per  cent  of  the  face  value  of  such  collateral ;  and  these  checks 
passed  readily  in  lieu  of  currency.     The  total  issue  of  such  checks  in  Peoria 


DIME  SAVINGS  AND  TRUST  CnMI'AXV.  PEOUIA 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  457 

was  $209,000,  probably  less  than  one-fourth  of  which  was  at  any  one  time  em- 
ployed. 

About    lanuary   i,   u;o8,  currency,  becoming  more  available,  the  use  ut   these 
checks  was  discontinucil. 

GERMAN-AMERICAN     NATIONAL    BANK 

The  German-American  National  Bank,  of  Peoria,  is  the  outgrowth  of  the 
German  Banking  Company,  a  copartnership  banking  concern,  organized  during 
the  great  panic  in  the  fall  of  1873.  The  latter  opened  its  doors  for  business  at 
the  corner  of  Bridge  and  Washington  streets,  on  November  i,  1873,  with  Michael 
Pfeifer  as  its  president.  The  following  were  the  original  partners:  Michael 
Pfeifer,  Louis  Green,  liernard  Cremer,  Ferdinand  Welte,  Joseph  Iluber.  Andrew 
Heppler,  Erhard  Kramm,  William  Oberhauser,  Joseph  Miller,  \'alentine  Jobst 
and  Jacob  Mueller.  At  a  later  date  some  of  the  partners  disposed  of  their  inter- 
ests, and  \'alentine  Ulrich  having  become  a  member  of  the  company,  was  elected 
its  president.  The  original  partnership  was  formed  for  a  period  of  ten  years,  and, 
on  the  expiration  of  this  period,  steps  were  taken  to  organize  the  German-Ameri- 
can National  Bank  of  Peoria,  which  was  granted  its  charter  (  No.  3070)  on  Oc- 
tober 31,  1883,  and  the  new  concern  opened  up  its  business  at  the  old  stand 
of  the  German  Banking  Company,  at  the  corner  of  Bridge  and  Washington 
streets,  January  i,  1884"  with  a  capital  stock  of  $100,000.00.  X'alentine  Clrich, 
Samuel  Woolner,  Sabin  D.  Puterbaugh,  Michael  Pfeifer,  Charles  Gehrman,  .-V.  L. 
Schimpff  and  Joseph  Miller  constituted  the  first  board  of  directors,  with  Valen- 
tine Ulrich  as"  the  first  president,  Michael  Pfeifer,  vice-president,  and  William 
Oberhauser,  cashier.  The  following  changes  in  the  capital  stock  have  been  made 
since  the  original  organization:  August,  1885,  increased  to  $105,000;  April,  1886, 
increased  to  $150,000;  August.  1891,  occurred  a  still  further  increase  to  $300,000. 

On  December  8,  1884,  Mr.  Oberhauser  resigned  the  position  of  cashier,  and 
was  succeeded  in  Tanuarv  following  by  Weston  Arnold.  In  April,  1888,  the 
bank  qualified  as  a  government  depositary.  In  March,  1892,  Mr.  Ulrich  resigned 
the  presidency,  and  was  succeeded  in  June  following,  by  Bernard  Cremer. 
Since  its  organization,  the  bank  made  two  removals ;  in  January,  1884,  to  No.  203 
Main  street,  and  in  January,  1891,  to  208  South  Adams  street,  where  it  continued 
in  business  until  January  i,  1894. 

The  German-.Xmerican  also  did  a  savings  bank  business  by  the  payment  of 
interest  on  time  deirosits,  dealt  largely  in  foreign  exchange,  and  made  a  specialty 
of  ocean  steamshi])  tickets.  On  November  17,  1903.  the  date  of  the  last  statement 
to  the  com])troller  of  the  currency,  the  German- American,  in  addition  to  its  caj)- 
ital  stock  of  $300,000,  had  a  surplus  and  profits  of  $110,000;  deposits  of  $i.733.- 
565  and  total  resources  of  $2,440,598. 

In  pursuance  of  an  agreement  between  the  shareholders  of  this  bank  and 
those  of  the  Commercial  National  Bank,  it  went  into  voluntary  liquidation  Janu- 
ary I,  1904,  and  its  business  was  absorbed  by  the  latter  institution  which,  at  the 
same  time,  changed  its  name  to  Commercial  German  National  Bank. 

PEORIA    NATIONAL   r,.\NK 

The  historv  of  the  Peoria  National  Bank  dates  back  to  1852  when  the  bank- 
ing firm  of  J.  P.  Flotchkiss  &  Co.  was  organized,  with  Lewis  Howell  as  cashier 
and  manager.  The  bank  was  first  located  in  a  narrow  room  at  the  west  corner 
on  Main  street  and  Commercial  alley,  but  in  November.  1855,  was  removed  to 
the  northwest  corner  of  Main  and  Washington  streets.  Joshua  P.  Hotchkiss,  the 
head  of  the  firm,  died  in  1856,  by  his  will  leaving  Mr.  Howell  in  charge  of  the 
bank,  for  the  benefit  of  his  "heirs'.  In  January,  i860,  the  name  of  the  firm  was 
changed  to  L.  Howell  &  Co..  the  companv  being  composed  of  Mr.  Howell,  J. 
Bovd  Smith  and  J.  B.  Headley,  and,  on  January  i,  1863,  Lorin  G.  Pratt  succeeded 


458  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

to  the  interest  of  Mr.  Headley,  Mr.  Howell  continuing  as  manager.  On  January 
I,  1864,  another  change  occurred  in  the  chartering  of  the  bank  under  the  national 
bank  act,  under  the  name  of  the  Second  National  Bank  of  Peoria,  with  a  capital 
of  $2CX),ooo.oo  and  with  L.  Howell  as  president,  L.  G.  Pratt,  vice-president,  and 
J.  B.  Smith,  cashier.  In  January,  1874,  George  H.  ]\lcllvaine  succeeded  to  the 
vice-presidency,  and  Thomas  G.  McCulloch,  Jr.,  became  cashier.  Four  years  later 
(1878),  Charles  P.  King  was  chosen  vice-president,  and  George  H.  Mcllvaine, 
cashier.  May  24,  1880,  Vice-President  King  was  advanced  to  the  presidency 
as  successor  to  ^Ir.  Howell,  deceased. 

The  charter  of  the  Second  National  having  expired  in  February,  1883,  it  was 
liquidated,  and  the  bank  was  reorganized  under  the  name  of  the  Peoria  National 
Bank,  with  Mr.  King  as  president,  and  Mr.  Mcllvaine  as  cashier.  The  board 
of  directors  consisted  of  Charles  P.  King,  George  H.  Mcllvaine,  Calvin  C.  Lines, 
Charles  B.  Day,  Philip  Zell,  Charles  H.  Kellogg  and  William  Jack.  The  director- 
ship for  1889  remained  unchanged,  except  that  Charles  B.  Day  and  Charles  H. 
Kellogg  were  succeeded  by  Newton  C.  Dougherty  and  Leonard  F.  Houghton. 
At  the  same  time  Mr.  Mcllvaine  became  vice-president,  Richard  A.  Culter  suc- 
ceeding him  in  the  office  of  cashier.  Mr.  Culter  was  succeeded  in  the  cashier- 
ship  in  1893  by  Leonard  F.  Houghton,  who  was  succeeded  in  1902  by  Harry  T. 
Bartlett,  who  served  about  eighteen  months.  Mr.  Houghton  then  resumed  the 
ofifice  for  a  few  months,  when  in  January,  1904,  S.  O.  Spring  was  elected  his  suc- 
cessor. In  January,  1893,  ^I''-  Culter  became  a  director,  as  successor  to  Leonard 
F.  Houghton,  and  in  j\Iarch  following,  Mr.  King  having  died  after  a  service 
of  ten  years,  George  H.  Mcllvaine  was  chosen  president  to  fill  the  vacancy. 
In  1897  Philip  Zell  succeeded  to  the  presidency,  in  place  of  Mr.  Mcllvaine,  de- 
ceased, and  April  18,  1900,  Mr.  Zell  having  died.  Newton  C.  Dougherty  was 
chosen  to  succeed  him.  The  report  of  the  condition  of  the  Peoria  National  Bank 
for  August,  1905,  shows  capital  of  $200,000.00;  surplus  and  profits  of  $51,454.46; 
deposits  of  $1,286,540.94  and  total  resources  of  $1,806,370.57. 

This  was  the  last  statement  made  by  the  bank,  which  was  placed  in  the  hands 
of  a  receiver,  Octolier  7,  1905,  in  consequence  of  the  downfall  of  its  president, 
Newton  C.  Dougherty,  who  was  found  to  have  abstracted  a  large  amount  of 
the  funds  of  the  public  schools,  of  which  he  had  been  superintendent  for  many 
years.  O.  C.  Berry,  of  Carthage,  Illinois,  was  placed  in  charge  as  receiver,  and 
after  about  two  years,  paid  the  depositors  in  full  with  interest  and  turned  back 
the  remaining  assets  to  the  stockholders. 

.\NTII0NV    LO.W    .\XD    TRUST    COMPANY 

This  company,  whose  principal  business  was  loaning  money  on  farm  prop- 
ertv  and  dealing  in  real  estate  mortgages,  was  the  outgrowth  of  a  business  first 
established  in  Washington,  Tazewell  county,  by  Charles  E.  Anthony,  about 
the  year  1866.  The  business  was  for  a  time  carried  on  in  connection  with  that 
of  the  banking  firm  of  Anthony  &  Denhart  of  that  place,  but  in  1874  a  branch 
house  was  established  at  Chatsworth,  Illinois,  under  the  name  of  Anthony,  Den- 
hart &  Wilson,  and  placed  in  charge  of  Cliflford  M.  Anthony.  The  field  of  opera- 
tions in  farm  loans  was  much  enlarged  and  the  business  grew  rapidly.  In  1877, 
Clifford  M.  Anthony  returned  to  Washington  as  a  partner  in  the  firm.  In  1882 
the  firm  was  appointed  financial  correspondent  of  the  Connecticut  Mutual  Life 
Insurance  Company   for  the  state  of   Illinois. 

About  this  time  G.  W.  Curtiss,  who  had  been  engaged  in  the  banking  busi- 
ness at  Urbana,  Illinois,  entered  the  employment  of  the  firm  in  connection  with 
the  loan  business.  Early  in  1885,  the  Anthony  brothers  severed  their  connec- 
tion, with  the  house  of  Anthony  &  Denhart,  retaining  the  farm  loan  business, 
and,  removing  to  Peoria,  formed  the  copartnership  of  C.  E.  &  C.  M.  Anthony, 
in  which  ]\Ir.  Curtiss  became  a  partner  in  1888.     In   1891   the  firm  was  incor- 


I'KKIX    WA(.()X    (dMl'AW 


R.   HERSCHEL  MANITFACTlRINi: 
COMl'AXY  PLANT 


THE  PEORIA  COKDAliE  COMPANY 


r.iKirs  KVK  \ii;\\   nr  ■iiik  a\  ki;^   ((imi'axv  i'i.ax'I' 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  459 

porated  under  the  name  of  the  "Anthony  Loan  &  Trust  Company,"  with  C.  E. 
Anthony,  president;  C.  M.  Anthony,  vice  president,  and  G.  VV.  Curtiss,  secretary 
and  treasurer.  In  1898,  Charles  E.  Anthony  having  retired  from  active  par- 
ticipation in  the  management  of  the  business,  C.  M.  Anthony  was  chosen  presi- 
dent, C.  E.  Anthony,  vice  president,  'Sir.  Curtiss  retaining  the  office  of  secretary 
and  treasurer  until  1899,  when  he  became  one  of  the  vice  presidents.  The 
business  of  this  company  was  taken  over  by  the  Dime  Savings  and  Trust  Com- 
pany. 

TITLE    &    TRUST    COMPANY 

Though  not  strictly  a  banking  institution  the  Title  &  Trust  Company  of 
Peoria  had  an  intimate  relation  with  the  financial  interests  of  the  city,  and  is 
deserving  mention  in  this  connection.  It  was  incorporated  in  1890  by  leading 
capitalists  of  the  city,  and,  while  its  chief  business  was  the  investigation  and 
furnishing  of  abstracts  of  title  to  real-estate,  and  the  issuing  of  guaranty  cer- 
tificates for  the  protection  of  owners  and  mortgagees  from  loss  by  reason  of 
defective  titles  to  real-estate  in  Peoria  county,  it  also  conducted  a  loan  depart- 
ment for  the  purpose  of  making  investments  in  real-estate  (both  farm  and  city 
property"),  dealing  in  mortgages,  collecting  interest  on  loans,  etc.  It  was  em- 
powered by  its  charter  to  act  as  executor  or  administrator  of  estates ;  as  guardian, 
receiver,  assignee  or  in  any  other  capacity  assumed  by  a  trustee  in  taking  charge 
of  estates.  The  company  had  a  capital  of  $100,000  with  $50,000  deposited  with 
the  state  auditor  for  the  security  of  all  trust  obligations.  The  board  of  directors 
was  composed  largely  of  stockholders  of  different  banks.  The  business  of 
this  institution  also  was  taken  over  by  the  Dime  Savings  and  Trust  Company. 

people's  savings  bank 

The  People's  Savings  Bank  of  Peoria  was  organized  on  a  copartnership 
basis  by  Messrs.  Martin  Kingman,  Charles  A.  Jamison,  Rudolph  Prey  and  E.  C. 
Heidrich,  and  began  business  March  11,  1889,  at  1329  South  Adams  street. 
The  original  stock  was  $10,000,  which  was  subsequently  increased  to  $12,500. 
At  the  outset  Rudolph  Prey  served  as  the  active  manager  and  cashier,  but  in 
April,  1890,  sold  his  one-quarter  interest  to  Martin  Kingman,  and  was  succeeded 
in  the  position  of  cashier  by  George  W.  Zinser.  In  July,  1890.  all  the  partners 
sold  out  their  entire  interests  to  Jacob  Woolner. 

In  1904  Louis  \V.  Look  became  cashier  but  unfortunate  conditions  existed 
which  made  it  necessary  to  close  the  bank  and  its  affairs  were  placed  in  the 
hands  of  a  receiver.  Assets  were  found  insufficient  and  deposit  liabilities  were 
cancelled  on  the  basis  of  sixty  cents  on  the  dollar. 

ZELL,   HOTCHKISS   &  COMPANY    (PRIVATE   RANKERS) 

The  banking  house  of  Zell,  Hotchkiss  &  Company  was  organized  as  a  partner- 
ship concern  to  do  a  private  lianking  business,  in  1870,  the  partners  being  Philip 
Zell,  Walter  E.  Hotchkiss  and  Henry  C.  Fursman.  On  the  death  of  Mr.  Hotch- 
kiss, which  occurred  November  21,  1874,  Mr.  Zell  acquired  the  interest  of  both 
Hotchkiss  and  Fursman,  thereby  becoming  sole  owner,  and  so  continued  until 
his  death,  .April  11,  1900.  Mr.  Homer  C.  Lines  occupied  the  ]josition  of  cashier 
continuously  for  a  period  of  twenty-six  years  (1873-1899).  After  Mr.  Zell's 
death  the  business  was  conducted  for  his  heirs  by  W.  E.  M.  Cole,  who  had 
succeeded  Mr.  Lines  in  the  cashiership,  but  was  discontinued  as  soon  as  matters 
then  pending  could  be  brought  to  a  conclusion. 

Another  private  banking  concern  was  that  of  J.  B.  Hogue  &  Company,  estab- 
lished iVIay  I,  1867,  by  James  B.  Hogue  and  Thomas  L.  Davis,  with  a  capital 


460  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

of  $30,cx30.  On  account  of  ill  health  Mr.  Davis  retired  in  May,  1874,  Mr.  Ilogue 
becoming  sole  owner.  In  Alarch,  1880,  the  concern  was  compelled  to  suspend 
in  consequence  of  heavy  losses  resulting  from  failure  of  a  local  business  concern, 
but  subsequently  paid  all  liabilities  in  full. 

Mr.  William  Oberhauser  started  a  private  bank  here  in  1885,  which  con- 
tinued in  operation  about  eight  years,  going  into  liquidation  in  1893.  It  was 
at  first  located  at  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Bridge  streets,  but  afterwards 
removed  to  Adams  street  at  the  head  of  Bridge  street. 


i 


I'KOKIA    l'.OAi;i)  iM"    li;.\l)F.   IX    isso 


KKMINDKI!  DF  l'K(M!IA  COUXTVS  FIRST  CORN  FAIR 


I 


CHAPTIiR  XXX 

THE    BOARD    OF    TRADE INDUSTRIAL    PEORIA — USES     MORE    CORN    THAN    ANY     CITY 

IN    THE    UNITED    STATES MILLIONS    PAID    THE    GOVERNMENT    YEARLY    IN    REV- 
ENUE— GREAT  MANUFACTURING   PLANTS   AND   MANY   OF  THEM. 

Peoria  is  situated  in  the  center  of  the  most  productive  agricultural  state  in 
the  Union.  At  its  very  door  lie  rich  deposits  of  coal  and  underlying  it  is  an 
inexhaustible  vein  of  pure  water  of  easy  access.  It  is  situated  on  the  Illinois 
river,  which  gave  it  the  earliest  means  of  transportation  facilities. 

These  natural  advantages  drew  to  it  manufacturing  enterprises,  many  of 
which  were  large  consumers  of  grain  and  so  in  an  early  day  made  Peoria  a 
grain  market,  and  as  early  as  1857  there  was  duly  incorporated  a  Peoria  Board 
of  Trade,  with  John  C.  Grier  as  president  aud  A.  G.  Tyng,  Sr.  as  vice  president, 
with  fifty  members,  all  of  whom  have  passed  away  with  the  exception  of  B.  L. 
T.  Bourland. 

This  association  was  organized  for  the  furtherance  of  the  grain  business, 
and  like  all  other  boards  of  trade,  was  instituted  to  meet  a  commercial  need. 
It  also  undertook  to  further  all  other  commercial  interests  of  the  city.  This 
organization  was  succeeded  in  1869  by  the  present  Peoria  Board  of  Trade, 
with  Horace  Clark  as  its  first  president.  While  this  exchange  was  instituted 
as  a  distinctly  grain  exchange,  it  has  always  taken  a  lively  interest  in  national, 
state  and  city  affairs.  Its  rules,  like  all  other  exchanges,  insist  upon  just  and 
equitable  business  methods  on  the  part  of  its  members  and  also  provide  for 
the  arbitration  of  all  business  differences  and  while  dift'erences  will  occur,  courts 
of  law  have  rarely,  if  ever,  been  resorted  to  for  adjustment. 

The  great  movements  of  recent  years  have  been  along  the  lines  of  organi- 
zation and  cooperation  and  the  Peoria  Board  of  Trade  secures  its  members 
these  advantages  to  successfully  and  intelligently  meet  the  exigencies  of  the 
ever  changing  conditions  the  world  over,  which  invariably  affect  the  grain 
trade  more  or  less. 

Boards  of  trade  and  their  members  have  been  subject  to  much  adverse  criti- 
cism from  persons  who  cannot  or  will  not  distinguish  the  dift'erence  between  a 
gambler  who  risks  his  money  on  a  chance  and  the  speculator  who  buys  or 
sells  on  his  judgment  after  scanning  the  news  of  the  world  as  to  supply  and 
demand,  or  the  man  who  buys  to  provide  against  future  needs  or  sells  for  future 
deliverv  to  better  advantage  than  present  prices  will  return. 

Wliile  the  members  of  the  Peoria  Board  of  Trade,  like  other  prudent  and 
conservative  men  in  the  grain  trade,  take  advantage  of  the  future  markets  when 
they  offer  assurances  of  securing  profits,  yet  the  Peoria  Board  of  Trade  is 
rather  distinctly  a  cash  grain  market. 

The  local  consumption  of  grain  at  Peoria  demands  about  fxD,ooo  bushels 
per  day.  while  the  demand  from  shippers  and  for  storage  purposes  is  only  lim- 
ited by  the  price  at  which  it  is  off'ered.  The  constant  demand  for  these  pur- 
poses insures  a  .strong  and  healthy  competition  at  all  times. 

The  inspection  of  grain  is  according  to  the  uniform  rules  adopted  by  all 
western  markets  and  is  what  may  be  termed  commercial  inspection.     Since  the 

461 


462  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

ado])tioii  of  the  moisture  test  it  has  been  given  to  the  patrons  of  this  market 
without  extra  charge.  The  inspectors  are  employed  by  the  board  and  are  under 
the  supervision  of  a  committee  representing  all  interests  in  the  trade :  receivers, 
shippers,  consumers  and  producers.  These  inspectors  are  men  who  have  grown 
up  in  the  trade  and  have  been  promoted  from  helpers  as  vacancies  occur,  which 
is  the  rule  followed. 

The  weighing  dejiartment  consists  of  a  chief  weighmaster  with  the  necessary 
corps  of  deputy  supervisors  at  all  industries  and  elevators  and  a  scale  expert, 
who  are  all  employed  directly  by  the  Peoria  Board  of  Trade.  All  defects  or 
leakages  are  carefully  noted  on  certificates  sent  to  the  consignor,  which  may 
be  used  as  evidence  if  a  claim  is  to  be  made  for  shortage. 

There  are  fourteen  railroads  running  into  the  city  and  it  is  a  division  point 
of  all  the  roads.  Three  public  elevators  with  2,500,000  bushels  capacity,  with 
every  facility  for  transferring  and  conditioning  grain  quickly,  are  at  the  service 
of  the  trade:  Burlington  elevator,  1,000,000;  Iowa  elevator,  1,000,000;  Central 
City  elevator,  250,000. 

Switching  facilities  are  the  most  perfect  of  any  market,  requiring  no  multi- 
plicity of  switching  orders,  and  Peoria  is  noted  for  its  promjit  returns.  Many 
cars  are  daily  accounted  for  the  next  day  after  arrival. 

In  the  days  when  country  banks  were  few,  the  members  of  this  board  sup- 
plied this  deficiency  with  their  means  and  credit  in  financing  the  movement 
of  crops  during  harvest  and  to  hold  grain  until  demand  and  markets  would  re- 
ceive it.  They  are  still  doing  this  as  reasonable  requests  come  to  them.  It 
will  alvvays  be  the  aim  of  its  members  to  further  the  mutual  interests  of  those 
engaged  in  the  trade  and  distribute  free  of  charge  all  news  that  can  be  gath- 
ered affecting  the  market. 

The  benefits  to  accrue  in  future  years  from  the  Peoria  Board  of  Trade  to 
the  city  and  the  grain  territory  tributary  to  Peoria  can  certainly  be  contem- 
plated with  hopeful  expectancy,  for  since  its  organization  millions  of  bushels 
of  grain  and  thousands  of  tons  of  hay,  totaling  millions  of  dollars  in  value,  have 
been  handled  and  accounted  for  by  its  members  with  the  utmost  fidelity  and 
care. 

Peoria  has  come  to  the  front  rapidly  as  a  primary  market  during  the  past 
few  years.  Its  importance  as  a  handler  of  corn  and  oats  has  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  the  whole  country.  Peoria  does  not  claim  prominence  as  to  wheat, 
rye  or  barley,  though  considerable  business  is.  done  there  every  year  in  these 
cereals,  and  its  industries  use  large  quantities  of  rye  and  barley  of  the  best 
grades. 

Tiiis  city  does  claim  a  place  in  the  very  front  rank  as  a  receiving  market 
of  corn  and  oats  every  day  in  the  year,  and  is  equally  well  known  as  a  shipping 
point  to  all  parts  of  the  south  and  east.  Peoria's  system  of  inspection  and 
weighing,  every  feature  of  which  is  directly  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Board 
of  Trade,  has  proved  entirely  satisfactory  to  the  country  shipper  as  well  as 
to  the  consumer,  the  country  over.  And  it  is  not  on  the  program  that  any 
backward  steps  will  be  taken.  On  the  contrary,  the  Peoria  grain  market  during 
the  past  few  years  has  successfully  met  and  won  every  controversy  which 
threatened  its  supremacy. 

Peoria  is  the  largest  daily  consumer  of  corn  in  the  world  and.  in  afldition 
to  the  corn  ground  up  there  every  day,  supplies  a  very  large  portion  of  that 
used  in  the  neighboring  city  of  Pekin,  which  is  only  ten  miles  away  and  con- 
tains three  large  corn  industries. 

The  motto  of  Peoria  grain  dealers  is:  "Treat  your  customer  fairly  every 
time,  and  you  will  keep  him.  if  your  market  values  are  in  line." 

Receipts  of  grain  at  Peoria  during  four  months  prior  to  May  i.  iqi2. 
amounted  to  266.835  bushels  of  wheat;  7.885,181  bushels  of  corn;  2,324,110 
bushels  of  oats;  89,175  bushels  of  rye;  and  716,711  bushels  of  barley,  compared 
with  208,954  bushels   of  wheat;   6,413,883   bushels  of   corn;    1,706.125   bushels 


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i 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  463 

of  oats;  122,600  bushels  of  rye;  and  825,032  bushels  of  barley  received  during 
the  corresponding  four  months  of   191 1. 

Shipments  of  grain  from  Peoria  during  the  four  months  prior  to  May  1, 
1912,  amounted  to  245,485  bushels  of  wheat;  5,489,229  bushels  of  corn;  3,668,- 
407  bushels  of  oats;  52,756  bushels  of  rye;  and  269,351  bushels  of  barley,  com- 
pared with  140,667  bushels  of  wheat;  5,406,722  bushels  of  corn;  2,145,302 
bushels  of  oats;  27,774  bushels  of  rye;  and  431,569  bushels  of  barley. 

Total  receipts  of  all  grain  were  11,282,012  bushels  during  four  months  of 
1912,  compared  with  9,276,594  bushels  received  during  the  same  period  in  191 1. 
Total  shipments  during  the  four  months  were  9,725,228  bushels,  compared  with 
8,152,034  bushels  of  grain  shipjied  during  the  same  period  of  191 1. 

Peoria  is  the  second  city  of  the  state  of  Illinois  in  population.  It  is  the 
terminal  point  of  fourteen  railroads,  including  the  most  important  systems  of 
the  United  States.  The  Illinois  river  is  navigable  ten  months  in  each  year  and 
traffic  on  it  is  gradually  increasing. 

The  new  city  directory,  issued  May  i,  1912,  contains  51,124  names,  indi- 
cating a  population  of  115,029. 

Peoria's  parks  and  parkways  contain  four  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres 
and  are  valued  at  $3,500,000.  This  acreage  is  included  in  Peoria  pleasure  and 
park  driveway  systems  and  in  this  system  is  Grand  View  drive,  14,632  feet 
in  length  and  100  feet  wide,  skirting  the  bluffs  and  overlooking  the  Illinois 
river  valley. 

Topographically  the  city  of  Peoria  and  the  city  of  Washington  are  almost 
identical.  A  view  unrivaled  in  America,  according  to  Ian  Maclaren,  is  the 
Prospect  Heights  view  of  the  Illinois  river  valley,  the  winding  stream,  the 
blossoming  fields  and  the  neighboring  cities. 

The  jiages  of  this  volume  increased  so  rapidly  that  when  the  writer  reached 
the  subject  of  industries  of  Peoria,  an  important  and  very  interesting  one.  he 
was  com])elled  to  condense  his  lines  very  much  against  his  will.  Peoria  is  a  great 
manufacturing  center  and  is  teeming  with  many  and  varied  industrial  concerns, 
all  of  which  should  be  given  a  place  here,  but  lack  of  space  will  not  admit  of 
it.     A  few  of  the  leading  manufactories  will  simply  be  touched  upon. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  early  in  the  history  of  Peoria  the  manufacture 
of  farm  implements  began.  This  was  in  the  decade  between  1850  and  i860. 
The  first  firms  to  handle  farm  machinery  were  Curtenius  &  Griswold,  J.  W.  For- 
sythe,  and  a  man  by  the  name  of  Gray.  Soon  after  them  came  into  the  field  the 
late  Isaac  Walker  and  Harvey  Lightner.  Closes  Pettengill  also  sold  hardware 
and  farm  machinerv. 

The  Kingman  Plow  Company  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  largest  of  Peoria's  in- 
dustries. The  factory  is  located  in  Averyville  on  North  Adams  street  and  is  a 
modern,  well  e(|uipped  plant,  giving  employment  to  about  350  people.  The  busi- 
ness was  founded  by  Martin  Kingman  in  the  year  1867.  This  company  has 
l)ranch  houses  in  St.  Louis,  Kansas  City,  Omaha,  Dallas,  Oklahoma,  Denver  and 
Des  Moines.  Its  export  trade  is  handled  from  an  office  in  New  York  city.  At 
this  plant  is  manufactured  riding  plows,  steel  lever  harrows,  disc  harrows,  cotton 
])lanters.  corn  listers,  cultivators,  etc. 

The  largest  manufacturing  concern  in  Peoria  is  the  Avery  Company.  The 
business  was  originally  organized  as  a  partnership  by  R.  H.  and  C.  M.  Avery, 
in  Galesburg,  Illinois,  in  the  early  '70s.  It  was  later  incorporated  as  The  Avery 
.Manufacturing  Company.  In  1883  the  Avery  Planter  Company  was  organized, 
with  a  ca[)ital  stock  of  $200,000.  The  capitalization  was  increased  in  1893  to 
$300,000.  In  1900  the  capital  was  raised  to  $1,000,000  and  the  name  clianged  to 
The  Avery  Manufacturing  Company,  whose  caj)ital  stock  is  $2,500,000.  The 
officers  are:  J-  B.  r>artholomew.  president;  H.  C.  Roberts,  vice  president;  h'l- 
wood  Cole,  treasurer ;  and  F.  B.  Kinsey,  superintendent.  P)Oth.  of  the  original 
founders  are  dead  but  their  representatives  still  hold  stock  in  the  corporation, 
and  G.  L.  Averv,  a  son  of  C.  M.  Averv,  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors. 


464  HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY 

The  plant  covers  a  total  of  fifty  acres.  It  maintains  branch  houses  at  Omaha, 
Des  Aloines,  Minneapolis,  Fargo,  Billings,  Aberdeen,  Kansas  City,  Indianapolis,' 
St.  Louis,  Grand  Forks  and  Sioux  Falls.  The  company  employs  from  800  to 
1,200  men.  The  principal  output  of  the  factory  are  traction  engines  and  thresh- 
ing machines. 

One  of  the  old  established  manufactories  in  Peoria  is  that  of  the  Culter  & 
Proctor  foundry,  where  are  made  heating  and  cooking  stoves  and  ranges. 
About  the  year  1907  the  concern  was  absorbed  by  a  stock  company,  at  the  head 
of  which  is  Robert  D.  Clarke.  Proctor  P.  Cooley  is  the  vice  president  and 
general  manager  and  Garrett  D.  Kinsey,  secretary  and  treasurer.  The  estab- 
lishment occupies  a  solid  city  block  between  Hamilton,  Fayette,  Commercial 
and  Water  streets,  in  a  five-story  building.  About  180  men  are  given  employ- 
ment. 

The  R.  Herschel  Manufacturing  Company  started  in  1887  with  little  capi- 
tal and  employed  five  men  in  a  shop  40  x  40  feet.  In  1893  the  company  was 
incorporated  with  a  capital  of  $30,000.  Later  this  was  increased  to  $50,000, 
and  at  the  present  time  the  capital  and  surplus  amount  to  $600,000.  The  origi- 
nal plant  was  located  at  the  corner  of  South  Washington  and  Persimmon  streets, 
where  were  manufactured  mower  knives,  reaper  sickles,  sections,  heads,  guards 
and  other  parts  of  mowers  and  binders.  In  1902  the  new  plant  was  located 
in  East  Peoria,  covering  six  acres  of  floor  space  and  giving  em])loyment  to  300 
people.  Additional  buildings  were  erected  in  1910  which  double  the  capacity 
of  the  plant.  Shipments  of  the  Herschel  products  are  made  to  South  America. 
Germany,  France,  England,  Switzerland,  Russia,  Sweden,  Siberia,  Australia  and 
other  grain  producing  countries. 

In  1892  J.  B.  Bartholomew,  a  member  of  the  Avery  Company,  put  up  a 
little  factory  in  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  where  he  manufactured  peanut  roasters. 
The  business  grew  to  such  proportions  that  in  1893  a  larger  and  better  equipped 
factory  became  necessary.  That  same  year  the  concern  was  incorporated  as 
the  Bartholomew  Company,  and  in  1900  the  plant  was  moved  to  Peoria,  taking 
up  its  quarters  in  the  old  watch  factory  on  West  Bluit.  In  1902  Mr.  Bartholo- 
mew began  manufacturing  Glide  automobiles  in  connection  with  the  roasters, 
and  in  1904  the  plant  was  enlarged  by  an  addition  of  a  brick  building  two 
stories  in  height,  250  feet  in  length,  by  48  feet  in  depth ;  but,  by  1909,  the  build- 
ings proved  to  be  inadequate  and  the  plant  was  moved  to  its  present  location 
at  Peoria  Heights.  Here  many  hundreds  of  employes  are  given  steady  work. 
The  officers  of  the  concern  are :  J.  B.  Bartholomew,  president :  A.  Y.  Bartholo- 
mew, first  vice  president ;  O.  Y.  Bartholomew,  second  vice  president ;  and 
Charles  Tjaden,  secretary. 

About  the  year  1887  the  Hart  Grain  Weigher  Company  started  in  business 
in  a  small  one-story  building,  where  but  a  few  men  were  employed,  but  today  it 
owns  and  occupies  a  five-story,  modern  factory  building,  where  350  men  are 
given  steady  work.  In  1908  the  company's  four-story  building  was  destroyed 
by  fire,  which  had  been  built  in  1901.  This  building  has  been  replaced  by  a 
larger  and  better  one,  five  stories  in  height.  The  Hart  Grain  Weigher  Company 
makes  a  complete  line  of  grain  weighers,  loaders,  baggers,  wing  carriers  and 
thresher  racks.  The  officers  are :  S.  H.  Hart,  president ;  W.  B.  Wilde,  vice 
president  and  treasurer;  J.  E.  DeVries,  secretary. 

The  .\cme  Harvesting  Alachine  Companv  manufactures  binders,  mowers, 
sulky  rakes,  stackers,  transport  trucks.  Graver  headers  and  other  farm  machinery. 
It  has  branches  in  many  of  the  European  and  South  American  countries.  The 
plant  is  an  extensive  one,  having  a  floor  space  covering  an  area  of  about  sixty 
acres  and  gives  employment  to  a  large  number  of  men. 

The  factory  of  the  Peoria  Drill  &  Seeder  Company  is  also  on  Xorth  Perry 
street.  Its  line  of  manufactures  includes  grain  drills,  broadcast  seeders,  end-gate 
seeders,  stalk  cutters,  harrow  carts,  ]3hosphate  distributors,  etc.  C.  A.  Patterson 
is  president  of  the  company;  Walter  Barker,  vice  president;  and  L.  E.  Roby, 
treasurer  and  superintendent. 


SCini'PER   i;   BLOCK    DEPARTMENT    STORE 


HISTORY  OF  PEORIA  COUNTY  40.') 

The  Harrington  Manufacturing  Company  is  on  North  Adams  street.  It  began 
in  a  small  way  and  is  today  one  of  the  important  concerns  of  the  city.  The  out- 
put of  the  Harrington  Mailufacturing  Company  consists  of  rural  free  delivery 
wagons,  of  which  it  makes  a  specialty,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  all  kinds  of  light 
commercial  wagons  are  made  at  this  plant.  The  company  was  organized  and  in- 
corporated in  1903,  at  Alonticello,  Illinois,  and  in  1904  moved  to  Peoria. 

But  why  go  into  detail  any  further?  This  article  has  been  drawn  out  too 
long  now  to  harmonize  with  the  space  left  for  it.  It  hardly  seems  fair  to  men- 
tion just  a  few  of  the  industries  of  Peoria,  while  so  many  of  ec|ual  imijortauce 
are  not  given  space.  'Jliere  are  at  least  four  hundred  manufacturing  plants  in 
the  city  with  a  capital  invested  of  $25,000,000.  These  plants  employ  an  army  of 
12,000  men  and  hand  out  in  wages  annually  about  $8,000,000.  Their  finished 
products  amount  to  about  $6o,ooo,coo.  No  town  on  earth  makes  more  whiskey 
than  Peoria  and  it  paid  the  government  during  the  fiscal  year  of  191 1  about 
$30,000,000  in  internal  revenue. 

Peoria  has  its  cordage  factory,  an  immense  concern,  which  was  organized  in 
1888  with  a  capital  stock  of  $200,000,  which  was  increased  in  1898  to  $400,000. 
The  plant  manufactures  binder  twine,  which  finds  a  sale  in  all  parts  of  the  world, 
and  throughout  the  year  employs  from  250  to  300  people.  E.  C.  Heidrich  is 
]iresident  and  manager.  He  is  ably  assisted  by  his  sons,  E.  C.  and  Arthur  G. 
Heidrich. 

There  is  also  the  Thomas  &  Clarke  Cracker  factory  at  the  corner  of  liridge 
and  Washington  streets;  the  IJehrens  ice  plant,  which  manufactures  artificial  ice; 
the  Keystone  Steel  &  Wire  Company  and  hundreds  of  others. 

THE    BIG    WIHTI-:    STOUE 

The  firm  of  Schipper  &  ISlock,  composed  of  Henry  C.  Block  and  John  C. 
Schipper,  was  first  formed  in  Pekin,  Illinois,  in  1860.  Proving  successful,  it  was 
proposed  that  another  store  be  opened  in  Peoria,  a  much  larger  city,  just  ten 
miles  away.  For  this  work  Fred  L.  Block,  the  younger  brother  of  Henry  C. 
Block,  and  Theodore  Kuhl  were  commissioned  to  take  charge  of  the  new  ven- 
ture. On  October  12,  1879,  tlie  modest  shop  in  Peoria  was  opened  at  124  South 
Adams  street,  and  the  record  of  its  growth  from  that  day  to  this — a  third  of  a 
century — has   been   phenomenal. 

The  business  soon  outgrew  its  quarters  and  in  i8(x)  it  Ijccame  necessary  to 
move  to  the  Woolner  building,  which  had  just  been  erected.  In  1895  ^^^^  Tucker 
furniture  store  was  purchased  and  continued  at  317-319  South  Adams  until 
1905.  In  August  of  that  year,  Schipper  &  Block  moved  both  stores  to  the  Big 
White  Store,  built  and  owned  by  them.  They  also  added  new  departments  and 
warehouses.  This  firm  employs  more  people  than  any  other  institution  in  the 
city  of  Peoria,  having  as  many  as  six  hundred  and  fifty  helpers  at  times. 
Schipper  &  Block  now  have  about  three  and  one-half  acres  of  selling  space. 
Including  all  warehouses  and  the  garage,  there  are  about  six  acres  of  space. 
Death  having  removed  John  Schipper  and  Fred  Block.  The  present  members  are: 
Henry  Block,  president ;  Theodore  Kuhl,  vice  president ;  Carl  Bloclc,  secretary ; 
H.  H.  Block,  treasurer. 


I 


